Hi, I’m Leah! A Pressed Flower Artist based in Somerset, UK, and Contempfleury is the brand under which I journal and share my artwork. Flowers and luxurious yarns are the materials that define my practice, balanced in unique and contemporary ways. Here is the story of how Contempfleury was born:
The seeds were sown for my business some years ago when my daughter was just two years old. Christmas came that year and I worried about the overwhelm that little kids face when confronted with a mountain of new toys. Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful for each and every toy she would recieve, but at the same time I was conscious of the plastic and future expectations wrapped in each gift. I knew she would be given too much, but desperately wanted to give my only child a gift to remember her second Christmas by too!
I flitted between gifting her nothing physical, to investing in a special piece of art that could be kept forever. Opting for the later, I searched for something handmade, original and timeless. I never found exactly what I was looking for but instead bought her a beautiful, classic, limited edition print. Now I’ve created this collection of wall art for other parents wrangling with the present dilemma.
A year later I found my life’s path changed and I found myself with more time at home with my daughter. I became immersed in nostalgia for my own childhood, and hobbies and a creative past was ignited. Pressing by day and embroidering by night, these two hobbies found a natural but unlikely fusion which have evolved over the years into the collections you see today.
Flower pressing has become a bit of an obsession, pressing page upon page of flowers and experimenting with their anatomy. I dissect individual petals, stigmas, leaves, ovaries and stems to achieve the best-pressed specimens. Each year I concentrate on growing one or two particular flower types and repeat the pressing process until I perfect it. Only satisfied when I achieve a delicate papery flower, preserved to the standard I’m looking for.
My love for luxurious yarns stems from a background in handknitting for Vogue Knitting and Rowan Yarns in my early career. As well as an MA in Constructed Textiles from the Royal College Of Art, London, you could say my DNA is rather woolly! I knew it would make me happy to use luxurious fibres with my flowers, so I did, and each equally contribute to my style.
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Like an artist might use a paintbrush, Pressed Flower Artist, Leah uses page upon page of flowers and ball upon ball of wool to add colour to her world and the Contempfleury portfolio. I hope you enjoy it!
