I first saw him at the airport, in 2012.
The Hong Kong International Airport, actually. My partner and I were sitting in a bar, enjoying the end of our wonderful European holiday before the flight home. We decided to celebrate those last sweet moments of freedom by ordering a drink.
I can’t remember what drink I ordered (definitely a cocktail). When they delivered our drinks, I saw him – this adorable tiny yellow giraffe – swimming in my drink, and immediately decided he should come home with me as a memento of our holiday. Yes, he's a giraffe swizzle stick. I didn't care.
I carefully bundled him up (he’s very fragile) and stowed him away.
We named him Mr G.
Back home in Brisbane, Mr G became quite the character. Larger than life!
This little figure had a huge personality that filled our home and he whispered all sorts of stories to me.
Mr G sat on the bench in our kitchen while I cooked, and told me about his colourful days serving cocktails at that bar, and all his previous jobs. He had always wanted to live in Australia and had hoped to hitch a ride with us. He fulfilled his dreams of having his own cactus garden (which also moved onto the kitchen bench) - I'd been collecting cactii and succulents since my early university days.
He’s tall (for his size) with short legs. He's canary yellow in colour, has pointy ears and a sweet face.
But he’s no ordinary giraffe. He’s a business owner and entrepreneur. When it came time to choose a business name for my art and design studio, it needed to reflect the spirit of travel. I couldn't go past Tiny Giraffe.
I eventually moved Mr G from the kitchen into my office, where I sat him on my desk. He sat patiently by my side while I worked away into the night, with the music always on (he prefers jazz and lounge, I prefer punk rock). In the beginning, when Tiny Giraffe was just an idea, I used to get home from work and start my drawing - many late nights and weekends were spent with Mr G.
In 2016 I moved to Sydney (hello beautiful Balmain!) and was terrified Mr G wouldn't make the trip. I packed him a tiny box, with other precious, delicate items. He made it in one piece and we loved our new home. I used to cart him down to the East Balmain ferry terminal and take photos of Mr G in front of the Harbour Bridge.
In 2018 I moved back to Brisbane and Mr G unpacked his belongings. He still sits on the desk beside me while I draw your precious artworks (you might catch him in Instagram stories!). In 2021 I finally went full time into Tiny Giraffe, and now Mr G and I are lucky to chat every day. He's a keeper.