I wrote my first book when I was 10yrs old - taking it all far too seriously for my age. With glue on my hands I made the cover, carefully pressed my name into the author line, and wrote a dedication: “for all the girls out there” as though I already knew they were waiting.
It was a novel, very dramatic 😂 My teacher loved it. She gave it top marks. But what stayed with me wasn’t the grade - it was the feeling that I’d found something. A small, steady place to stand.
We didn’t live an extravagant life growing up, so I travelled by page. Books were my passports. My way out, my way through. My imagination stretched wide always hungry for more.
Even now, I feel it, that quiet goosebumps when I walk into a bookstore. Rows and rows of possibility.
I have never been overly concerned with how I look. That felt like a shallow river to wade in. But my mind - that was something else entirely. That was the landscape I wanted to expand. To fill it with knowledge, with stories, with questions that refused easy answers. Books gave me a kind of power - not loud or showy, but steady. A confidence that no matter where I found myself, I could always reach for a page and find a way through.
Today, @anabellitchfield and I sent our first book to print- “The First Hello.”
We’ve worked on big things before. Global campaigns, album covers, book covers, stories that belonged to others. We’ve seen our work printed, bound, sent out into the world.
But this is different.
This one carries our fingerprints. Years of watching, listening, holding space. Stories we didn’t rush. Moments we didn’t take lightly. It feels less like a project, and more like something we’ve carried for a long time… something that has finally found its way into form.
It’s a strange thing, a small dream. How it can sit quietly inside you for years and then one day, you’re holding it in your hands. ✨
I’ve been dreaming of designing my own book since I was a kid. So this is a real pinch me moment. And a very lucky thing to be working alongside another book lover @rivbennett who was equally eager to make this thing.
As a designer it’s really nice to be my own client… and work with someone who likes pretty much all the same things I do. So fun to lay out each page and play with words and photos and colour and space with no one to please but ourselves. There’s type that dances over a photo and type that demands attention. Some pages shout at full volume and some quietly whisper the sacred.
We’ve been impossibly fussy about all the custom finishes (which is definitely not a good choice for the profit margin… but it’s half the reason I want to make a book). Corporate greed is not our compass. I want to hold this thing. Finally in print, and not on a glossy slick screen… but weighty, tactile and something human hands will adore. The linen! The extra wide ribbon! The white screen print that so perfectly overlaps the blind debossing!
And of course it’s red. Again, something Riv and I are in total alignment on — RED FOREVER. It’s funny that when people think of motherhood they assign it pastel tones… we don’t see it that way. It’s not remotely soft and cutesy. It’s passionate. Its bold. It’s in your face. It’s iconic. It’s red.
Pre-orders help make it happen. So thank you for backing us. Means the world.
We hope you love this as much as we’ve loved making it.
x Bel (& Riv)
It’s been a minute but I have always been honoured to share my story and hopefully leave others inspired to pursue what is on their heart to do. When it comes to the arts and creativity there is so much more for all of us. Sending all the love. RIVER XO
HAIL TO THE MOTHER
Mother’s Day arrives with its own kind of weather. Bright and clear for some, heavy and stormy for others, and often both at once.
Motherhood is not a singular story but a layered one: made of arrivals and absences, of beginnings that are loud and others that are heartbreakingly quiet. It begins long before the first cry, and it continues in ways language often struggles to express.
Today we think of all mothers everywhere. Those with babies in their arms. Those with empty ones. We think of the women who took the place of matriarch within the inner circle, of grandmothers and aunts, sisters and cousins.
There is no hierarchy here, only recognition: that love has many forms, and none of them are lesser for being different.
However this day finds you, however the weather, we hope you are met with gentleness, moments of joy and celebration of what it means to be a mother.
Where would we be without the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart.
Our muses, always and forever. XO
It was huge honour for me to photograph Anthony Jones @nochancemovement / his is a story you almost wouldn’t believe unless you heard it from his own mouth. It’s raw, unfiltered. A life pulled from chaos and carved by redemption.
Recently interviewed on a 2 part series on podcast @icatchkillers and now stepping into a new chapter launching his own podcast with upcoming conversation with @big.chocky Some stories don’t just get told they break through.
Grateful to witness it.
Even more grateful to help it be seen.
HAPPY 17th to my guy @romebennett - my giant 6ft5 man who continues to inspire me every day. Your leadership, your kindness, love for your family and others is what draws people to you. We are so proud of watching you captain at school and for taking opportunities when they present themselves. You are hardworking, soft hearted and say-it-how-it-is-so-we-don’t-die-wondering kind of guy and I love you and respect you. Hope you have the best day celebrating.XO
Congrats to my guy @romebennett for becoming part of the photography team @penrithpanthers - best days ahead kid 🙌🏼🙌🏼 Hard work brings opportunity and we couldn’t be prouder XO
15 YEARS TODAY @knoxjbennett11 - you are my joy. From the moment you were born you have kept me on my toes and kept me laughing and pushing me to be better. I love the man you are becoming, I love your dedication to team, leadership and competitiveness, your WILD imagination and confidence. I have no doubt you will get what you go after I life. Thankyou for adding so much goodness to our family and choosing us to be where your investment lies. I love you kid.
PRE-ORDERS NOW LIVE ⚡️
Ten years.
Hundreds of births.
One book that holds it all.
The First Hello BOOK is a limited first-edition art book that honours the courage, wonder and breathtaking humanity of birth. No filters. No perfection. Just real women and real moments — raw and unforgettable.
Publishing it is a big leap for us — exciting, vulnerable, a little terrifying if we’re honest. We’re independent and this is our first-ever print run.
Pre-orders don’t just reserve a copy… they make the book possible. You’re helping bring these stories into the world.
Thank you for believing this work is worth holding. Thank you for helping us celebrate the miracle of arrival.
x RIVER & BEL (link in bio) ✨
