Dotte is the UK’s first second-hand market place for stylish kids clothes, and I’ve created some fun and messy lettering and scribbles for the new brand which is launching soon! I painted loads of shapes and lines and wording in acrylic paints and large flat brushes, and worked with a very talented graphic designer who pulled it all together.

I actually can’t wait for it to launch because I really want to make a huge change in how I shop for my daughter, I want to buy more second hand for her and will find it so much easier being all in one place - it’s a total cliche but time is so precious with little ones and being a working mum, you just look for easy solutions.

As someone who travels between London, Italy, France quite often, I feel a sad pining for my favourite places, yearning to be by the sea soaking up the good life. I’m a working mum during a pandemic (and let me tell you, that is a recipe for total chaos) so the closest I’ve got to a carefree feeling is a few weary hours after my baby goes to bed, when we have been treating ourselves with lovely food and drink to make up for missed fun times.

Chilled red wine is a summer favourite in my family, often homemade, in a litre bottle, simple, rustic and delicious. And so here is my recipe for Pesche Al Vino, Peaches in Wine - a Southern Italian sweet boozy treat for a hot summers day. Close your eyes and dream of Italy.

Pesche Al Vino

4 lovely ripe peaches
1L of light red wine (my preference is a Aglianico or Grangnano local to my Campania region with gentle bubbles, but a Montepulciano or other light red will work well here)
A couple of tablespoons of white sugar
Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Slice the peaches into wedges and place into a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and toss until they’re completely covered, I like them sweet, adjust as you need. Pour the lemon juice over the peaches, muddle the juices with a spoon and scoop into a large jug. Top with the red wine, mix and keep in the fridge for as long as you can wait. Ideally at least several hours, so prepare in the morning to devour with a late lunch. Mix the wine every time you serve to gather all the lovely juices from the bottom of the jug.

Me and my Papà enjoying some Pesche al Vino at Da Adolfo on Laurito Beach a few summers ago <3

---

PAPIER make very beautiful personalised stationery and paper goods, so I was super happy to collaborate on their brand new framed art collection. We chose a selection from my A Casa original paintings series, and the wonderful designers at Papier made my work into prints which are available to purchase framed and mounted on the Papier website. They include my cocktail series, and these are complimented by other Dolce Vita inspired artworks like ‘Ciao Bella’ and ‘Limoncello’ which I painted during lockdown from my home.

You can read all about our collaboration, plus my perfect Negroni recipe, in my interview here. Pics below taken in my East London home.

I’m half Italian, and Easter is a big celebration in my family. It’s always an occasion filled with flowers, decorations, Spring colours and of course lots of good food and drink. This year, we’re just about to enter a long bank holiday weekend, it’s going to be quite warm, Spring has officially sprung, but we have to stay indoors, like nothing we’ve known before. But a mixture of traditional foodie dishes and some foraged decorations will help to keep spirits lifted in our house. Here are some ideas of ways we can celebrate, with the lockdown in mind: 

1. My home would usually be full of fresh flowers, but this year it’s time to get creative, I’m looking for garden blooms to pick, even herbs, or a blossom branch that can be cut into smaller arrangements.  Using greenery will give an organic wildflower feel, and add personality. Lay a tablecloth and arrange short stems, single flowers and foliage in different vessels, this can be anything you can find; jars, pots, small vases and even water glasses along the table. Light candles for a warm, inviting atmosphere, any shape or size you have in the house will do, dot them in amongst the flowers for the finishing touch to your Easter table. 

2. If you’re having any special drinks over the weekend, make a feature of it. Gather your glasses, paper straws, napkins and ingredients, and make a mini bar area, whether it’s a homemade lemonade tray, a Negroni or G&T bar cart, add stacks of fresh fruit and herbs and make it fun.  

3. Try a relaxed festive picnic lunch, in your garden (weather permitting), or even in the lounge, the change of scenery is good even within our own homes. Lay out a lovely throw, tons of cushions and arrange bowls of delicious food to tuck into. Decorate with homemade bunting, which could be great to make with children, you just need a length of string or ribbon and whatever paper scraps you have, plain, coloured or patterned is great, even newspaper will do. First tie your string up, then cut out some diamond shapes, fold them in half and place across the string.

