Molesworth & Bird was founded by the creative duo, Melanie Molesworth and Julia Bird – friends for many years they both previously worked as stylists for interiors magazines in London before moving to the countryside; Julia relocated to Cornwall and Melanie to Dorset.
The likeminded pair share a love of nature and the outdoors, in particular the coast and have a passion for pressing seaweeds gathered from their homes near the sea. Together they use their foraged seaweed to make limited-edition prints of their pressings, along with beautifully designed cards and postcards and a selection of homewares including tea towels, cushions, enamelware, and framed seaweed pressings. All goods are made in the UK and most of the textile goods are made locally in Cornwall.
Approximately five-years ago, the two friends decided to set up as a business together; they began their creative journey with a calendar one Christmas, closely followed by postcard packs and a small collection of prints as demand grew. Fortuitously they struck a chord with people who have a love of coastal living - a side of nature that was new and unusual to most, offering them something refreshingly different with which to decorate their seaside homes.
‘I have always been a nature-lover and forager, ever since I was a child - filling my pockets with pebbles and shells. I’ve also had a lifelong passion for the sea and swimming and love spending time trawling the tideline, rock pools and the shallows for interesting finds. I was inspired to start collecting seaweeds and experiment with pressing them once I had seen Melanie’s collection of Victorian pressed seaweeds, found in a London antique shop which looked fantastic framed in her home.
It coincided with the time that I moved down to Cornwall in 2003, naturally I was keen to try the art for myself,’ explains Julia.
Melanie and Julia’s first book launches at the end of August and it’s set to be an inspiring read, doubling up as an aesthetically beautiful coffee table pick. It provides a decorative approach to seaweed - the pages filled with gorgeous images of their creations, as well as snippets into their creative studios, alongside guidance on how to collect, identify and press seaweed. The book also delves into the history of how seaweed has been used, how to create beautiful cyanotypes and unique displays, how to cook with it and a look at its place in our homes and future environment.
‘We talk about our process of foraging and pressing seaweed and show how it can be introduced to your home in a decorative manner, including wall-displays, fabrics, and nature collections. We also give a basic insight into how to include seaweed in your cooking and skincare regimes as well as how seaweed is being used as a sustainable alternative to plastics in many different industries. The book ends with a collection of our pressed seaweed specimens as an aid to identifying the more commonly found seaweeds,’ says Julia.
During the pandemic, the seaweed loving duo had the time to put together an idea which was subsequently snapped up by their publisher.
‘We wanted to celebrate the simple natural beauty of these marine plants and show that there can be a wonderful alternative to coastal decorating - other than the commonly used blues, fish, shells, and driftwood. We want to encourage people to engage with the beautiful nature that is indigenous to our shores. I feel strongly that when you fall in love with something you will generally make more effort to protect and look after it,’ Julia enthuses.
For Julia, her location on the Cornish coast offers endless inspiration for her work.
‘I feel very privileged to live in one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the British Isles. The naturally rocky coastline with remote coves supports a fantastic array of different seaweed species. I feel incredibly lucky to have the widest varieties on my doorstep and can’t help but feel smug that my business actively involves frequent trips to the beach, where my dog gets a walk and swim too.’
The Molesworth & Bird studio sits on the spectacular Lanhydrock Estate – this is where the stock is held and where the website is run from, though Julia cites having several creative spaces within her home as well.
‘I am a keen sea-swimmer and swim most days, therefore I am always gathering seaweeds. Living close to a string of beautiful wild coves, it is easier to bring them home. I set up an impromptu studio in my kitchen for seaweed pressing and my upper-floor room, overlooking the river and sea is where I keep my presses and work on the pressed seaweeds which are ready and prepare them for framing. etc,’ she says.
It’s the natural beauty and the diversity of so many species around the British Isles that led Julia to begin her journey with seaweed in a creative capacity.
‘I find the colours and forms fascinating, as well as the fact that most people have no idea that there is a veritable sea garden growing out of sight beneath the waves. We wanted to change the perception of seaweed as most people associate it with the brown smelly fly-ridden seaweeds that rot on the high tideline. We wanted to draw attention to the many beautiful, delicate red and pink seaweeds which need to be seen floating in water to appreciate their shape and form; these can often be seen in the shallows, especially after a spell of windy weather,’ says Julia.
Molesworth & Bird offer a wide range of cards, postcards, and limited-edition prints, including their popular, large-scale A1 prints. They have most recently introduced tea towels, cushions, napkins, and tote bags - all displaying large graphic images of a single seaweed - its name printed with the aim of educating their customers. Original pressings are also available, simply mounted in their distinctive fine brown wooden frames. The seaweed-loving ladies also offer one-off, bespoke pieces and the occasional customised workshops for small groups.
No working day is ever the same for Julia, though it is always guaranteed that seaweed will be at the centre.
‘On a summer day, I will be at the beach by 8am for a swim with a picnic-breakfast and usually pocket a few seaweeds to press later in the day. Then I am off to the studio to discuss online orders, wholesale orders and planning new stock with my small band of wonderful staff who support our business and do much of the nitty-gritty side of the day-to-day running. I will often spend the early evenings pressing seaweed and checking on the various specimens that are slowly drying in my presses.
‘Melanie and I will often schedule meetings - she is based in Lyme Regis so I will head there or sometimes we meet halfway. We love Ashburton in Devon, where we meet for lunch to talk business, sharing chat about ideas, life, and our families too – there’s a lot to fit in as we’ve known each other for around 40 years!
Julia is always on the hunt for an unusual find and is adamant that she still sometimes stumbles across surprise finds when foraging.
‘It brings me such joy to find something I haven’t found before. We recently went to the Isles of Scilly to run a couple of workshops and were thrilled to discover a seaweed I’d not come across.’
So, what is on the horizon for Molesworth & Bird after the book has launched?
‘We would love to continue our plan to travel around Britain, collecting seaweeds with a view of producing a print collection local to that area. We are also working on a collection of fabrics which we are particularly excited about.’
Molesworth & Bird seaweed creations can be purchased online as well as at the permanent shop, based in the Town Mill in Lyme Regis. There is also a summer pop-up running in Fowey and a host of lovely boutique-style stops around the country that stock the collections. Cornwall-based stockists include Onda in St Ives, The Duchy Nurseries in Lostwithiel and No 56 in Penzance.
If you’re after a little seaweed inspiration for your home that is original and creative, then Seaweed: ‘Foraging, collecting, pressing’ by Julia Bird and Melanie Molesworth (Pavilion Books) is out on August 31, molesworthandbird.com.
