Lisa interviews Stephanie, otherwise known as Me and My Bloomers, the pressed flower artists and natural dyer best known for her beloved cards.
Can you tell us what you do , in your own words?
Why does this question feel so difficult sometimes...I guess I specialise in pressed flowers and natural dyed fabrics. I use natural materials to make cards, artworks, wreaths, installations and sometimes textile artworks. I think I use Me & My Bloomers as a place for me to play creatively. I like to experiment with new ideas regularly, always working sustainably and thinking cautiously about what I'm putting into the world. The current bread and butters of my business are the pressed flower cards which are stocked in Liberty, Straw, The Courtauld, The Garden Museum and Soho Farmhouse and other independent stores. I also offer a service to preserve wedding flowers. Couples or friends and family of the happy couple, post me their bouquets after their wedding, I then press them to create an artwork, this is becoming increasingly more popular, it's a really beautiful way to hold onto your flowers from such a special day.
What is your earliest memory of a garden?
I have vague memories of other people's gardens, but only when my family moved from London to the countryside when I was 8, did a garden take on new meaning. I remember we played more as a family, it was a space to have fun and a place where dogs ran, my mum always had a lot of dogs. We also had an apple tree which was my first introduction into eating something from your own garden.
When I was growing up I didn't have any family members who grew things, so that interest came a lot later.
How has your relationship to nature changed through stages of your life?
It wasn't until I was 29 that I realised I wanted to create a career that celebrated nature, which began with growing flowers, I had no idea what I was doing, I ordered seed packets for flowers that I had never even seen in real life, but that first year was life changing, I finally found a connection to something and it absorbed me.
The need to walk in nature and feel the seasons has only gotten stronger as I've gotten older. I can now reflect back and understand why I personally found cities difficult, I have lived in London and Istanbul and I always had a limit where I'd crack and need to escape. My mind can be a messy place, being in nature daily is essential for me. Barefoot on grass and hands in the soil is me at my best.
How would you describe your garden now?
We moved to an old farmhouse in the Chiltern Hills in April this year, this is what I'd consider my first garden, I've had an allotment and grown flowers for weddings/events from a plot but a garden with grass and flower beds feels new. Luckily it's pretty sizable and well established, everything coming up is a surprise, so this year I'm just sitting back to learn it and let it put on its show and next year I'll squeeze in some of my favourite flowers. This year I've kept it simple and just added in some white cosmos, sweetpeas and jasmine along with artichokes, tomatoes and courgettes.
How are your surroundings reflected in your work?
At the moment I'm pressing flowers from the garden on a daily basis, the majority of these are used on our pressed flower greetings cards or artwork commissions. I'm excited to see the seasons change and as we become more settled I'm sure the changing colours will flow into my work.
How did you come to work with pressed flowers & natural dyes?
As soon as I started growing flowers I couldn't help thinking of ways to hold onto them, so alongside my floristry I started experimenting. It wasn't until 2020 when covid came to cause chaos in our industry that I needed to get creative and continue to make money. At a time when all weddings and events were on hold, I began making products from Irish linen which I naturally dyed using food waste such as coffee grounds, avocado stones, onion skins, then I moved on to using fallen bark and flowers. I became so absorbed in the process and the excitement to see the result, it was a good distraction.
What are you working towards?
I had a bit of a health scare this year and naturally my mind is looking towards holistic ways to heal. I'm right at the beginning of exploring becoming an art therapist.
In the meantime I will continue to capture the seasons through natural dyes and pressing.
Essential tools for gardening?
For me right now, a flower press and scissors. Also my 3 year old son Ru, he's becoming a great gardening sidekick.
What do you wear to garden in?
Anything with pockets, I have a large selection of scissors dotted around the place but they never seem to be there when you need them. Having pockets big enough to hold them is a must when you do finally locate them.
Stephanie wears the Saved by the Rose tshirt. Follow her.