My Story

A smiling elderly woman with glasses and short gray hair standing outdoors with green foliage in the background.

I’m Helen, founder of HellieM Mosaics

I grew up just outside Ilfracombe. After many years living in other parts of the UK, I have come home to the North Devon coast - the place I belong - and where I can be close to my parents.

I now live in a small Edwardian terraced house, a short walk from the sea, with my partner and my best pal, Desmond diva dog

The Cupboard Studio

My studio is a much loved 1950s kitchenette cupboard, tucked into a corner of our home and filled with china, tools and half-formed ideas.

It was one of those things I simply had to have, long before I knew what its purpose would be. Eventually it has become the wonderfully impractical heart of HellieM Mosaics.

Small though it is, this is where forgotten china is sorted, broken, reconsidered and gradually transformed into something new.

A tabletop craft station with shelves filled with art supplies, bottles of glue, jars, containers, and various crafting tools, with an orange apron hanging on the side and a blue towel draped over the surface.
Close-up of a cluttered tabletop with broken blue and white patterned tiles, small game pieces, a black and yellow glue gun, jewelry, and papers on a blue fabric surface.

Every piece begins with a story

Sometimes it begins with a person, a place or a memory. Sometimes with a single piece of china or a costume jewel that is too beautiful, too curious or too full of history to throw away.

I gather the fragments, try different combinations and let the story guide what they become. A flower, a hare, a lighthouse, a hidden detail - each piece grows slowly from the materials rather than a fixed pattern.

That is why no two HellieM mosaics are ever quite the same.

Close-up of a colorful mosaic artwork with various green, blue, and white pieces, surrounded by a decorative gold frame.
Decorative mosaic sculpture of a rabbit, made from various colored floral-patterned fragments and adorned with buttons and small decorative items.

The story of the ladybird

Mosaics cannot be signed in quite the same way as paintings.

My mum has always called me “Ladybird”, so I began hiding a tiny ladybird in almost every mosaic as my signature.

Sometimes it is easy to spot. Sometimes it is tucked into patterned china, hidden among flowers or almost lost in the detail.

If a piece has no ladybird, it is probably one of my earliest works - made before the ladybird became part of the story.

Can you spot the ladybird?

Decorative metal seahorse sculpture with purple, pink, and black accents, featuring various charms and patterns, set against a plain white background.
A mosaic art piece in the shape of a mushroom, decorated with various patterned and colored glass and ceramic tiles, including a red ladybug figurine and green spherical accents, outdoors on a textured surface.
A colorful mosaic sculpture of a hedgehog made of various patterned and textured materials, including glass, beads, and metal. The sculpture's body features intricate designs and a large central gemstone, with small decorative elements like beads and metallic accents.

Look closely - the ladybird is never hidden in the same place twice.