Orange shoes

I bought them in Covent Garden. I fell in love with the iridescent orange highlights. And how they complemented the pink and gold trim on my skirt. And matched the orange beads hanging off the hem of another. I wore them to a couple of weddings and found they exerted a fascination on others too. A friend told me "I saw people just staring at your shoes!" I even remember the party when the heel broke. It’s 9 or 10 years since I bought them, 8 years since I wore them.

Lilac ceramic cup

Handmade, and part of the City Lit pottery sale. I was studying there for foundation, it was right at the beginning and I was thrilled to be actually studying art. One day just before Christmas some-one said we should go into the ceramics room as they were selling everything off for 50p or £1; everything that people hadn't been quite happy with and decided not to take home. And I acquired quite a lot - a Christmas present for my brother, that immediately looked too wonky for his flat, and other bits like this one.

Multicoloured plastic ring

Like a big fake jewel. It was to match a psychedelic mini-dress that I used to wear clubbing. The ring looks better than you'd think - when you put it on.

Sequins and beads in box

It makes me feel nostalgic just to see the prices in 'Real'. These were bought in Salvador to decorate t-shirts. There a couple of little pink springy things too, which I also sewed on, although they tended to get caught on things and unwind. I had a phase of decorating and modifying clothes when I got back too! When England felt strange on return, and I stayed with my parents and sat up late with the sewing machine adding lace and sequin bits to things and listening to CDs from Brazil. 'A lambadao' is the song I think of.

Burnt pan

It's almost a pretty pattern; probably from peas burnt hard in little circles all over the bottom. My father stood at the sink helping me pack up when I moved out of the flat I'd shared with my partner, and lifted pans from the cupboard. They were almost all black inside like this. I realised and wouldn't have him wash them; it was my ex who had burnt them... I thought I should do it, but there wasn't time and this has been stored ever since.

Le Chef knife block

A shared a run down but lovely flat in Wandsworth with a university friend for years. When she moved on I inherited various bits of kitchen equipment and this was one of them.

Green glass goblet

A present from when I was new in London, living in a flat with three others. It was on Upper Street, and just about had a room for each of us and then a tiny communal kitchen. It felt like every-one I knew was in London then, and I saw a lot of a good friend from school who had moved just up the road from me. This was a birthday present from her.

Electric toothbrush

From an ex-flatmate, 6 or 7 years ago. But the dentist was encouraging me to use an electric toothbrush for a while even then. It was easy to accept the gift. But I feel a bit shocked that it is unused - stored. It also makes me want to brush my teeth, now, when I think about it.

Ostrich feather

Came loose from a Notting Hill Parade costume - it could have been any of three different costumes, all had feathers except the purple pierrot. But I think most likely it was the first one. A yellow and white Afro-Brazilian warrior type with a choreographed routine of stepping, chopping and leaping.

Vintage hat

A great eBay bargain, and part of some costumed performances; or intended to be, the two hats it came with I've used - ones a two-tone blue feathered turban, the others peach netting and a felt orchid. This one has only been used when I leant it to some-one; I kind of regret not giving it to her.

Torso Mannequin

Inherited from an artist I worked with, and a very fun time with him resident in a shop space and building up an installation so that every week, or every day something new appeared, then we sold it all off at the end. And I bought this.

Notice Holder

I gained it from a performance project on a market. I don't know why I accepted it really. But I had spent lots of time that year in shop fitting shops.

Gold powder

Priced in 'Real' - the Brazilian currency. It was for a brief t-shirt decorating scheme, I think. I made t-shirts with the Brazilian flag on them, I'd forgotten that I ever did that. But the glitter didn't get used there - and came into its own when I danced in the Notting Hill parade, it’s aimed for painting craft things, but it works amazingly well as body glitter!

Lancôme perfume

When I was at school I read some article in a women's magazine with 'tips' that suggested going up to perfume counters and asking for samples. For your clothes drawer or something. But I was 17 and they all said no. This one came years later, when I was actually shopping I got this one. Unfortunately it gives me a headache, but I have kept it at least two years.

Two interlinking bead bracelets

A market trader at Camden threw it in free when I got a watch. It was very sweet; we'd had a nice chat.

