2019-06-01 Country Homes & Interiors

FEATURE

Tara King

PHOTOGRAPHS

alun Callender, emma lewis

Whatsparkedyourloveofblock

printing?iusedtoliveinBarnes,

veryclosetoa beautifulinteriors

shopcalledTobiasandTheangel.

Theownerrunsworkshopsandi

decidedtogiveblockprintinga go.

it waslikefallinginlovethefirsttime

i tried it; i’ve been hooked ever since.

Doyouhavea background

indesign?no,i’veworkedhard

trainingmyself.i wrotetorenowned

designermarthearmitage,whohas

beenprintingfromhandmadelino

cutssincetheFifties.sheinvited

metospenda daywithher,which

wasinvaluable.i thentookupan

apprenticeship,wherei learnedto

mix dyes, set fabric and print straight.

Wheredoyoufindinspiration?

ispenda lotoftimewalkinginthe

woodswithmychildren.Theyoften

takethetimetoinspecta beetleor

lookcloselyata bluebell,andit’s

taughtmetodothesame.i love

totakea leafandsimplifyit intoa

beautifulrepeatdesign.i neverfailto

bemesmerisedbytheblock-printing

processesonmyvisitstoJaipur– all

the colours, pattern and joy there.

What’sa typicaldaylike?ihaveno

set timetable – other than getting my

LEFTMolly’sstyleis joyful

andfunABOVEVibrant

colouris atthebrand’score

BELOW It’s a hands-on job

DESiGnER PROFilE

Meet Molly Mahon,

childrentoschoolontimeand

walkingthedog!i splitmytime

betweenthestudio,ournewlondon

outlet,myriadantiques,travelling

withmyworkshopsandmytripsto

india.wheni havethechancetobe

creative,i layeverythingout,makea

coffee, tune into radio 4 and get to it.

Describeyourworkspace.i’mvery

spoiltandactuallyhavetwo!The

tidyofficeandshowroom,andmy

garden studio – my messy space!

Whataboutworkshops?wehave

suchanexcitingeventsschedule

comingup,includingbothdayand

weekendworkshops. wechoose

to host them in places that will add

ZOeglenCrOssprintsontolinenfora refinedrusticeffect. 01625 724236,

zoeglencross.comHannaHwaTCHOrnchoosesmutedtonestocomplement

hercoastaldesigns. 07967 349603,hannahwatchorn.comsamwilsOncreates

lino cuts to print her illustrations. 01386 841116, samwilsonstudio.com

totheinspirationoftheday,including

CharlestonFarmhouseand

daylesfordOrganicFarmandwe

nowhaveoneinmonmouthshireat

the most beautiful private venue, too.

ifyoucouldgobackintime,what

advicewouldyougiveyourself?

Concentrateonwhatyoucan

achievetodayandbeokaywiththat.

iwasterriblyimpatientwheni first

started– i’dnevergettotheend

of my unrealistic to-do lists.

Sumupyourstyleinthree words.

Joyful, fun and happy.

MollyMahon, 01342 825700,

mollymahon.com

3 more printers to watch..