Sam Hillman, New York

Who are you?

My name is Sam, I’m twenty-three.

Where are you from?

I grew up about half an hour north of Wollongong, on the South Coast of Sydney.

Sam’s room features IN BED linen duvet set in Charcoal

Where do you reside now?

I don’t, really. I’m a bit all over the place at the moment, in a good way. I’m currently floating about Scandinavia, spending much of the European summer in Oslo and then relocating to New York in November. Prior to this I was living on a farm in the Byron Bay hinterlands with a vegetable patch and four chickens named after R&B goddesses so it’s been a bit of a whirlwind year.

What do you do?

I freelance, which is nice because I can work from anywhere; managing social media accounts for various clients, such as Pat & Stick’s Homemade Ice Cream and Ridiculously Delicious Peanut Butter. I develop and photograph recipes and marketing activities, write copy, dabble in a bit of product placement and put content plans into place. It’s all so insanely fun. I also blog sporadically over at le pirate and am a chronic over-sharer on instagram.

Do you have any morning rituals?

Yes to mornings! I’m an alarmingly early riser and a fairly indulgent breakfaster. I always eat a proper one and eat it slowly with something to read in a sunny place. I also run most days to the dulcet tones of 90’s R&B. By run I mostly mean a brisk walk that breaks off into a rough gallop here and there. I’m spectacularly uncoordinated.

What are your 5 favourite things?

Impending plane trips

sunbathing

salt water

white sheets

nice butter

What can’t you live without?

Lemon. I squeeze it on everything.

Any bedtime rituals?

I love a cup of peppermint tea before bed, though I’m usually drinking it to distract me from going back for more ice cream.

Favourite breakfast?

My weekend default is a slice of good sourdough with smashed avocado, marinated goat’s cheese and an embarrassing amount of salt, lemon and pepper. Also pancakes, which were basically invented for people like me to eat cake for breakfast without shame, and I’m okay with that.

Favourite scent?

Sunblock, chlorine and sheets that my mum has washed will forever be the top three.

What’s on your bedside table?

Right now? Oh god, nothing cool. A book; Speedboat by Renata Adler, and a Mastercard that isn’t talking to me because if there’s one thing I’m great at it’s living beyond my means. Also the wrapper to a raw vegan cashew bar that I wasn’t going to mention but here we are.

Favourite sound to fall asleep to?

Being warm and toasty and wrapped in clean sheets whilst it’s pouring with rain outside must actually be the most glorious thing in all the world.

Tips for a restful nights sleep?

Exercise. I always drift into a smug slumber if I’ve done something productive.

Tea or coffee?

If you’d have asked two months ago I’d have rattled on about my lofty aspirations to remain forever a tea drinker, but I’ve literally just started drinking espressos. This was initially born from a need to buy something cheap from Parisian cafes in exchange for their wifi (because eleven dollars for a tea is outrageous amirite?!). But I feel so deliciously grown up about it all the same.

Best solution for Monday morning blues?

I don’t really have Mondays – there’s literally no difference between my weekdays and weekends. But if there was and I did have Mondays in the traditional sense, then a little Destiny’s Child and maybe a little cake.

All images courtesy of Sam Hillman. Be sure to check out more of Sam’s travels, food and musings on her jealousy inducing instagram account.