About.
I'm Emmeli, a paper flower artist and sculptor working from my studio in Hertford.
I grew up in Malmö, Sweden, surrounded by antiques, markets and making. I later moved to London to study fashion, interning at GILES before going on to work at House of Holland. That background in colour, textiles and construction still finds its way into how I work now — only these days, my material is paper.
I started making paper flowers almost by accident, and quickly became fascinated by how much character could be created from such a simple material. I love looking closely at real flowers: the strange shapes, tiny details, unexpected colours and imperfections that make each one different.
Every piece begins with paper and is cut, coloured and shaped by hand. Some flowers are closely observed from nature; others become larger, stranger or more sculptural as I make them. I’m particularly interested in the point where something stops simply being a copy of a flower and becomes an object in its own right.
My work has since been commissioned for private and commercial projects, with clients including The Courtauld Gallery, Manolo Blahnik, Diptyque and Disney, and has been featured in publications including the Financial Times and House & Garden.
Whether I'm making a single stem or a much larger piece, the part I still enjoy most is the making itself — working out how a petal should fold, mixing the right colour, or finding a way to recreate some tiny detail I've noticed in a real flower.
Everything is made by hand in my Hertford studio.
Featured Products
This one I originally made for my sister's 40th birthday. I wanted something that felt abundant and a bit wild — not a neat arrangement, more like an armful of flowers from a field. It turned out so well I made it a permanent part of the shop.
Four cosmos, three buttercups, and four bell flower stems, all hand-cut and painted in my Hertford studio from Italian crepe paper. The colours are warm and slightly unruly — deep orange, golden yellow, soft pinks and dusty purple.
Around 55–60cm tall. Wired stems so you can adjust the angles once it arrives. Vase not included.
It's a one-off — this exact combination won't be made again.
Height: approx. 55–60cm | Italian crepe paper, wired stems
Handmade in Hertford
Vase not included
Wild roses are different from garden roses — smaller blooms, more of them, and they grow in all directions at once. That's what I was going for with this branch. Five flowers at different stages, some fully open, some still partly closed, all on a single branching stem with leaves that shift from deep green through to gold and bronze.
Each leaf is hand-painted individually. No two are quite the same shade, which is what gives the whole thing that slightly autumnal, just-cut-from-a-hedgerow feel.
The stem is wired so you can bend and adjust it once it arrives — lean it against a wall, put it in a wide vase, let it do its own thing.
This one won't be repeated.
One branch with multiple blooms | Height: approx. 50–55cm
Hand-painted Italian crepe paper, wired stems
One of a kind
A single oversized poppy in soft peach, with ruffled petals and a hand-painted yellow centre. Bigger and more sculptural than a standard poppy — it holds its own on its own, or sits beautifully as the focal point in a larger group.
Made to order, so your poppy will have its own slight variations in petal shape and shading. That's not a flaw — it's just how handmade works.
Flower head: approx. 12–15cm | Height: approx. 50cm
Lead time: 2–3 weeks
Peonies are one of the hardest flowers to get right in paper — there's so much going on. The Claire de Lune variety has these creamy white petals with the faintest blush running through them, and a centre packed with golden-orange stamens tipped in red. Getting that centre right takes almost as long as the whole flower.
Each one is hand-cut from Italian crepe paper, shaped petal by petal, with a stem of around 50cm and a couple of green leaves. No two come out exactly the same — the way the petals open and curl varies each time.
On its own it's lovely. Three together in a wide vase is a different thing entirely.
Single stem | Height: approx. 50cm
Hand-painted Italian crepe paper, wired stem
One of a kind — each peony is unique