I’ve taken a break these past two weeks, hence the lack of posts, but whilst on holiday in Fowey I went over to Padstow to photograph Jill Stein.

How does one define Jill? She is so many things: business woman (running jointly with Rick Stein The Seafood Restaurant and various other hugely successful businesses within the town), interior designer, accomplished cook, mother of three…

Jill’s talent for interior design, and that rare ability to assess a space and create a vision for it, is very impressive. Just glance at her portfolio and you’ll see what I mean. She has both an instinctive sense of style and an eclectic library of resources, the result of her travels all over the world.

Jill has masterminded all the interiors associated with the businesses she has grown with Rick: 40 guest rooms, four restaurants, three shops, a cookery school and pub as well as her own stunning home overlooking the sea.  More recently she has branched out into design consultantcy on various large private commissions and it was for this branch of her business that Jill asked me to photograph her. My brief was to produce some photographs of her within some of the interiors she has created as well as some general portraits for publicity purposes.

We had such a great time creating these together even managing to snatch a few down by the sea: