About the service
I have been pressing plants for years, and the part that decides everything happens long before the frame: the gathering. I cut material on a dry day, after the dew has gone, from roadsides, meadows, gardens and my own beds — always with the permission of whoever owns the land, never in nature reserves or protected areas, and never any species listed as rare or legally protected. Common garden and meadow plants give the best result anyway: they are sturdy, plentiful, and I can afford to pick the one stem out of twenty that has the right curve.
Drying is a decision, not a default. Flat material — ferns, grasses, umbels, single leaves — goes under the press between blotting sheets, and I change the paper daily for the first few days so the moisture leaves fast and the colour holds. Thick, three-dimensional flowers go into silica gel instead, which keeps the shape of a rose or a poppy that a press would simply flatten into a stain. Then the composition is laid out loose on the board and left for a day or two. I am looking for rhythm: one leading line, two or three quiet answers to it, honest breathing space at the margins, and a leaf turned to show its underside so the sheet does not read as flat.
Mounting is reversible on purpose. The base is acid-free board; every stem is held by narrow strips of archival paper or fine linen thread, never a sheet of glue across the back, so a specimen can be lifted off later without tearing. Spacers or a deep box frame keep the glazing off the plants, because pressed material pressed again by glass flattens further and eventually sticks to it. Labels are set by hand: the plant name, the place in general terms, the date of collection. The frame carries UV-protective glazing.
One honest note. Even with careful drying, colour fades slowly over the years — greens soften first, blues are the least stable of all. UV glazing slows this down; direct sunlight speeds it up many times over, and so does a radiator directly underneath. This is decoration and a keepsake; I make no claims about herbs treating or healing anything.
— consultation on theme, palette, size and framing before anything is cut;
— gathering and drying under press or in silica gel, with spare specimens in reserve;
— composition laid out and approved by photo before a single strip is glued;
— acid-free board, reversible strip mounting, spacers or a box frame with depth;
— handwritten or printed labels with names and collection date;
— frame with UV-protective glazing, ready to hang, packed for transport;
— school herbarium sheets in a standard format on request;
— hanging advice: north or interior wall, away from windows, radiators and damp bathrooms.
Drying is a decision, not a default. Flat material — ferns, grasses, umbels, single leaves — goes under the press between blotting sheets, and I change the paper daily for the first few days so the moisture leaves fast and the colour holds. Thick, three-dimensional flowers go into silica gel instead, which keeps the shape of a rose or a poppy that a press would simply flatten into a stain. Then the composition is laid out loose on the board and left for a day or two. I am looking for rhythm: one leading line, two or three quiet answers to it, honest breathing space at the margins, and a leaf turned to show its underside so the sheet does not read as flat.
Mounting is reversible on purpose. The base is acid-free board; every stem is held by narrow strips of archival paper or fine linen thread, never a sheet of glue across the back, so a specimen can be lifted off later without tearing. Spacers or a deep box frame keep the glazing off the plants, because pressed material pressed again by glass flattens further and eventually sticks to it. Labels are set by hand: the plant name, the place in general terms, the date of collection. The frame carries UV-protective glazing.
One honest note. Even with careful drying, colour fades slowly over the years — greens soften first, blues are the least stable of all. UV glazing slows this down; direct sunlight speeds it up many times over, and so does a radiator directly underneath. This is decoration and a keepsake; I make no claims about herbs treating or healing anything.
— consultation on theme, palette, size and framing before anything is cut;
— gathering and drying under press or in silica gel, with spare specimens in reserve;
— composition laid out and approved by photo before a single strip is glued;
— acid-free board, reversible strip mounting, spacers or a box frame with depth;
— handwritten or printed labels with names and collection date;
— frame with UV-protective glazing, ready to hang, packed for transport;
— school herbarium sheets in a standard format on request;
— hanging advice: north or interior wall, away from windows, radiators and damp bathrooms.
