For this weeks Q&A we’ve chatted to mother and maker @hannah.straughan. We love the delicate tones of her feed, the adorable moments with her son, Oscar and little interior glimpses of her lovely home.

We think you’re going to really enjoy hearing about Hannah, her inspirations and who we should all be following on Instagram!

Describe your style in 5 words

This is a really difficult question for me to answer about myself, so I am going to cheat and use my lovely friend Elizabeth @blowyinthewind to answer for me, who made my day by describing my Instagram account as “a perfect mix of family life and creativity.”

What are the tools you use to create your feed?

I shoot mainly on an iPhone 6s, but also some (usually portraits of Oscar) on a Canon 600D with 50mm f 1.4 lens. I edit in VSCO; first I correct brightness, contrast and colour, and then I add a few stops of a preset – my current go-to is A8.

Who or what inspires you?

I’m inspired by my son Oscar, all things floral and botanical, the changing seasons, simple, rustic and minimalist interiors; but when I’m stuck in a rut I only have to look to the Instagram community to gather a little inspiration back! I love the new feature on Instagram that allows you to save images that you love to a private grid – I use this as my moodboard. When I create an image for my Instagram that has been inspired by another user, I think it’s a lovely thing to do to credit or mention them somewhere in the post.

If you had an extra hour in the day what would you do?

Most probably I would try to cram six hours of to-do list jobs into one hour, and then feel frustrated when I failed! If it was one hour to spend on myself alone, creating something – be it knitting, calligraphy, taking photographs or painting – always revitalises me, but a hot bath with candles lit and a glass of wine is my go-to indulgence for relaxation.

What is your personal motto?

”This too shall pass” has brought me comfort countless times over the past year and a half since I became a mother. Perhaps also “Do small things with great love” – I’ve always thrown myself into things headfirst, and am a bit of a  perfectionist; I also hugely appreciate kind gestures from others, such as a very carefully and deliberately chosen card for a special occasion. The littlest things are too often overlooked.

How did you get into the wonderful world of Instagram? 

I was quite late to the game with Instagram, and started using it ‘properly’ in 2015 when I became pregnant with Oscar. I connected with a few others who were expecting babies around the same time – @huntersandheels, @thisisjules, @mapleandmacaron, @rebecca.raynham – their accounts are beautiful and inspired me to develop my own. Now, not only is my Instagram gallery my creative outlet, but I’m also lucky enough to be able to call these lovely girls real-life friends.

Which hashtag should we been exploring right now?

I think that the key with hashtags is to keep up to date with the new ones, and to know what audience they are suited to, in order to help them compliment your own image. A few tags I am loving at the moment are #asecondofwhimsey, created by @_susandrea_, #aflowerenthusiast created by @carenbarry and #simplenaturefinds created by @lewesmap.

Who else should we follow on instagram? Who’s your top three?

Oh, I couldn’t possibly choose three! My favourites change often as I discover new inspiration, and then I have the accounts that I’ve followed since the beginning, and gotten to know the lovely people behind them. I know that you also love Jules @thisisjules; she’s one of the kindest, sweetest people I’ve ever met, her gallery is floral, flatlay and facade perfection, and she writes one of my all-time favourite blogs too. Sara @meandorla has been a favourite from my very first weeks on Instagram, and a huge inspiration – I’ve yet to find an Instagram enthusiast who doesn’t love her! She also gives amazing advice and tips for creating a beautiful Instagram gallery, and I adore her new Podcast series. A new favourite, and one to watch for sure, is Marion @thefamilywardrode. Her botanical, whimsical captures are filled with creativity and playfulness, she is such a great inspiration to me, I hope you’ll agree!

And we certainly do, a beautiful feed! Thanks so much for your time Hannah and what a lovely read. Head over to @hannah.straughan for all the latest photos!

And just in case you missed our email newsletter featuring a few of Hannah’s lovely photos of our products, here they are!

Processed with VSCO with a8 preset