The Expressionist Poppy: A Workshop at Blewcoat with Sister
On Saturday 17th October I spent the day at the Blewcoat School in Westminster, home of Sister by Studio Ashby, for their first ever Saturday open house. It was an art-focused weekend, with the launch of their new collection and Anna Ilsley’s paintings on the walls, and Sister invited some of their loyal customers to sit around one long table and make poppies with me.
The table at Blewcoat, just before everyone arrived.
The colours came from the room. Anna’s paintings are full of soft pinks, deep purples and inky blues, painted with a loose, expressive hand, so I took my palette from her work and from Sister’s new collection and hand-dyed every sheet of crepe paper in the studio beforehand. No two sheets came out quite the same, which is exactly what I love about dyeing by hand. Each guest chose their colour and made a poppy that was completely their own.
Each place set with hand-dyed paper, a stem ready for its seedpod, and the guide.
We called it the Expressionist Poppy. Over two hours everyone cut and stretched their petals, gathered and cupped them into shape, and built a seedpod from black paper with a twisted cream rope criss-crossed over the top. Then came the fringed stamens, the petals added one by one, and finally wrapping and curving the stem. There’s always a moment when flat paper in someone’s hands starts to look alive, and that never gets old for me.
Cutting petals, with finished poppies already starting to appear.
Blue poppies in glass, already living in the showroom.
Finished poppies in pink and deep plum, each one a little different.
The Sister team made the whole day feel special: coffee from the truck before we started, cookies halfway through, and a beautifully laid table. A huge thank you to Millie, Sophie and everyone at Sister for having me, and to everyone who came and made a poppy. I loved every minute.
A full table at Blewcoat, coffee and cookies in hand.
Shaping petals under Anna Ilsley’s paintings.
Mid-workshop, with poppies taking shape all along the table.
If you’d like a paper flower workshop for your team, shop or event, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch
Photography by Madeline Gammon.