In the studio with…
MOLLY MAHON
Step into the world of Molly Mahon, the creative visionary behind her eponymous textiles and homewares brand, Molly Mahon Studio. With a range of new bold and beautiful designs just launched, we chatted to Molly about the creation of her latest ‘Bloom’ collection.
Originally christened ‘Dahlia Mania,’ the ‘Bloom’ collection features five new patterns that pay tribute to the kaleidoscope of hues found within this magnificent flower. We sat down with Molly to hear all about the inspiration behind her latest work – how she chooses pigments, her top tips for artists starting out in textile design and where her creative journey will be taking her next.
What tends to be your starting point when designing a new collection?
MM: I see pattern and colour everywhere and this visual inspiration is what forms the basis of my designs. There are thousands of natural shapes that can be instantly translated into block print designs. Petals and leaves, particularly four-leaf clovers, are some of my most favourite pattern-making tools. Nature has always been one of the greatest muses for arts and crafts and provides a vast mood board – an infinite treasury of patterns, textures and colours, an endless scope for inspiration. I’m very lucky to live within a forest in the English countryside and can pop out of my back door to pluck inspiration off the ground.
There are some really simple patterns that we see in nature all the time, often without realising. Circles in a tree trunk or ripples in a lake. Spots on the wing of a butterfly or ladybird, raindrops, toadstools… I love a spot! Stars in the sky, star anise, and have you ever chopped an apple across the middle? Geometric designs found in honeycomb, cobwebs and snowflakes. The list is endless.
I soon realised I didn’t need to draw an exact replica of the leaf or flower we had collected. Instead, I took the outline – the simple feeling of the shape – and re-imagined it to the point that it was still recognisable but teetered on the edge of becoming a geometric design. This, I believe, is why nature and block printing are so naturally aligned. Everything found in nature can be drawn in its simplest form to become a print.
Where did the inspiration come from for Bloom?
MM: Each new collection starts with a seed of an idea and then like a glorious bloom it pokes its head out of the ground and starts to wind its way upwards, resulting in a full and open collection of colourful pattern, its face turned towards the sun hoping it will be loved by everyone that passes.
Bloom was inspired by my obsession with the abundantly blooming dahlia. This fabric is a pure celebration of this wonderful flower in all her multitude of colour. It’s a collection of five fabric designs and lovely cushions, all handblock printed in India. Also in the collection is a chequered design – I have learnt over the years that a geometric really helps balance a floral print in a room scheme. Something solid and bold grounds the more free pattern of a floral repeat. They are very useful to use in interiors as there is no start or finish flowing fluidly across curtains, or over a chair.
Other designs in this collection are Mughal, where I remain inspired by the romance and effect of miniature paintings that were produced so prolifically during the reign of the Mughals, a lovely bold wide stripe and a print inspired by the vases I had made. In this new collection I continue to explore the dynamic colour range that has so inspired me from my travels to India as well as introducing a few new colours that caught my eye recently, from peachy tones to sap greens.
There were a number of ceramic references, where were you drawing these from?
MM: All good blooms need a vessel. With a recent penchant for pottery, having held workshops at The Land Gardeners’ Wardington Manor where dahlias were shown in full regalia bloom, and partaking in a talk during a Constance Spry Exhibition at the Garden Museum last year I became fascinated in the vessels and realised that I could turn a full circle if I could make my own vases alongside growing my own dahlias to represent the inspiration in my pattern design.
How do you go about choosing the different colourways for each fabric design?
MM: I definitely have an emotional reaction to colour. If you hold up five colour cards, I’m not going to pick the grey one, I’ll pick the pink one! Colour brings me a feeling of joy, sometimes to the extreme; I can feel euphoric when I see certain colours together. I can’texplain it, but I always make my decisions with my gut.
I obviously love bright bold colours and certain colour combinations speak to me more than others. I take great pleasure in experimenting and would encourage everyone to do the same to find the colours that give you a lift. I’m absolutely mad about punchy red and pinks together for example – I find them very warm, energetic and life enhancing together. If it doesn’t give me an instant feeling of joy, then I don’t add it into my palette!
What are your top tips for artists starting out in textile design?
MM: Molly Mahon Studio began, in 2012, as a passion project, but is today a global lifestyle brand whose mission is to keep the art of block printing alive. When I started out, I wanted it all and was terribly impatient, pushing beyond what was reasonable and achievable. Now I would say to those starting out, take a deep breath, do one thing really well first and then the next.
Who are your creative heroes?
MM: I am greatly inspired by Vanessa Bell – an English painter and interior designer, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. She helped to break down the barriers between fine and applied arts, believing art should be available to all. Her freedom to experiment led her to apply paint and pattern to any surface, from walls to doors with no rules. I truly love this sense of abandon.
I have poured over the works of Peggy Angus, Barron & Larcher, Enid Marx and of course Marthe Armitage. All of them strong creative females who applied their artistic intentions to their lives and their work, often living in highly decorative houses, or wearing cloth they have printed. They knew how to express themselves and didn’t hold back. They all understood the importance of ‘art for life’ as Peggy Angus said. I am very inspired how art, life, home and work can all be so closely intertwined and how this craft can be very simply achieved at ones kitchen table.
DISCOVER MORE
Website: mollymahon.com
Instagram: @mollymahonblockprinting
Molly’s course ‘Master The Art of Block Printing’
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