Set of eye-shadows

A present from a friend who knew some-one who had it free from work; it's a beautiful well-made object, a nice size of square mirror. A lovely thing to receive, but blue powder has never come in useful.

Thinning scissors

I had my hair cut while in Brazil, and it was hard to communicate what I wanted. I did discover that 'wavy' translates directly - my hair has 'ondas'! But what I had in mind was different to what this salon was used to, I guess a lot of people just have long hair. I bought these scissors afterwards to doctor it myself.

Fructis Style gel spray

I got a short hair cut for the first time and got all kinds of hair products both wanting to experiment, but also worried that it would need 'styling'.

Set of oil pastels

I had these when I was about 8, they were part of my earliest experiments with drawing - I think used for my brownie badge in art. When I drew lots of vampires in caves, and shocked my badge 'examiner' who was a nice older lady that the brownie leader knew did some painting. I'd felt a lot of enthusiasm for the drawings and could see that she was trying to be polite but didn't know how to respond at all. It just hadn't occurred to me that there was anything wrong with drawing vampires.

Massage oil in blue bottle

I think a friend passed it on as an unwanted Christmas present, and I thought it looked very nice! I was living with a partner, now an ex-partner, and I think took the present kind of optimistically. Then have kept it unopened ever since.

Hair rollers

A laborious attempt at 50s coiffing, for a performance. And the discovery that it's harder than it looks...?

Dried pomegranate

I created it accidentally, realised I'd left it too long to eat but that it might last. I was learning to draw and there'd just been one in a still life arrangement so I'd studied the shape a lot, and liked it!

Perfume bottle

When I was 17 or 18 I asked for perfume for Christmas and went up to London with a friend to pick one. There was only one I liked and this is it.

Glass vase

This definitely featured in my room at university, when having such things seemed newly adult; I guess it started seeming fussy sometime later. Or maybe I was more house-proud then.

Removable rose tattoo

I had quite a fad for wearing tattoos to parties, on my shoulder or upper arm. I wore this one for New Year’s Eve, keeping the other... that was 6 years ago now!

Red earrings with pearly bits

When I was around 16 me and my friends were completely into a new shop called Tumi that sold South American things - mostly handicrafts, but it was different from anything else local and for a while any birthday present came from there. I picked these for myself though, and still like the colour and texture.

LA Girl foundation

I bought this cheap when I was about to dance in the Notting Hill carnival parade and needed to create a deep tan; it was the second year of dancing and I knew I'd be alone in looking pale!

Button collection (in purple box)

The extra buttons from all kinds of things, and one I got in order to draw it. I almost never replace buttons; I think how I just like how they look together. The box was from a present I was given as bridesmaid from my best friend from school.

Red velvet shoes

I bought them for the Christmas party in my first business job, and I absolutely loved them! Though since I've only worn them for 70s dressing up, and they still seem rather unique, rather special - I keep thinking maybe I'll need a pair of velvet shoes another time!

Right Said Fred tape

When I was at university, there was one summer where Deeply Dippy seemed to play all the time and I loved it. I bought the single but I left it on my turntable in my window on a really hot day, and something happened – the plastic became a frill all the way around its edges. I bought this tape a few years later, when I noticed it in a charity shop.

On Love

I can’t remember where this book came from, but I know I started reading it when I was madly in love with D. It all made sense, particularly the beliefs about being fated to meet, because we had met in a really uncanny way. But maybe it was just love at first sight on my side. I’ll never know exactly how into it she was, but she did end it very abruptly after about three months. I can remember one day I was reading this book and she looked a bit worried.

Framed iceberg

This constitutes two very different memories. Firstly, visiting the iceberg and taking its photograph. It’s in southern Argentina, and we spent several hours in a bus to get there and back in one day. Secondly, having this photo in its frame displayed on the mantelpiece when I lived with my ex. We didn’t have much decoration up and I’d put up a few of my framed photos from holidays to cheer the place up. It’s gone into storage since moving out.

The Blind Assassin

I’ve always intended to give this book back to the library, but the fines have mounted up so I deferred returning the book until an amnesty.