4. For the main dinner a hand written menu on the table will always make a family meal feel extra special, this is something children or adults can do, and you can keep as a memento. Use a pen, paints or felt tips, list out the courses and drinks, and decorate with super simple drawings or patterns if you’re artistic. If not, you can download my free menu template here, simply print out and fill in!

Enjoy the weekend, and stay indoors. x

---

I want to give in some way, or do something that helps, even if it’s the smallest thing. I signed up to my local aid group to help anyone in need who is isolating, but the thing I do best is make stuff, so I’ve drawn a THANK YOU card design, for you to download and print out at home. It’s to give to someone who is doing something amazing, whether thats a healthcare worker, a postman, a local shop, or a really thoughtful friend. Or just to print out and stick in your window, or in a frame if you like it, I don’t mind, use it as many times as you want. There are so many people, who I am thankful for right now, keeping things going in these weird times.

My local hospital (where I gave birth) is desperately seeking PPE for it’s staff. An urgent fundraiser has been set up (read more about it here) I’m asking that you please please donate on the link below if you download my card, and 100% of this will be given to NHS Charities Together for Homerton Hospital. Thank you so much, and please share this, I’m aiming to raise £1000 for them, and their target is £15,000.

Donate to NHS Now

Click on the image to download the Pink Design

Click on the image to download the White Design

I read that when times are hard we truly see the best in humanity, and I do keep hearing of amazing things happening amongst the tragedy, I’m clinging onto these rays of light to keep my spirits up. Please share with me any way you’re using the card, tag me on instagram @ciao__chiara.

Stay safe x

---

I made this cake for my husband’s birthday a couple of days ago, we wanted something with Italian flavour, and I’ve had some requests to share the recipe. Since I actually merged a few recipes that I found online (disclaimer: I had no idea if doing that was going to work and had a backup cake-in-a-bag mix in the cupboard) I jotted down what I did, the method and ingredients list is below. You’ll need some Limoncello (we always have a bottle in the freezer), and some ricotta for the sponge, although given the lockdown situation I think this could be omitted, but it did make the cake super soft and savoury. If you can’t get the ingredients to make the cake at the moment, bookmark the recipe and make a sweet celebration cake this summer when a hint of normal life will hopefully resume.

I’m not really a ‘bake a cake’ kind of person, I don’t have enough time usually and I have a problem following precise recipes. But here we are in very strange, disconcerting times, and I find myself making cake. Birthdays are still happening after all! Have fun if you make it, and please let me know how it turns out. x

Heat the oven to 175C.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, beat in the eggs, then add the rest of the the cake ingredients (butter must be softened at room temp)
Mix them all with something more substantial than a fork (it was all I had).
Have a little glug of Limoncello if you fancy.
Try to get the batter as smooth as possible, if you have a mixer or whisk this will be simple, if you only have a fork it will take a bit more work.
Grease and flour a round cake tin (mine was 20cm), and put a circle of parchment paper on the bottom.

Pour half of the cake batter into the tin and bake in oven for 30-35 mins. It should brown gently on the top and smell amazing.

Start making the topping. Mix together the soft butter and sugar (this would ideally be fine/caster sugar), add in the cream cheese and limoncello until it’s smooth and thick. This tastes good. Stick it in the fridge.

When the first cake is ready, try and wait until it’s had a chance to cool, but if like me you’re impatient you can carefully prise the hot cake off the tin, and get it on a cooling rack. Scoop the remaining cake mixture into the tin and get it in the oven for another 30-35 mins. Resist eating the cake.

Nb: Obviously if you have two tins the same size you can bake them both at the same time.

Once both cakes have completely cooled (this is actually important), you can slather one in the Limoncello sauce frosting and stack the other cake on top.
Pour on the rest of the frosting mixture, let it drip down the sides, I went for a rustic messy cake. You can decorate with anything you have lying around, from dried flowers, foliage, lemon slices, or just leave plain.

