Floral Sketch Collection

The Inspiration Behind The Pattern

For some reason, the precise vision for this pattern came to me when I was thinking about the special relationship fathers often have with their daughters. My daydream wandered to Claude Monet, who moved to his five-acre plot in Giverny, France, in 1883, where he spent years planting flowers in the garden with his family, so that he could eventually paint them. 

Monet’s daughter, Blanche Hoschedé Monet, was the only one of his children to take an interest in art, eventually becoming a plein air painter herself. I imagined her as a child, following her father around the garden with her own little sketch book, sitting at the base of a tree for shade, and looking up to draw the flowering branches above her. That’s why all of the florals of this pattern come from the branches of trees or vines: wisteria, jasmine, cherry blossom, and camellia. As if torn from the pages of an artist’s sketchbook, the illustrations are created in pencil sketches and watercolor touches, intentionally unfinished. I adore that imperfect looseness of style that evokes the idea of a work in progress. For regardless of our age, aren’t we all a work in progress? 

I love seeing the intuitive un-labored brushstrokes of the artist - not something that can be easily achieved with digital illustrations - so that the authentic, spontaneous, hand-painted artistry can resonate. We purposefully composed the watercolor sketches on our plates so that they had no particular orientation, in order that they feel airy and light, as if they had floated down from above like petals in the breeze. 

Designed on our iconic Berry & Thread collection, the Floral Sketch motif mixes and matches seamlessly with other patterns to bring a fresh floral array of blushing garden beauties - soft yet vibrant, but not too sticky sweet - the perfect pick for your intimate family breakfasts and lush garden parties alike. 

I adore using them to start the day with breakfast set en plain air, replete with plenty of pastries and steaming cups of café au lait. They are also undeniably lovely for imbuing any setting with the easy elegance of Provence, like AlFresco lunches and special brunches, accompanied by bunches of fresh flowers. The casual charm of this collection has an uncanny way of bringing people together, for flowers are a language that everyone on earth inherently understands. And as they say, the earth laughs in flowers! 

SHOP NOW