“The Sera Holland x Poetry product range was created as a larger extension of the fynbos flower bowl range that Sera produced last year. The original range consisted of different bowls which were handmade on the wheel and then hand-painted with various fynbos flowers, most of which were discovered and documented during her walks in and around the Western Cape.
For this collaboration, she needed to do things a little differently (due to the larger quantity of products). Sera teamed up with a local ceramic manufacturer who helped make and supply the shapes and conduct the firings. Together, Sera and Poetry chose 4 of their favourite prints, which were rolled out across a range of trinket bowls and vases which will be made exclusively available from Poetry stores nationwide. Sera hand-painted each item at her home studio in Cape Town.”
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Read as we chat to Sera Holland about her journey and how she navigates working with established brands such as Poetry…
On her creative beginnings:
‘I started off working in Advertising as a graphic designer, where I spent most of that time working as a Senior Designer at a big ad agency in Dublin. While I loved agency life at the time, I felt creatively frustrated and while looking for creative outlets, I came across textile printing which I fell in love with and ended up studying part time. I found myself being drawn more and more towards pattern design, so I sourced a fabric printer, learnt how to sew and started to make things like cushion covers and napkins in my spare time which I would sell.
When I moved back to CT in 2012 I decided to turn my little side project into a full-time business, while freelancing as a designer on the side to finance it. And that is how I started Handmade By Me, a little local homeware business which focused on bespoke textile printing and decor products. I absolutely loved this business, it was my baby and I got to do whatever I wanted including opening up a retail store, as well as designing and manufacturing products for other retailers. But after 7 years I decided that I didn’t want to be in production anymore, and so decided to close the doors to my business, and start freelancing as a designer once again. The timing couldn’t have been better considering Covid was just around the corner, and I was incredibly fortunate to have some of my freelance design projects to fall back on during that crazy time. I also donated all the last pieces of fabric to make masks to raise money for Ladles of Love which I felt was a meaningful end.
Another thing I finally got to do when I closed HMBM’s doors was to get back into painting, something I hadn’t done since my school days, which I always wanted to explore but didn’t have the time. When covid hit, another local artist started a fund-raising initiative called coronacommissions where artists would offer to do painting commissions in exchange for donations to covid-related charities. I decided that this was a great way to practice my painting skills while also doing something to help those in need, so I decided on a whim to put myself out there. I initially panicked, but ended up doing over 30 paintings, and I still do them today (although I now call them Postcard commissions and clients pay me now rather than a charity). And ever since then, I have been painting almost full-time and I am absolutely loving it!
Pottery is something I have been doing for many years, it was my creative outlet for when I was flat out with HMBM. It is mostly something I do for fun rather than to sell, although in 2018 I did a collaboration with Anthony Shapiro at Handmade Contemporary in Joburg. And I have done various commissions over the years. Last year I released a range of Fynbos Flower Bowls which sparked an interest with Poetry stores and started a conversation about a possible collaboration.
The Sera Holland x Poetry product range was created as a larger extension of the fynbos flower bowl range. The original range consisted of different bowls which were handmade on the wheel and then hand-painted with various fynbos flowers, most of which were discovered and documented during my walks in and around the Western Cape. For this collaboration, we needed to do things a little differently (due to the larger quantity of products). I teamed up with a local ceramic manufacturer who helped make and supply the shapes and conduct the firings. Together with Poetry, we chose 4 of our favourite prints, which were rolled out across a range of trinket bowls and vases which are now exclusively available from Poetry stores nationwide. Each and every item was hand-painted at my home studio in Cape Town.’