NO.12 INQ: UP OUR STREET - 8 Holland Street’s neighbours, near and far

An academic grounding in architecture gave Florence Saumarez a curiosity as to how things are made and a fearless streak - she's not one to simply rest on her laurels. Stumbling upon a video  from the 1970s demonstrating marbling captured her imagination, “it had never really occurred to me to wonder how marbled papers were produced but when I saw the video I was mesmerised’. 

Like most creative endeavours, marbling has its highs and lows. ‘Trial and error papers aren’t relaxing’, she says. ‘When you pull out a paper that’s as you intended or more beautiful or surprising in a different way, the feeling is fantastic.’ Florence draws inspiration from teaching as well, ‘students grab colour combinations that I would never think to try and sometimes have surprising and beautiful outcomes.’ She says, ‘I find it inspiring to relive that sense of magic they experience when they pull their first papers off the tank. 

At the end of a day of marbling, Florence quietly pulls down the creaky shutter of her studio, being careful not to disturb her neighbours on the sleepy Bath mews. Placing the curly, newly dried papers into her press at home is a highlight of the making process, ‘when then they come out of the press, they look like they’re full of potential to be turned into something lovely.’ 

My ideal neighbours would be….

Someone who owns a lathe and a small brass foundry and has time on their hands!

The house I’d like to live in is…

I think Villa Cetinale would suit me well for the summer months and a cosy Cotswold cottage for the winters. 

Tomorrow I will ….

Update my website,  sort out my social media routine and create a mailing list. *Cough* 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLLIE TOMLINSON