Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background.
Hello. I’m Laura, a Canadian mom with a life-long interest in history, cooking and being creative. I have an Honours B.A. in history from the University of Toronto as well as a postgraduate degree in Communications. The last decade I’ve spent as a stay-at-home mom raising my children and independently learning, while juggling endless laundry and exercising my creativity with interests that coincide with my children’s passions. I enjoy a variety of historical topics including: Tudors, the French Revolution, Victorian, Classical and ancient Egyptian. I believe knowing more about the past allows for a broader understanding of the world we are living in now. Being creative about how we learn history, breathes new life into old stories which I feel is also very important. I think life should be spent learning, teaching, laughing and creating whenever possible.
What ignited your passion for Tudor history?
When I was young I read an article in one of those fun, but educational children’s magazines. It mentioned the Tudors and specifically Anne Boleyn and how she had six fingers on one hand and her ghost carried her head while moaning loudly. Of course none of this was particularly accurate, but it sparked my interest and I continued to learn about the Tudors. I wish my interest was sparked because of a museum visit or something less goofy, but that is the silly truth.
What’s something you love about where you live?
I live in Ontario, Canada and we do seasons particularly well. We have lovely springs, hot summers, beautiful autumn colours and abominable winters. I’m very fortunate to live in a suburb that is about an hour from Toronto, ten minutes to farms and just about one hour to Niagara Falls, which I visit quite frequently.
What are your hobbies?
I absolutely love crafting, cooking, sewing, upcycling and making creations for my kids. I love turning something not so great into something special. Most recently, I have taken a vintage, wooden dollhouse and turned it into a Tudor-themed dollhouse. Every piece I made for it was upcycled from items I already had around the house and I have tried to be as historically accurate as possible. Images of 16th century fabrics have been edited and transferred to cotton to make miniature items like bed curtains, napkins, a rug, a tapestry and a stool. Dollhouse remodelling has become a favourite hobby and I am planning on creating an Edwardian seaside cottage with mermaid accents next. I also love creative writing and doing amateur historic sleuthing.
What’s been one of your favourite episodes of ‘Talking Tudors’, and why?
I particularly enjoyed episode 53, The Halloween Special. I don’t think I can be convinced there is anything more interesting than discussing Tudor history and the paranormal. It was so strange that both times listening to the episode I had technical errors with the podcast. It was most likely some brief signal interruption, but it was so strange that it independently happened twice at different points in the podcast on different days and never during another episode. It really added to the ambience of the episode!
Share a brief story. It can be inspiring, funny, spooky, heartwarming or historical. Anything you like!
I was particularly fond of a fashion history book in my elementary school library which I would pull off the shelf at every opportunity. I’m very excited to have found a copy of the book last winter at a vintage book sale – The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Fashion by Paul Hamlyn. I found it locally and part of me is curious if it could be the exact copy I used to spend hours reading and fawning over.
When do you listen to Talking Tudors?
When I’m doing laundry, working in the kitchen or crafting. Doing laundry is terribly boring and repetitive for me, but I actually look forward to folding if I can have a cup of tea and sit on the floor and listen for the duration of a podcast. If I’m doing a Tudor-themed craft I definitely love to put on an episode, even one I’ve already heard, to give me some inspiration and put me in the Tudor mindframe.
Finish this sentence: I’d like to learn more about…
Hans Holbein the Younger. I have become obsessed with him. I often think of him as an artistic genius comparable to the musical genius of Mozart. He is such a fascinating and multi-talented artist. I would love to know what happened to his children after his death and more about his religious beliefs and relationships at the Tudor court. I would love for someone to find more of his sketches and paintings.
Tell us about someone you admire.
I absolutely love Dolly Parton. I respect her as an artist, philanthropist and businesswoman. I love her big smile and heart and have been singing her songs for as long as I can remember. Every time I learn something new about Dolly I like her even more. She is such a good person and an inspiration.
What’s something you’re looking forward to in the next twelve months?
I’ll be homeschooling my kids this year through an online learning program with our school district. I look forward to that challenge and the quality time we can share as a family. I am also working on some projects which I hope to complete to achieve some lifelong personal goals.
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