Rose Willow Herb 365/16

For the first time ever, the 365 shaped vase has now been adapted to prestige proportions and stands proudly at 15 inches in height. 2012 has seen much excitement in the Works, with visits from the Lord Mayor of London, exhibitions at The Mansion House, Moorcroft designs on the Lord Mayor’s show brochure and Lord Mayor’s Banquet Menu for the City of London Guild Hall, not to mention the impressive prestige vases inspired by the Lord Mayor of the City of London and the City of London itself. Rachel has always remained true to the Arts and Crafts spirit within her. Consequently, industrial landscapes and architectural design have remained within subtle linework around a floral or rural landscape. Inevitably, Rachel wanted to close 2012 with a floral tribute to the City of London through the Rosebay Willow Herb, the floral symbol of the City itself. Rachel wanted to infuse the design with the spirit of her highly-acclaimed Destiny vase, voted by collectors to be the greatest design to emerge from Moorcroft in the last 25 years, and on which seed pods blow effortlessly on the wind to their destination. Rachel knows only too well that it was the winds of change that gently roused a lawyer from London to a meeting with her young self and her portfolio of butterfly designs.

Rachel achieved the effect she sought with Rosebay Willow Herb where ceramic glazes of candyfloss pink and rich maroons painstakingly layered on top of each other float in a churn of buttermilk-yellow, rise triumphantly into a midnight-blue sky. Seed pods are released and hearts unfold like flowers towards Rachel Bishop’s inspired design.