Textile artist & designer
67/ Postcards from PE: Hastings with Bellamy Jean
In celebration of our upcoming High Summer Drop, we are excited to introduce our new series, ‘Postcards from PE’. Here we invite our artists to take us on a tour of their hometowns and meaningful locations that have impacted their life and work.
For our first feature, we invite you to hang with Bellamy Jean in Hastings, and learn about her favourite spots for a glass of wine, a culture fix and spots that have inspired her latest collection ‘Fruits of Life’, launching 27th July.
St Leonard’s is the place to be. It has many fab restaurants and bars to hang, but my personal favourite is Farm Yard. It’s a tiny restaurant next to the station serving seasonal food and natural wines.
Its sister restaurant, Boat Yard serves amazing seafood and is located in Heist; a new food and wine market spot right by the seafront. The staff and overall vibe are great and the weekday lunch menu is particularly special serving three small plates and a glass of wine for £16.50. The menu changes weekly- also while you wait for a table on a busy evening, the negroni from the cocktail bar is bang on!
The caves - They were first discovered sometime around 1783 and were originally used by smugglers avoiding the taxman. They also played host to a series of jazz concerts in the 1950s and rock concerts in the 1960s, and it is said that The Rolling Stones once played there. They have now been turned into a tourist attraction to exhibit the varied history that they hold below the West Hill.
At Rock a Nore when it’s low tide early in the morning - I love to get up early on the weekend and go to the beach when it’s low tide. It is a really special place to sit, reflect and watch my boys exploring the rock pools and splashing each other in the ankle deep water. The sky goes on forever and watching the clouds form over the glassy sea is an immense inspiration to my work.
Big Yin Gallery - Euan Roberts runs a great gallery space that also supports the local artistic talent. Currently showing at the Big Yin is a show called Burnt Orange featuring fellow Partnership Editions Artist Frankie Thorpe plus two of my other favourite local artists - ceramist Kelly Jessiman and painter Elizabeth Power. It’s a great place to check out on your way to the beach.
If you have children, read Lauren Estelle Jones’ guide to Hastings via Fox and Squirrel - it has great information on local restaurants and what to check out in Hastings.
SUN STAR- This is a piece of mine that reminds me of Hastings. It was an idea that came to me after my first summer in Hastings. Its concept comes from the clarity of the sky on a beautiful summer's day slowly drifting into the evening.
I did also see a fellow Partnership Editions artist Camilla Perkins’ painting of Rock-a-nore that definitely captured Hastings as the colourful place it is.
Hastings gives me a sense of space and freedom and therefore provides constant inspiration for me.
For many years I was cooped up in a tiny flat in west London and the room where I would embroider barely had enough space for my embroidery machine. We moved to Hastings about a year ago, and I now have the space practically and mentally to create.
I am also a short walk from the beautiful sights of Rock a Nore, the East hill, the West Hill and Hastings Castle which are amazing places to absorb the view.
