Jenny Aveyard

Jenny Aveyard is a very talented illustrator, she has recently illustrated A Dog's Guide to Happiness which was reviewed in the February/March issue of the magazine.

Jenny was born and brought up in Broughty Ferry, described as the 'jewel in Dundee's crown', and from an early age was fascinated by animals - in particular dogs. She also loved drawing and even as a young child she was constantly sketching dogs - real and imaginary. She remembers her father bringing home a comic for her sometimes, which featured a cartoon of Paddy Paws, a Golden Cocker Spaniel. Jenny was desperate to have a dog, so eventually her parents relented and Honey (who obviously had to be a Golden Cocker Spaniel) became her first dog.

Jenny studied a degree in Textiles and Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, one of the top art schools in the UK. During her time as a student she also spent her vacations developing her culinary skills as assistant chef in a Scottish shooting lodge; this experience cemented a lifetime affinity with cooking.

After graduating she went on to a brief stint at the Museum of Scottish Tartans where her most interesting experience involved exhibiting an extremely large pair of bloomers belonging to John Brown! However this was swiftly followed by a year in interior design in Glasgow, before landing her dream job with a London company, which specialised in wall coverings and worked exclusively with architects. Jenny was in her element for the next ten years designing and managing marketing material and organising photographic shoots, exhibition stands and sales conferences. At the same time she also managed to continue painting by taking private commissions for landscapes.

Then in a bit of a baptism of fire, Jenny moved to Devon with her husband Nick and their four-week-old daughter, Chloe. Jenny's focus moved rapidly from photo shoots to nappies as she embraced the latest phase of her life. She continued to take painting commissions and later worked in sales and marketing for a number of years at Broadley Speaking in Tavistock. Then in 2013 she spent some time creating fruit and vegetable illustrations for her sister's Fresh Food Club website in Australia. Later that year, when Jenny visited her sister's house in Sydney, she was introduced to Tracey, who writes the popular dog blog 'Wagging World'. Tracey had seen Jenny's illustrations for her sister's cookery website and suggested the idea of a book of illustrated 'dog' quotes. Jenny started working on a collection of humorous illustrations and when Tracey moved to the UK at the end of last year they decided that it was 'now or never'. They had 2000 copies of A Dog's Guide to Happiness published in October 2015 and sold 1000 by the start of 2016. They are now planning two more books: A Dog's Guide to Love and A Dog's Guide to Life.

A Dog's Guide to Happiness is available locally at Bookstop (Tavistock), Drake Vets (Tavistock &Yelverton), Liquorice (Tavistock) and The Stables Cafe at Mount Edgcumbe or online at adogsguidetohappiness.co.uk (price: £5.99) or on Amazon.

For wholesale enquiries please contact Tormark, Gardners or Bookspeed.