All About Me...

Welcome to my world.... This journal is going to be a little insight into my new life living on a coastal dairy farm in Devon and my new adventure as an artist!!! So... How the hell did that happen??? To answer that question in going to take you back 10 years to where this journey first started. I was born in Clevedon, North Somerset where I went to school and met my partner Joe. We DID NOT get on at school, it was only when we had finished and he had gone off to collage that our paths crossed again on a snowy afternoon in January. I had been out sledging with friends and decided to warm up with hot chocolate in the local coffee shop where i met some of our mutual friends and Joe. Cut a long story short he got chorused by his friend to come sledging with us (Again) and we got on like a house on fire and the rest is history. That year I went to Plymouth University and Joe moved to Glastonbury. We spent weekends up and down the motorway taking it in turns to travel and I have to say it worked really well. I was able to spend three years completing my degree and he was able to focus on his job (and miss me of course). This was when I fell in love with Devon and started making driftwood mirrors to help pay for my social life. Three years later I graduated and moved to Glastonbury. While looking for the 'perfect' job I then got into retail while helping raise the calf's on the farm and doing odd jobs here and there. As well as the calf's I was able to help a friend raise her orphan lambs and goats (they lived in our chicken house for several months). We stayed in Glastonbury for two years until we both decided we had had enough and made another jump moving to Salisbury.

I spent the first few months getting the house up together, exploring, and looking after the 13 goats that we decided to invest in! oh and our four lambs that we had fallen in love with and several chickens. After a While It was time to get another job, so I got a job in marketing. This lasted six weeks before i was tearing my hair out being stuck sat at a desk so as i was such a good customer of the pub next door to us (yes we lived next to the pub, dangerous I know) I decided to work there. This was possibly the best pub ever!!! The best locals, best colleges and the worlds best boss!!! I loved my job! Although I think the two years I worked there I managed to consume my body weight in alcohol every week after work sat at the fire talking until 3am putting the world to rights (this became a weekly thing). I could go on for hours talking about this great little pub, but I wont bore you.

After two years in Salisbury i had itchy feet.... So i decided to go traveling for a bit. Yes i know... quarter life crisis and no i didn't 'Find Myself' but i did have an amazing time. After three months i had run out of money so got a bar job in Cambodia before deciding to come home, get a new plan and jump on another plain. However corona had other plans.

This brings us to March 2020 where i locked down with my dad and sister in Clevedon. This was where Elles Bells was born. We are a very creative family anyway, my sister makes the most amazing cakes and my dad is very musical. So we did what we did best and created... and people loved it! I started making driftwood and clay seagulls and people loved them! Within a week i was getting orders and commissions for paintings and it was bloody brilliant. When all the restrictions started to open again I was advised to shield due to being high risk, so that's exactly what i did. I have been creating and growing my art ever since. But how did i get to Devon? Well after i returned from traveling me and joe reconnected and decided that we had what we wanted all along, Sometimes you just need a reminder of how good things are, and for us that was each other and our little life on the farm.

On the 19th May I packed my smart car to the brim and moved to Devon, and what a brilliant move that was! I could not be happier! I have my life back but better! So thank you to everyone that has made that possible and everyone who has supported my small business and allowed me to grow this idea into a reality. I hope you have enjoyed this little snippet from my life. I will be aiming to do one entry a month on different aspects of my life. Next blog post will be a show and tell of the farm and all the beautiful animals that share our home. Lots of love Elle x