The next maker I have interviewed for my Meet The Maker blogs is Sam of Designs by Sam Studio. I have stocked Sam’s beautiful botanical linoprints for many years now. I started with her Meadow Grasses prints early on as I am a bit obsessed with meadow grasses, and I have gradually added more and more of her designs. Last year, she printed some of her designs bespoke for me in different coloured inks and I am hoping to continue adding more of her unique prints to the shop.
Sam is someone I haven’t yet met in person, but I feel like I know her really well as we love so many of the same things. It was so lovely finding out more about her favourite things in nature. I hope you enjoy reading more about her and her work.
1. What’s your favourite plant or flower?
That’s a tough one, it changes all the time and from season to season! I love anything that has a strong silhouette and shape; plants like fennel and artichokes, foxgloves and cow parsley. Oh, and honeysuckle! But my main loves will always be meadow grasses and ox-eye daisies, I never get bored of seeing them and drawing them. They provide endless inspiration – ox-eye daisies are just joyful and add light to my prints.
2. What’s your favourite tree?
It would have to be the beech tree, they’re beautiful throughout the seasons.
3. Coast, woods, mountains or meadows — where do you feel most at home in nature?
Definitely meadows! I am lucky enough to have traditional hay meadows bordering my village, unchanged for centuries, and so much of my inspiration comes from there. I’ve lived in the countryside all my life and I love walking along the canal or through the fields where I live, observing the plants and flowers in the hedgerows and verges.
4. What’s your favourite thing to draw, and what drew you to it?
My favourite thing to draw is always flowers and grasses; I’m drawn to their silhouettes and their often-overlooked details, as well as being fascinated by the folklore surrounding wildflowers. I’m forever stopping to pick or photograph them, even more so now that I have a curious toddler in tow.
5. What made you start making?
I’ve always made and been creative in one form or another – I don’t know how I would survive without it and can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating something or other! I studied for a Fine Art degree and explored lots of materials, but I particularly concentrated on linocut after my Dad passed away; the meditative, multi-layered process of the medium has been a brilliant focus and therapy which I’m very grateful for. Having a creative outlet feels like a great privilege.
6. What does a perfect making day look like for you?
I don’t get any full days making anymore as I fit my practice around looking after my two-year-old daughter full time, usually after her bedtime. A dream one though would start with a country walk, some drawing time, packing orders and some carving and printing! Lots of lino carving, as that is my favourite part.
7. What’s the last thing in nature that stopped you in your tracks?
Lots of things – I’m forever stopping to take photos! Silhouettes and shadows usually catch my eye though – my most recent standout one was the meadow edge at my allotment, full of ox-eye daisies, grasses, buttercups and bramble branches in bud reaching out against the bright blue sky.
8. Which season shows up most in your work, and why?
Definitely spring going into summer. Although I can see the beauty in winter, I really don’t like the cold – so I find myself emerging at the same time as all of the fresh green shoots and flowers! Everything is just bursting into life and I find that very inspiring, it’s like seeing everything anew.
9. What do you hope people feel when they buy your designs?
Overall, I hope that my prints bring people joy and a sense of calm into their space. I’d love for them to find moments of connection to nature and the world around us, for my prints to perhaps take them back to a moment or a particular plant that has a special feeling or meaning for them. We often don’t find time to look at the little details, like the often-overlooked grasses and weeds and wildflowers, and I hope my prints provide an opportunity to do that.
10. What are you working on right now, or what’s coming next?
After a recent house move and running around after a toddler, my brain is bursting with ideas but I haven’t had the time to commit them all to print just yet! I’ve recently completed some illustrations for a book that will be published in September, and I’ve been working on a selection of meadow-inspired prints that are destined to become a range of greetings cards. I also have several larger linocuts in the early stages – inspired by countryside verges filled with cow parsley, the symbolism of flowers and my allotment.
You can browse all of Sam’s stunning linocut prints in my online shop, including some that have been printed in bespoke colour inks especially for me, like these golden sunflowers.
