Born in the UK, I spent my early childhood in Rome, Italy, where I was brought up bilingually by my British mother and Italian father. Back in England I was drawn towards languages and creative writing at school, and fell in love with French literature. I went on to study French and Italian at Oxford University (1989–93), and spent my third year in Marseille (1991–92), where I taught English and art history to French school students. It was in Provence that I discovered photography, wine and bouillabaisse. In my final year at Oxford I was awarded the Heath-Harrison scholarship, which I used to finance an art history study trip to Florence.

After graduating (1993) I moved to London and worked as a photo editor, researcher, producer and art buyer for international book and magazine publishers including Phaidon Press, Thames & Hudson, Taschen, John Brown Media, The Condé Nast Publications (GQ, Vogue, Easy Living) and IPC Media (Marie Claire, In Style). I also guest lectured in Photojournalism at the London College of Communication. During this time I gained my Master’s degree in History of Art (2001) from Birkbeck College, University of London (Dissertation: ‘Marketing art in the Renaissance.’). I followed this with a course in translation studies at the University of Westminster (2004–05), and obtained the Chartered Institute of Linguists’ Diploma in Translation in 2005 (literary and business papers), after which I turned freelance.

In 2007 I moved to Vancouver, Canada, where I divide my time between the city and the wilderness.