Charlie Archbold

Fact File

The best thing about my job:

• Using my imagination. I never know what I will think up.
• Freedom to be myself. I don’t like to be tied down.
• Collaborating with other artists.
• I can work when I like and I don’t have to be somewhere at a certain time like lots of jobs.
• It is really FUN.

My favourite food:

• Cheese. And more cheese. If I was going to be stranded on a desert island I would take a world cheese board with me.

My dream car:

• A fancy mini coupe convertible. A racing green one.

My worst injury:

• I got run over by an electric bike. I got hit as I was running for a bus—my bad—I didn’t look left and right. Take that as a lesson. No broken bones but I was very bruised and shaken.

My favourite colour:

• I love trees and plants. I grew up in England which is very green. Another favourite green place for me is the lush rainforest of far north Queensland.

My favourite movie:

• Hard to pin down to just one so – Star Wars, Inception, Shawshank Redemption, Sophie’s Choice, Wizard of Oz and 50 First Dates.

My hero and why:

• Again, hard to pin down to just one so – Jane Austen because she wrote amazingly successful and poignant books well before women were even allowed to vote. Charlotte and Emily Bronte for the same reason and Mary Shelley. Another woman writer who I really admire is Margaret Atwood and the way she explores complex gender issues through story.

My favourite possessions:

• My grandmother’s ring which I never take off. It belonged to her grandmother, so it is really old.

If I wasn’t doing my current job, I would like to be:  

• I would love to be a florist. It would be so joyful and creative to work with plants and flowers every day.

The most important things in life:

• Love—being loved and having people to love.
• Family in all its many shapes and forms.
• Nature—getting outside is the best tonic to so many of life’s ups and downs. We need to take care of our natural places.
• Kindness
• Travel. Exploring the world that we are part of builds empathy and understanding.

My Ambassador reading tips:

• Read what you want.
• Sometimes read what you don’t want because that way you learn about other perspectives and things you never even knew existed.
• Read to use your imagination because you want to keep it strong for all areas of life.

Other Information:

• I have a website and blog – Charlie Archbold