Pressed Gunnera Leaves: Tom Berington's House of Herbaria Art
Four days after the UK announced a ban on giant rhubarb—also known as gunnera—we received an email from Tom Berington. Tom is the founder of Different Like a Zoo, a company that represents a small number of designers who “do one thing really well.” (Paola Navone’s covetable Ghost sofa and Heerenhuis’s timeless table designs have both previously featured over on Remodelista.) Tom’s Rorshach-esque gunnera prints on display in his former studio space. Photograph by Antony Crolla. Tom grew up in a unique setting: a 15th-century Prior’s Hall that was once attached to a neighboring Benedictine monastery on the slopes of the Malvern Hills. “I wanted to do something that really made an impact,” he recalls, so he abandoned the seaweed idea and headed straight for the gunnera patch. The gunnera patch in Tom Berington’s historic family home in Worcestershire. Photograph by Tom Berington. Gunnera dies naturally in the autumn, so Tom cuts his leaves in the summer before they rot. His craft begins at the selection process: “Sometimes the insects will have already got to them, creating massive holes. Sometimes you’ll find a leaf that has been discolored by disease, which created an interesting pattination that makes them stand out.” Depending on how they are framed, Tom will select a pair of smaller leaves or one giant leaf for the press, a purpose-built contraption that has taken many seasons to perfect. “The aim is to extract as much moisture as possible so the leaves don’t go moldy or break up over time,” he explains. Photograph by Antony Crolla. The leaves are mounted on muslin. Not all presses turn out as planned but, for Tom, that is part of the appeal: “They each have their own special qualities,” he says. Each pair of prints (price on application) is made to order, with some examples available to view at Buspace Studio in London’s W10. Photograph by Antony Crolla. This year, giant, individual leaves have been split in two and presented as a pair.