---

A month ago I was just getting the feeling that things were getting back on track after my maternity break. Spring was just around the corner, I had a good few jobs scheduled in, some exciting collaborations in the pipe line, childcare was going well and I had settled into this new way or work/life balance. And like every single one of us, my life has quickly changed beyond recognition (for now), and we’ve had to adapt fast to make it work with a little one, and change in income. We’ve had to assume the roles of full time childcare, juggling work, housework and keeping sane, and it is massively overwhelming if I’m honest. But I know we are all in this, and we are so fortunate to have our health, and a happy home to hide away in, so I’m focusing on being really grateful for that right now.

The default thing for me to do with my time is create, it’s my actual joy, whether it’s drawing, designing, painting, styling, planning or sketching. So I decided to do something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and I spent the last couple of weeks creating a collection of original drawings and paintings, inspired by my love of Italy and the South of France. Places I was meant to be going to in the next few months, and places that mean a lot to me. These are made at my home for yours. A CASA. But dreaming of travel. The paintings are now for sale on my website, they are one-off originals. This is a step in a new direction for me - as a working artist - and my vision is that in a time when our travel is restricted I can share my work with a hint of the Dolce Vita lifestyle to enjoy from our homes. I’ve created the collection with black and dusky pink acrylic paints on natural and off white art paper. I would love to hear from you in the comments if my artwork resonates with any memories or mutual love of these beautiful places on earth.

I hope that in this strange and worrying time there will be a chance for us all to slow down, step back and reassess the busy hectic nature of modern life; figuring out what really matters, and remember what that is when this has passed. Don’t feel you have to be super productive in this time, it’s totally ok to just be quiet. Be kind to yourself and your family, it’s bloody hard, and weird, and overwhelming and no-one knows what is going to happen. And serious respect to you if you have kids right now in this situation.

We’re all in this together, and I pray we can move forward with a newfound respect for people, animals and our planet.

---

I was really excited when Maison Flâneur contacted me about a creating a Mother’s Day collaborative art print, a limited edition piece of art to celebrate mothers and women everywhere. I love their brand concept - it’s a shoppable curated selection of the most stylish hotels interiors and objects, what a dream - I am obsessed with boutique hotels and their artistic touches.

Together we decided on the theme of ‘Maman’ a womanly figure, a french feel, but the rest was down to me to create. I sought inspiration from vintage Christian Dior adverts, and referenced some Matisse still life floral and womanly pantings. My own mother is so chic, she inspired the peach painting. I created two final pieces of art, Maman Fleur, and Très Chic, painted in acrylic on artboard. They are available to buy as A3 limited edition prints, 50 of each, signed and numbered. You can also purchase both as a pair. Order the prints online by 19 March for Mother’s Day delivery.

I feel honoured that my work will live in the homes of wonderful women and mothers, thank you for your support and orders. I’ve done a little Q&A on the Maison Flaneur online magazine, if you want to check it out!

---

—- Me and my baby at home last year, mid photoshoot for a great new bottle brand! Photo by Liz Seabrook.

When we welcomed our daughter into the world in late 2018, I was at a crossroads with my work, and I found it difficult to separate myself from my then business Lamplighter London - which took up a lot of my headspace before it was consumed with breast pumps and awake times. I was sort of in limbo for a bit, whilst I sorted out what to do with my new artistic endeavours, then add a new baby into the mix who quite disliked sleeping, and breast feeding troubles. But I soon embraced not working and eventually just started making some artwork which was refreshing. After the dust had settled things sort of fell into place organically - as they seem to when you let go.

But I’m totally figuring it out as I go, and it has not been all rosy. It was a chicken and egg situation with childcare, we don’t have family on our doorstep, and nursery is eye wateringly expensive, especially when you aren’t going back into a salaried job. And relaunching my studio, feeling a bit out of the game and not sure where I wanted my career to go, were all things I was dealing with. I had to reevaluate everything, and I finally feel better for it.

Here are the five most important things I’ve learned so far about working for yourself, and being a mother.

