One chilly afternoon not last autumn but the autumn before, photographer Kim Daly and her husband came to our farm to shoot some photos for Alphabet Journal. Our family with our tangly hair, our mismatched boots and our raggle-taggle clothing got to work amongst the autumn leaves making a campfire in the garden and cooking damper on a stick.





At that stage we didn't know a lot about Luisa Brimble's dreams for Alphabet Journal. We didn't know if it would be an online magazine or print, we didn't know when or how often it would come out and we didn't know what it would look like when eventually it did. But we adored all the little scraps of info we did know about it all the same; a few favourite contributors, stories of families, stories of real life unstyled and true.

The Alphabet Journal photo shoot felt like the first magazine shoot in a long time that we didn't have to clean up for, that we could just be ourselves, that we were enough.




We had a gorgeous time together cooking and eating, feeding the fire and knitting, and just hanging out enjoying each other's company. And Kim wandered around us snapping photos on her proper film cameras, answering all of our questions and politely tasting all the camp-fire cooked tasty morsels she was offered.

By the end of the day our bellies were full, our clothes smelled of smoke, we all felt like old friends and we were dying to see what this magazine would look like when it came out.





One year later, and with our Jazzy on the front cover!!!! Alphabet Journal the magazine was sent in hand wrapped brown paper packages tied up with string, to homes all over Australia and all over the world.

Alphabet Journal feels beautiful in my hands, smells comforting when I bury my face in it and is filled with 160 pages of inspiring, real, gorgeous, messy, interesting, true stories. Alphabet Journal is such a treat. Our family feel absolutely thrilled to have played a little part in helping Luisa Brimble's dream come true.

On the very first page there is a bit that reads ;

Alphabet is a magazine for people who make a home together. We believe that a home is a lived space and not a showroom. We believe that when families return to the basics - acts of gratitude, curiosity, collaboration - they are writing the kinds of living stories that are meant to be shared. This is where we share them.

Thanks for the photos Kim, thanks for the beautiful magazine Luisa, congratulations to everyone involved in Alphabet Journal issue A. We love it and can hardly wait for the B issue.

Big love to your family from ours.

xx