Speronella Marsh

Block printer

©Rachael Smith

©James McDonald

From block printing to wallpaper making

Speronella creates hand-block printed antique linens
Nature, colour combinations and exhibitions inspire her designs
She launched her first wallpaper collection in 2023

Block print artist Speronella Marsh’s love of hand-printing textiles was inspired by a house move and the need for many curtains in her new house. Having built up a sizeable collection of monogrammed antique linens from around 1900, Speronella enrolled on a natural printing course to learn how to print on them herself. This led to other related courses, and eventually an artisanal hand-blocked fabric collection. A keen gardener, the majority of Speronella’s designs are inspired by nature around her home in Shropshire and memories of growing up in Rome. Putting her unique Italian-English stamp on her craft, Speronella uses a traditional block printing method with wooden blocks and natural dyes. In 2023, she launched her first wallpaper collection that replicates the look and texture of her hand-block printed fabrics.

Interview

©Rachael Smith

©Rachael Smith

Where did your interest in your craft begin?: The catalyst for the fabrics came when I moved to my house in Shropshire in 2015, which needed lots of curtains. Having built up a large collection of antique linens and fabrics over the years, I enrolled on a natural printing course, learning basic printing methods. I then took other courses on block printing, carving, repeat patterns and fabric ink.
What inspires your designs?: I previously worked in the gardening world, so am predominantly inspired by natural forms. I love to visit art exhibitions and always take something away, whether it is the shapes or colour combinations artists have used. Having grown up in Rome, I am also influenced by the ‘washed out’ hues of buildings which have not been painted for 100 years or more.
How does your love of gardening connect to your work?: When I moved to the English countryside, my enthusiasm for gardening and nature really began to develop. My obsession with the garden was not the plants themselves, but the forms they created. The vegetable garden was and still is my absolute passion. To this day, natural shapes and plant forms play a very important part in my designs.
Could you describe your creation process?: The process begins with something very visual, that strikes me. In my studio, I start drawing my design onto lino and then carving and cutting it. I always print on paper first, as I do not like to waste the antique linens I print on. On paper, I know immediately if it will work or not. If it passes the paper test, I print it onto fabric.

Speronella Marsh is a rising star: she began her career in 2018 and she started teaching in 2021