A PRESSING business!
Old friends Melanie Molesworth and Julia Bird turn seaweed foraged from the Dorset and Cornish shores into works of art
‘A job that connects me to a friend, art and nature is a joy’
MELANIE SAYS:
‘Growing up, I adored art. In school, I was never happier than when I was in a classroom surrounded by paints and papers. I also loved going to the beach, so perhaps it’s not surprising that art and nature have become the backbone of the business that I run with my friend Julia.
It all began when I was browsing in an antiques shop, almost 40 years ago. I came across a folder of seaweed pressings that dated back to the 1820s. I was mesmerised by how beautifully intricate and well-preserved they were. I bought a selection and framed them on the wall in my London flat.
In 2011, my seaweed pressings came with me when my husband, Martin, and I moved to Lyme Regis in Dorset. I’d had a wonderful career working as a stylist and editor for an interiors magazine, and with our children all grown up, we were ready for some new challenges at the seaside.
COASTAL COMPANIONS
I’d often wondered whether I could make a seaweed pressing similar to the ones I had on the wall, and it was Julia who urged me to give it a go now I was living on the coast. We’d met through work in our 20s, and had stayed friends ever since. She’d been experimenting with seaweed pressing from her home in Fowey, Cornwall.
With Julia’s guidance, I went out at low tide to collect some seaweed from the shore and pressed it between two heavy books. A few weeks later, when the dried seaweed was ready, I was surprised by how deep the plum-purple colours still were.
Although there were many failures when the seaweed went mouldy, I soon got the hang of it. I learned to rinse samples, then float them in water in an enamel tray so that they open up and can be teased into position with a paintbrush. Placing watercolour paper beneath the seaweed and carefully lifting it out captures it as a still-life. After mopping up the moisture, the paper and seaweed are put in a press, under protective layers of greaseproof paper, newspaper and card. The process can take just a few days for delicate varieties, such as dulse, while leathery wracks and kelps take weeks.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
At first, it was a creative hobby, but with a growing collection between us, four years ago Julia and I decided to do something with it. After posting images of our work on Instagram and showing pressings at a local artists’ open house event, we were amazed by the positive response. Molesworth & Bird was born. Initially, we were only online, selling via our website, but after two years, we opened a store in Lyme Regis, just a five-minute walk from my house. Now, my time is split between working in our shop, walking along the beach to collect seaweed, and pressing, packaging and posting out our artwork for orders. Every two weeks, Julia and I meet up to talk about the business and go through the seaweed we’ve foraged. Our range includes cards and calendars, as well as tea towels, using natural linen.
Working with Julia is a joy. A job that connects me to a friend, and to nature and art, feels like a real privilege.’
JULIA SAYS:
‘I was so inspired by Melanie’s antique seaweed pressings that when I moved to Cornwall, I decided to take it up as a hobby. I never thought it would turn into this blossoming business, but I’m so glad it has. I adore the coast, and
I’m an avid swimmer and sailor, so I love that the business connects me with the sea. It is a bonus to work with Melanie.’