1. Working around nap times is really hard. I had grand visions of putting the baby down, jumping on my computer with a coffee, getting all my shit done and carrying on with my day when she woke up. It rarely, if ever, worked out like that, the reality would be that she would wake up after 20 minutes and then I would get extremely stressed out about not achieving anything. Proceed with caution.

2. A strong routine is necessary if you plan to work for yourself. Boundaries, nap times, lists, responsibilities. Plan out the week in advance. Boring, boring, but so essential and actually a year on, quite liberating for time and mind. Figure out what you can actually achieve that day. I was really bad for making mammoth to do lists I would never get through and then feel a bit crap. Slowing down is difficult if you’re used to the fast paced all encompassing life of a business owner, and structure is essential.

3. Surround yourself with likeminded people. Most of the mums I was hanging out with in my maternity period were going back to a job after the break, and did not share the same issues I was facing (they were ace women and we shared many sleep deprived, wine filled afternoons laughing at ourselves). So I proactively befriended some local self employed mums, and together we set up a monthly meet up where we make something, drink wine and discuss work and our babes. It’s magic, I love them.

4. Give 100% to your baby when you’re not working. Likewise, give everything to your work when the baby isn’t there. Make the most of every minute.

5. It’s important to look after yourself and your mind. As a mother your head is pulled in so many different directions, the mental load is so exhausting, and you can’t do everything. I have to make time to shower (I know - a luxury), stretch, meditate, shop, read interiors mags, do a class, book a pedicure - things I like. My husband does the early shift with the babe - every day - so I get a tiny window of peace to get ready. Sometimes I start work at 7am, sometimes I go back to sleep, and I think either one is ok. When I started factoring in things for me it made a huge difference to my mental wellbeing.

   I’m working on having the right balance, spending time doing things that I really want to and that matter the most. We’re all doing our best and somehow we all manage it. Because women are bloody awesome!

I N S T O R E + O N L I N E

To celebrate mothers and women, my good friends at Evermore London asked me to personalise and paint their beautiful candle boxes, which will make the perfect Mother’s Day gift. If (somehow) you don’t know of Evermore their candles are made from luscious black soy and rapeseed wax, dreamy scents and sit in slick black and gold pots - which everyone reuses afterwards because they’re so damn pretty.

For the collaboration I chose a colour scheme to compliment the beautiful packaging, and we decided on a Spring theme, dotting painted flowers, blossom and juicy fruit illustrations along with the name of the recipient. See some of my working studio shots below. These handpainted gift box editions are available on the Evermore website until March 13th, just choose ‘personalisation’ at checkout.

Plus, come meet me at Fortnums! I’ll also be working on the Evermore boxes at my first in-store event of the year at Fortnum & Mason in London, which I’m pretty excited about, and I am definitely going to raid the food hall afterwards. I’ll be personalising all boxes purchased on the day and we can have a chat while the paint dries. Let me know if you’re coming down!

Fortnum & Mason - 2nd Floor
181 Piccadilly, London, W1A 1ER
Thursday 19th March, 1pm - 5pm

Nothing is permanent, nothing is finished, nothing is perfect ~ Wabi Sabi

Hello! I’m Chiara Perano. I used to be known for my bespoke stationery and calligraphy studio Lamplighter London, which I have decided to close for a number of reasons. Maybe you came on a workshop of mine, maybe we worked together, or you bought my book Nib + Ink. Things have changed for me since then, and my journey into Motherhood has made me totally rethink how I want to live my life, and I’ve been connecting with my roots artistically and personally. 

I have created a new art collection under my studio rebrand Ciao Chiara blending a love of nostalgic lettering, brush illustrations, interiors, food and slow intentional living (the Italian way). I sell artistic items (see some below) and work as a freelance artist, designer and illustrator, and I’m looking forward to reconnecting and collaborating with other creatives, designers and brands. You can still find me on instagram, join me there to chat lettering/art/pizza, and you can see behind the scenes at my home studio. Thank you for sticking with me through this transition, I’m so excited to be back, inspired and ready. 

Chiara x