08/15/2025
✨ From our most recent : here are Thao Lam’s three favourite items!
💛 The Kitchen Table
We don’t have a big space so our dining room also acts as my studio space. As a family we spend hours at this table: eating meals, chatting, doing homework, gathering for meetings, hosting parties, playing board games, working on puzzles, watching *The Simpsons*, baking, drawing, making crafts and making picture books. When Maddie was little she used to play under the table while I worked. My work tends to spread out, especially when I am working on final art, so she would do her colouring or reading under the table by my feet. When it’s play time, our table turns into a tent, school or a restaurant with dinosaurs in chairs eating my good cheese. The cats also use the table too, either stretched across on the table top or hiding under the table, or curled up on one of the chairs taking a nap. This table holds many memories.
💛 Maddie’s Fish Art
I am very lucky to be part of an industry that I love but sometimes I get bogged down by the business side of picture-book making (scheduling, deadlines and contracts) that I forget to enjoy the creative process. This piece of art, made by Maddie when she was five years old, is one of my favourites. Bold colours, lots of textures and feels so spontaneous. Such joy radiates from it, she wasn’t concerned about colour scheme or composition, she was just creating stuff. Every time I look at it, I hear her voice telling me to just chill and have fun.
💛 Framed baby photos of me
This is the only baby photo of me. It was taken in a Malaysian refugee camp when I was three years old. It’s a digital copy of the original photographs since I wanted to frame the handwritten note at the back of the photo too. This photo is a reminder of where I came from, my family’s history and how far I have come.
🔗 Check out the full here: https://houseofanansi.com/blogs/anansi/studio-tour-with-thao-lam
📖 Thao’s new picture book, EVERYBELLY has earned ⭐ six starred reviews ⭐ so far! Learn more about it at GroundwoodBooks.com.
