Inside the exquisite world of Bloomfield Ink wallpapers
Slivers of cucumber and a frilled sprig of purslane on a plate at a summer lunch party were the inspiration for Bloomfield Ink, the wallpaper company that is run by Emerald Dangerfield and Prue MacLeod. They had been having lunch at Emerald's mother's house with other mutual friends. 'I was admiring the shape of the cucumber and the leaf,' remembers Prue. 'It looked so fresh and pretty and I said to Emerald, who was sitting next to me, “Wouldn't that make a lovely wallpaper?”
By the end of the lunch, the two had cooked up a delicious plan to make block-printed wallpaper together. Emerald, 34, a textile designer, would design the papers, while Prue, 66, would consult on colour and fund the venture, which was launched in 2022. Prue was right: the salad still life would indeed make a lovely wallpaper. It later became the company's 'Eat Your Greens' design, a crisp, refreshing print of soft organic shapes, which comes in five mouthwatering shades, including celery, chicory and pistachio.
'All our designs are rooted in what we see around us,' says Emerald. 'I like that idea of using what you have, of being resourceful and seeing the potential in things.' A design might start with a flower picked by Prue from her garden, or a sketch by Emerald - a charcoal study of a field of clover, say. The pair get together every week - either at Prue's house in North Oxfordshire or in Emerald's Herefordshire studio - to develop ideas, with each design taking months to finesse.
The pair are from different generations and have diverse influences, but they bonded over their passion for fashion, art and colour. Prue, a philanthropist and colourist, was born in Australia which, she says, gave her a lifelong love of light and airiness in interiors. In fact, Bloomfield Ink takes its name from her farm in Australia. Emerald studied at the London College of Fashion and has worked as a textile designer for fashion brands including Penelope Chilvers.
'Bloomfield Ink has always been a collaboration and it has come about very naturally,' says Prue. The techniques they use are rigorously low tech and take time, eschewing all modern shortcuts. Emerald transfers her watercolour designs to lino, and then cuts them out by hand. 'We make endless samples, painting it out in different tones, whittling down colours and working out a good repeat for the pattern,' she says. It is down to Prue to do a final edit. 'She can always see what's working and what is not,' Emerald explains. The wallpapers are then hand-printed in Lincoln by a family firm, which cuts new lino-like blocks for each pattern, before printing them using hand-mixed colours.
The paints Emerald and Prue use to test out new wallpaper colours are a set of vintage Winsor & Newton powder paints that belonged to Emerald's grandmother, who ran a school in Herefordshire. 'My grandparents were a massive influence on me,' says Emerald, who now lives in their former home. 'They were always encouraging creative pursuits. A few years ago, my family and I were clearing out the old barn down the hill from the house, which my grandfather had used for his carpentry and woodworking. I opened a cupboard and found this wonderful stash of paints, stored in their original Kilner jars. My grandparents were good at not throwing anything away and loved reusing things.' It seems in keeping with the family tradition that these old paints are being given new life through the wallpapers. Emerald is eking them out so they last. 'People particularly love the colours of our papers,' says Prue. 'They feel vibrant - as if they've come from the garden.'
The barn where the paints were found, with its old red tin roof, is now the studio's headquarters and an ink drawing of it by Emerald is the company's logo. The rural surroundings endlessly inspire Emerald's designs, which are rooted in the natural world. 'The barn is central to what we do - to be able to walk outside, see the green fields around the farm and to feel that wildness and the peace of mind it offers.' Recent collections, such as the rambling English garden blooms of 'Wild Thing' or the clover and bluebells that feature in 'Sea of Dreams', draw richly on the Herefordshire landscape.
This is how the pair want to keep Bloomfield Ink: rooted in its heritage and in a sense of place. They have no plans to move to digital printing. 'I think people will always want handmade things as they are unique,' says Prue. 'We started the business because we are both interested in doing stuff properly and we wanted to make something beautiful that celebrated the traditional craft of block-printing.' It is a recipe for something very special.
Finn Beales1/8Experimenting with colour for 'Wild Thing', a five-block print that features primroses and euphorbia seed heads.
Finn Beales2/8Looking at a rambling rose in Emerald's Herefordshire garden for a potential design.
Finn Beales3/8Final samples of 'Eat Your Greens', inspired by cucumber and purslane.
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Finn Beales5/8Vintage Windsor & Newton powder paints are used to create the colour ways.
Finn Beales6/8A hand-painted background is the first part of the testing process for new colours and print scales.
Finn Beales7/8Golden yellow 'Gamboge' paint
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