1. Please tell us a little about yourself and how you fell into the whole business of flower pressing?
My name is Nicola and I live in the sunny city of Cape Town. I have been pressing flowers full-time for the past 5 years, and I feel more alive in my career space than I have before. I used to be in IT, managing software developers which was a great period of my life, but not fulfilling my creative and nature loving side. I decided I wanted to create a product that incorporates nature, natural elements and is environmentally friendly with a modern twist and to ultimately have a message behind my brand. So this is where Velt Designs came into light. And it starts with the name which is ‘Velt’ - the name comes from the word ‘Bushveld’ but also has a play on the word ‘felt’ as in human emotion. The pieces are there to make people feel and have a more in-depth connection with nature. We all live such distracted lives these days with mobile phones, computers and so forth, that we often forget the detail and importance of the natural world. I started making my pieces in 2017 and still loving every part of my journey.
2. What drew you to begin on this journey of pressing petals and having them so beautifully preserved behind glass?
I wanted to do something creative and something that involved being connected to nature along with a conservation factor to the brand. I played with a few materials when I designed my product and decided on the glass element as it brought through a contemporary aspect to the look and feel of the pieces. I also wanted to create something that would be unique for my brand image and has not been over done. I really pride the brand with our glass design and its something that makes us stand out. It also allows the viewer to look at the plant specimen in a very detailed way, viewable from back and front and also allows you to view through the plant when you hold it up to light. You can see all the details, the plants textures, colours, shapes and veins. Its is truly magical.
3. What have been your favourite botanicals to press and your least faves?
Personally, my top three have got to be orchids, mushrooms and seaweeds as they are actually very difficult to preserve and time consuming, but also very interesting to watch over the process as it changes. With my least favourites, succulents or any plant with lots of moisture always proof very tricky. I have tried a variety of plants and the most difficult to work with are the plants that hold lots of water ie: succulents. They just can’t release the moisture fast enough before they start to mould, so it’s never really a pretty sight to see.
4. Any tips to share when pressing petals on your own at home?
My number one tip would be to use an actual flower press. They make the process so much easier as opposed to books and other heavy weight objects. We also sell them if you don’t have one tucked away from your childhood days.
5. What can we look forward to from VELT Designs in the near future?
We are super excited to announce our first ever solo exhibition which will be happening on Thursday evening 3 November 2022 at The Ladder in Bree Street, Cape Town. More details to be related on our social pages soon. We are also doing a meditation, flower pressing and herbal tea tasting event the following day on Friday 4 November 2022. Workshop details to be relayed on our socials soon. For info and bookings, please email [email protected]
