“I decided to choose this photo of Mila, my cat. There are two very big reasons why it’s sentimental to me. It’s an amazing photo of Mila, my beautiful moggy, who is just the most gentle, lovely companion I could have - especially because I live by myself. Every single day I come home, she always comes out to greet me. I cannot imagine what it would be like to not have that happen anymore.

Everyone that meets her and stays here at the yurt falls in love with her. She’s incredibly loving and sleeps with me every night. I love her to bits.

This photo is also very sentimental because it was taken by a dear friend of mine, Jay, who passed away 18 months ago suddenly. She was an amazing photographer, an animal whisperer and an angel in human form. It was a huge shock, her passing. She took this photo of Mila when she was looking after my yurt while I was in Asia for my business.

When Jay gave it to me, years ago, it was such a beautiful surprise, because I didn’t know she had taken it. She’d caught a beautiful moment. When I first looked at it, it almost didn’t look like Mila. She caught an expression of Mila that I actually don’t see very often. The combination of the fact that it was Jay who took this photo and that it’s of Mila, who is the most adored thing to me, makes it a very very precious object.”

What does sentimentality mean to you?
“As soon as I think of the word sentimental, it has the connotation of something that you’ve had for a long time. But I think it can be absolutely anything that simply means a lot to you for whatever reason. It’s actually quite a simple word. Something that you have a lot of feeling and affection for, that means a lot to you, whether it stirs past or recent memories. With Mila, she’s the most sentimental thing to me, and I am feeling that in every moment that I’m with her.” - Sarah, Golden Bay, Tākaka (Interview: Chloe Mason). Find Sarah: Amika Designs, Golden Bay.