STARTING FROM HOME
he landscape of Suffolk infuses
Kate Nicole’s botanical paintings. The field edges, hedgerows and gardens that surround her home are a particular inspiration: the delicate, architectural forms of cow parsley, dandelions, hydrangeas, alliums and ferns wind through her works.
Each piece is made with graphite, watercolour and thread, which is stitched on handmade dyed paper. Mounted in old French frames, the artworks have a refreshing simplicity. The muted, faded palette is a style now synonymous with Kate’s business, Oyster Bridge & Co. Complementing her paintings are a collection of hand-painted cards, hand-cut garlands and gift tags, poems and sayings.
“Creativity has always been part of my life,” says Kate. “I grew up in Suffolk, in homes bursting with inspiration – my parents were always coming back from trips to France, with unusual brocante [second-hand] finds and interesting antiques; and mum was always making special pieces out of old fabrics. She instilled a love of creativity in me.”
Kate studied A-level art and completed a one-year art foundation in fashion and textiles. “I always intended to go to university but by the end of the course I wanted to go off and explore.” At 18, Kate booked a one-way ticket to New Zealand, spending a year working and travelling before moving to Australia for two years, where she worked in rainforest and marine conservation. In her spare time, she would spend hours sketching and taking photos.
“I lived in a caravan in Coral Bay and became friends with an artist. We set up a screenprinting area in my van, designing and making
TAfter two further trips, working in the Seychelles and on a remote Scottish island, Kate returned home. “It was a hard phase, and I knew that I needed to settle down and work out which direction I wanted to go in. On the way home from the airport, we stopped in a local town and Mum pointed out a shopfront, saying that she would love some help on a new project: opening a small shop, selling all things French, rustic and handmade. “My parents had owned shops before but being part of the launch of this new venture marked a turning point for me,” Kate explains. “I helped them set up, and took another parttime job, too. On days off, I painted and stitched. I fine-tuned my style and showed my first collection of large-scale botanical paintings six months later, in 2012. This was the start of Oyster Bridge and Co and I haven’t looked back.
“The business began with no investment: I lived at home and saved to buy paints, papers, a sewing machine, threads and frames. My friend taught me how to frame, to keep overheads down. Everything has evolved organically.”
Until recently, Kate’s studio was based at her parents’ Suffolk farmhouse with cornfields and wild hedgerows to the front and a charming English country garden at the back. These habitats offered bountiful subjects for her work, and she relishes the wealth of flora and fauna on her doorstep. Kate tends to depict each species individually and out of context, without its natural background – a single fern frond, a lone butterfly or a sole hydrangea head, set against a white background. This style is reminiscent of classic botanical illustration, combining keen observation of the species with beautiful artistry. “I never reproduce a painting; they evolve naturally with their own unique details,” she says.
The peaceful, whitewashed, beamed studio with its wonky red-brick floor is an airy space, full of nooks containing aspirational moodboards. Kate creates her own beautiful