Glass display case with two painted eggs

In a performance assignment, while studying Fine Art, I was asked to make one piece based on a fairytale. I chose Blue Beard. I wasn’t in a very happy relationship at the time. Along with the assignment, we had to produce an object. In Blue Beard, and in my performance, a key plays a vital role. I read that in Chinese mythology an egg can represent a key and then, in picking up a few things from a junk shop, I saw this case which to me resembled some kind of coffin. It seemed the perfect object for the Blue Beard tale.

Picture frame

While at art school, someone organised an exhibition in which all the works had to be small, perhaps 10x15cm. I made this frame. It doesn’t have any function for me now – though I do sometimes paint, I don’t paint on this scale. I was pleased with it and thought it was pretty.

Cake tin

A leftover from splitting up with a partner I shared a house with. It’s from her family, possibly her grandmother. But she forgot it and never asked for it back, so it’s been in limbo. I’ve never really adopted it for use.

Sara Cristina

Me and my dad went on holiday. It was sometime when I was in my thirties, and it happened to work out that we both wanted a holiday at the same time. We had a really nice time in Lisbon. One of the highlights was going to a restaurant where the staff and owners got up and sang Fado – very passionate, soulful music. We bought the tape, which was signed.

Sai de Bamba

It’s a pirated CD, bought in Brazil. I’m sure I’d heard them live and they were amazing. It definitely isn’t captured on the CD – the sound quality is not so good. While there are other CDs I still do listen to, this hasn’t made the cut.

A Kind of Anger

When I was staying in Brazil for a few months I had times when I got quite lonely. Sometimes I longed to read something in my own language. There was one bookshop (named inside the cover) that did had second hand ‘foreign language’ books. It was quite expensive, so I got the cheapest one. But I like the retro, kitsch cover.

Bone china teacup, saucer and plate

This was part of my final year Fine Art project about tea. It was another charity shop find. I don’t remember which one – I had a set of about eight that I’d go between. It’s really just a token gesture to give away this part, reducing it to a matching set of two rather than three.

Crossing the Chasm

When I first worked in Technology PR I had an opportunity to go on a press trip to Paris for a conference. We were out at La Defense. It was exhilarating – I was covering someone else, so it was a real bonus to whiz around Paris, fixing up meetings with Americans. I had a lovely chat with a guy from the Technology Guardian – he said I had to reading Crossing the Chasm, so I asked for it for Christmas. It’s untouched, but I still have an idea what the chasm is.

Two iron candlesticks

A birthday present. They remind me of when I first moved to London and was working. I think we thought it was a grown-up thing to have. I’m not sure if I like them or not, but I’ve continued to feel that I should have candlestick holders.

Help, I can’t draw!

I worked for a time in a university library. The university ran a PGCE course. The library had a clear out of books they didn’t think they needed anymore. As library staff, we were discreetly allowed to take home a few, and I came across this pictorial work book of the Bible, instructing primary school teachers how best to represent Biblical figures. I couldn’t let it go. I’m still thinking I should find a use for it.

Pink bath mat

After a long-term relationship ended I spent a lot of time decorating my room and had a spending spree in Ikea to fill in some gaps. I put matting all over the floor to cover the nasty, rented house carpet. And this bath mat filled in as a pink rug.

Cabbage cast

It’s something I’m very proud of, from a day-long project on Art Foundation. It looks so delicate it seems a shame to throw it away.

Picture Pins

When we moved into a flat together we read the contract very carefully (she was studying law). It said we had to use some special type of steel pin to put anything up on the walls, so we found these picture pins thinking they looked proper. But we never got round to putting anything up in the whole year we lived there.

Flower sewing kit

It was my first sewing kit – I had it as a child and I had a fascination with the image on it. So I kept it going as a sewing kit for as long as possible, though now it’s completely defunct.

Hotel sewing kit

I think I partly kept it because it said ‘sawing kit’. And you never know when these things will be useful. It came from the best hotel in Ljubljana, which is next to the palace, where a friend of mine got married to a Slovenian woman.

Cylindrical pink box

A present from Petra. She had decorated it with hearts, perhaps even decorated the whole thing. I can’t remember if it was a birthday or a Valentine’s Day present. I think it contained a necklace I never liked – we had a minor row because I didn’t wear it. But it’s hard to get rid of the box because I know she spent time decorating it so immaculately.