In The Modern Flower Press, innovative florists Melissa Richardson and Amy Fielding (owners of JamJar Flowers) share their abundant knowledge of flowers and tell the stories that surround the traditional art of flower pressing, reinventing the craft into a very modern form that celebrates the colour, shape and beauty of flowers.
The Modern Flower Press is a storybook full of entertaining facts, myths and legends about flowers. Melissa and Amy explain all aspects of the history of pressing flowers, from its origins to the present day. They show you how to choose the right flowers for pressing, how to prepare and press them, and share ideas for projects and artworks to display them in all their perfectly preserved glory. From their own small and large-scale commissions to lovely ideas that you can make at home by following their clear, full-colour illustrated step-by-step instructions, there are designs here to make best use of your favourite garden or wildflowers.
Packed with inspiring ideas, quirky facts and glorious photography, this celebration of the botanical world is the ideal book for gardeners, artists, crafters, and anyone who is interested in learning about flowers. It is the perfect introduction to the lost art of flower pressing.
Melissa Richardson and Amy Fielding are co-owners of the innovative florists JamJar Flowers. Their signature style was first inspired by the Sussex garden and woods that surrounded Melissa's childhood home, and the simple charm of local wildflowers, picked and arranged in jam jars and displayed on the kitchen table. From these uncomplicated beginnings, JamJar has diversified into something of a high wire florist culminating in the design and creation of the London Gate for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2019. They have also worked for a wide range of clients including Sketch and Mulberry.
"The Modern Flower Press celebrates pressing's surprisingly glamorous history, and offers plenty of practical advice, too."
– Alice Vincent, Telegraph
"Celebrate all things botanical and learn about the art of pressing flowers with this beautiful new book by the florists of South London's beloved JamJar. The Modern Flower Press is a bible of fascinating floral facts, tips, myths and, above all, glorious illustrations and photography."
– Tatler
"Feels like a spellbook incantating more magic than the title alone suggests [...] Lavish specimens scatter the pages and are reproduced in such papery, translucent detail that one might be forgiven for thinking some cheeky bookseller had slipped in a real stem or two [...] Encourage[s] readers to find the nearest flower and pick it, immediately, for posterity."
– Amy Merrick, World of Interiors
"Flower pressing is enjoying a particular moment of popularity. Here the pair behind fashionable London florist JamJar Flowers sketch out the history of the pastime, provide inspirational ideas from JamJar's own commissions and offer an array of creative projects to try at home."
– The English Garden
"The florists behind JamJar Flowers share their modern take on the lost art of pressing flowers"
– Gardens Illustrated
"For more inspiration, see the company's new book, The Modern Flower Press"
– Country Homes & Interiors
"JamJar: the florist turning dried English meadow flowers into works of Art"
– Times Luxx magazine
''It tells not only the story of how to press flowers, but it is full of the most wonderful tales of nature and myth and magic and all of the things that make an English flower garden so precious that we want to pick and press the flowers in the first place [...] punctuated with practical ideas"
– A Little Bird