Molly Mahon, the British printmaker and textile designer, has spent ten years bringing joyful, handcrafted print into homes in Britain and around the world.
For Molly, this decade in print has been a journey between the Sussex countryside and India - developing hand-carved blocks and hand-printed cloth, and bringing them home again to develop into beautiful collections in her rural studio.
It’s also been a very personal journey - from the realisation that ‘this was it’ at a block printing workshop, to starting her eponymous brand and studio and battling breast cancer in the early days.
Now comes a full-circle moment, with her studio based where her first introduction to block printing began.
Each collection merges classic centuries-old techniques with a fresh, colourful aesthetic - a marriage of India and the English countryside that feels right at home.
We spoke to Molly about the inspiration behind her most personal collection to date - Wanderlust - the importance of preserving traditional craftsmanship, and how colour and print and the collected stories we gather in our homes inject joy into the everyday…
Tell us about your early years. How did your upbringing shape your love of home, textiles, creating and travel?
I grew up in a very creative household. My mother, Celia Lewis, is an artist and was always making something at the kitchen table, marbling, embroidering, upholstering, painting. My grandmother was creative too, so making things was simply part of everyday life. We also spent long summer holidays in Scotland, which gave me a lifelong love of wild landscapes, nature and travelling. I think that combination of creativity, countryside and a very hands-on approach to life has stayed with me.
You launched your eponymous brand 10 years ago. Had it always been a dream?
Not at all, I had spent my twenties running an events company in London, and after having my first child I was looking for something creative to do. I tried various things, but when I discovered block printing through Angel Hughes, something just clicked. I remember lifting that first block and seeing the impression appear and thinking, this is it. I became completely obsessed. It was tactile, imperfect and incredibly satisfying.
It began very modestly around the kitchen table. I started printing paper and then cushions, and a friend asked me to decorate a shepherd’s hut. That little project led to wallpaper, then more commissions, and gradually I realised that something I had started purely for myself might actually become a business.
“ I remember lifting that first block and seeing the impression appear and thinking, this is it. I became completely obsessed. It was tactile, imperfect and incredibly satisfying.”
And in a full circle moment, the studio you now design from is the one where you took your first course? Tell us more…
It really is extraordinary. Angel’s workshop was in the Sussex countryside and I was so inspired by the space, the colour and, above all, the blocks themselves. I later moved closer to the area and spent time helping Angel, learning more and more about the craft. To now have my own studio in this same space in Sussex, surrounded by the things that have accumulated over the years, feels like coming home to where it all began.
That same year you launched your brand, you were diagnosed with breast cancer. How has that experience shaped not only you but the brand and studio you have continued to grow since then?
It was obviously a huge shock, particularly because the business was only just beginning. But I was determined that I wasn’t going to stop. If anything, it made me much more conscious of how precious time is and of wanting to spend it doing something that feels meaningful.
I think it has given the business a stronger sense of purpose. I care deeply about the people we work with, the craft itself and creating things that will last. I am also particular about how we create, using only water based inks and natural fibres for the base cloth. I want to offer a clean product within my industry.
Your rural home and the seasons in Sussex are a source of inspiration to you - how does that weave its way into your collections, including your new Wanderlust collection?
Nature is probably my most constant source of inspiration. I notice the way the light changes, leaves unfurl, seed heads dry, flowers come and go. Living in the Ashdown Forest means there is always something to draw or photograph.
Wanderlust is perhaps where the two halves of my world, Sussex and India, meet most clearly. It brings together some of my much-loved designs with new colours and patterns inspired by that constant exchange between home and travel.
“Once I had fallen in love with block printing, I travelled to Jaipur and it completely opened my eyes. Seeing the craft being practised by people whose skills had been passed down through generations was transformative. That trip really began my love affair with India, which has continued ever since.”
Do you collect objects on your journeys? Is there a particular piece that holds a special story?
Yes, absolutely. I’m much more interested in things that have a story than things that are simply beautiful. I collect textiles, old prints, ceramics, blocks and little found objects. I love things that show the hand of the maker and that remind me of a particular place or journey.
You marry the British countryside interior beautifully with a global nod to textiles and colour. Has your interiors style changed?
I think it has become more confident. I’m less concerned with what is supposed to go together and much more interested in what makes me feel something. I love the tension between English country-house pieces, Indian textiles, old furniture and lots of colour. I want a home to feel collected rather than curated.
What is your favourite room of the home to be in?
The kitchen, without question. It’s the beating heart of our house, the place where everyone ends up, where we eat, work, talk, make things and generally live.
What three essentials does every happy and comfortable home interior need?
Colour, pattern and things with a story.
I want a home to feel personal, warm and lived in, a bit rough around the edges. Never like it has simply been assembled from a showroom.
My last supper — If you could enjoy one final meal anywhere in the world, with no limits, what would you choose?
A long, slightly unruly table at the end of my favourite loch in Scotland, in this instance it would be warm and midge free! Very cold champagne to start, followed by the simplest, most delicious grilled fish, with salty chips and a fresh green salad and a huge pudding of course! My family and closest friends around the table, everyone talking at once. Nothing too formal. Maybe a bag piper standing on top of the mountain, his melodic tune blowing over us in the wind.
How do you unwind?
Walking. Always walking. Ideally with the family or the dog, through the countryside, followed by tea, cake and a fire.
Can you choose a favourite or two from the new collection, Wanderlust and why?
Marwari is a favourite because I’ve always loved the slightly eccentric procession of horses and it has such a strong sense of Rajasthan. I also love Audrey because it feels like a new direction for us, softer, more intricate and with the addition of embroidery. Together they show the old and the new sides of the collection beautifully.
“I love the tension between English country-house pieces, Indian textiles, old furniture and lots of colour. I want a home to feel collected rather than curated.”
“Nature is probably my most constant source of inspiration. I notice the way the light changes, leaves unfurl, seed heads dry, flowers come and go.”
Let’s Play Favourites
Flowers: Dahlias, sweet peas and poppies
Artist: Vanessa Bell, particularly her work at Charleston
Interior Designer: Kit Kemp
Scent/Fragrance: Something green and botanical, I love Diptyque’s Philosykos
Travel destinations: India, Scotland and Morocco
Place in India: Jaipur. I have a very soft spot for the Anokhi Museum there, it changed the course of my creative life
Garden: My own, it’s a simple space in the middle of the forest, but, I love the towering oaks, the peace and quiet and the joy of flowers planted by oneself!
Book: The White Umbrella by Brian Sewell, a little book that has stayed with me
TV series: The Durrells
Film: Out of Africa
Wellness ritual: Walking outside every day
Colour: Pink and blue. I think they are embedded in my soul
Beauty essentials: Fresh Scottish Loch water swims and moisturising cream by Inbalance Iona
Music or soundtrack: Anything with a bit of soul, folk, old classics, something nostalgic. Mumford & Sons or King Creosote are often on the studio playlist
Season: Autumn, although I think I say that about whichever season we happen to be in
Restaurant: Petersham Nurseries. Beautiful, thoughtful and full of soul
Meal: A long Sunday lunch with everyone around the table
Mentor: Angel Hughes. She was the person who first opened my eyes to block printing and showed me where that first door was
Visit www.mollymahon.com / Follow @mollymahonblockprinting / Substack Molly Mahon
Photography: Emma Lewis and Alun Callender
