Make IN BED: The Art of Flower Pounding
Photography by Leif Prenzlau
This week on the Journal, we are excited to introduce Make IN BED — a new initiative from our team, exploring creative ways to reuse textiles by offering open-source guides and complimentary kits to try at home. Our first project, created in collaboration with sustainability advocate & nature enthusiast Holly Beer, invites you to try Tataki-zomé — the Japanese art of flower pounding — using past season IN BED linen napkins. A gentle, creative way to give new life to old textiles — cover a stain, brighten a faded piece, or simply make something beautiful by hand. This week, we discover how Holly came across this special practice, and what life is like high up in the mountains.
On Holly’s work, and where she began…
“I studied journalism, and wrote for newspapers back in the day, but quickly moved into fashion PR and marketing. I spent 10 years in fashion in various roles working for wonderful women - Alice McCall and Lee Mathews to name a few.
“I went back to university to realign with my evolving interests and moved into the sustainability space. For the last 5 years I have worked in impact strategy - understanding a company’s impacts and dependencies on nature, and how to evolve their operations and products to meet the needs of the future world.
“I currently work in a role protecting nature across NSW in partnership with landholders, who are mainly farmers. I work in a large team of wonderful ecologists who are bursting with rich knowledge of our natural world. I love hearing an ecologist talk about an endangered snail or soil type with gusto.
“My work also aims to protect and reignite our cultural understanding of biodiversity - meaning supporting First Nations people’s Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Connection to Country; such as Songlines and Cultural burn practices.
We are nature. Nature underpins our very existence.
“We are nature. Nature underpins our very existence, it provides us with services such as climate regulation and pollination of our food, and we must work to protect biodiversity so these can continue. I am grateful for my job, especially when I get to go out on Country.”
On discovering flower pounding…
“I am always picking up decaying leaves and seed pods or plant ephemera that I find beautiful, and saw the process online, so I gave it a whirl. I started making plant dyes mostly from invasive species, and then came across flower pounding a few years ago.
The results are always unexpected and the colours that come from nature are so comforting to the eye.
“I made a bunch of pieces (some generously donated by IN BED) and sold them to raise money for the Bob Brown Foundation, who are working tirelessly to protect our ancient forests. I thought it was a nice full circle process; plants helping plants.
“The results are always unexpected and the colours that come from nature are so comforting to the eye.”
Holly shares her process for flower pounding with the Journal, using dead-stock IN BED napkins.
On Holly’s home in the mountains…
“I live in a little weatherboard cottage on Gundungarra and Dharug Country in Katoomba with my sweet kelpie-cross Bunny. The home has beautiful bones and a warm calm energy. I have a big solid oak table made for cramming as many people around it as possible for lunches and dinners. The fireplace in the kitchen is very cosy, and there is nothing better than lighting a fire in the morning with a cup of strong black coffee, a bit of burning incense and a bit of abc jazz.”
What drew Holly to living here…
“Well I came for the bush, but I have stayed for the unparalleled community. I was originally drawn to the mountains because I love being connected to Country. I’m a keen trail runner, a beekeeper and I love gardening and growing food - all the outdoorsy things.
I came for the bush, but I have stayed for the unparalleled community.
“I recently moved further up the mountains to Katoomba, which almost feels like a city to me. You can find very good coffee, natural wine, a delicious dinner, and an excellent pilates class… but you’re also five minutes walk from pristine bushland.
“Ultimately I have stayed for the incredible community energy; I have such a special group of friends and neighbours who love an unannounced pop in, a midweek morning bushwalk, a Sunday fam dinner…we even have a poetry book club. It all feels very intentional here.”
“[I’m looking forward to] an upcoming ski trip to New Zealand for my dear friend Pete’s 40th, but also just being present and enjoying the every day. The leaves are turning at the moment, the banksia are in full bloom in the bush, it’s almost Lyrebird song season; I love watching Autumn roll in across the mountains.”
Holly's bed is dressed with our Organic Cotton Percale collection, in Marshmallow & Pure White.
And finally, Holly shares her favourite local spots…
Groundwork Pilates in Leura by Belle Langford (she is one of my dearest friends so I am biased) but she teaches impeccable reformer pilates.
Fidelity Coffee in Katoomba - seriously perfected coffee.
Black Cockatoo bakery in Katoomba and Lawson - this one is very well known but their pastries are insane and they sell a wild Miche sourdough.
Blackheath Growers Markets twice each month - wholesome and delicious.
Mount Vic Flicks in Mount Victoria - an old fashioned picture house run by a husband and wife…with the cutest kiosk where you can buy sweets for prices from your childhood and cups of soup in winter. So cosy!
Blue Mountains Sauna in Leura - a Finnish style sauna, known for their Aufguss steam rituals playing a bit of Ram Dass, it’s a vibe. They have cold plunge, an outdoor fire with herb garden, delicious teas and crispy Bilpin apples.
Glebe Books in Blackheath - a beautiful poetry section in their second hand store, with wacky and wonderful service. Pop across the way to the crystal shop afterwards for some good vibrations!
The Old Tythe Barn in Blackheath - A bit left field…it’s a teeny store on the railway line, run by the sweetest old lady named Frances that is packed to the brim with miniature ceramics. Every purchase comes with free sweets and it’s been running since the 1970s, it’s such a trip to visit!
Our Make IN BED kits are now available to purchase here, and are complimentary for Australian customers. Each kit includes four recycled linen napkins and a printed guide to Tataki-zomé, the Japanese art of flower pounding.
T&C's: Kits are strictly limited to 1 per person and are available to Australian customers only. A pdf version is also available, here.
