Bertioli & Bell Hutley: Dragonfly & Waterlily
BERTIOLI | AT THYME
“To have the opportunity to work with Bell to create collaborative artworks that capture the critical relationship between wildlife and their surroundings was both thought provoking and inspiring”
In recent years, the fragility of nature has been put at the forefront of conversation, with species decline and habitat loss at the heart. One of the key concerns has been around the health of pollinators and the crucial role that they play in every ecosystem.
With this collaborative collection, we bring together the distinctive illustrations by Bell and Caryn to celebrate pollinators and highlight their relationships with both common and unique plantlife. to inspire conversation around the table and a deeper connection to nature.
Shimmery, ethereal creatures, Dragonflies are an ancient insect. Found on every continent, except Antarctica, dragonflies are estimated to have first appeared around 300 million years ago.
The nymphs are aquatic, residing in a variety of freshwater habitats such as bogs, rivers, and ponds, and as adults’ dragonflies never fly far from water, their presence indicating a fairly unpolluted habitat.
However, their dependence on these wetlands have left dragonflies at risk. The world lost 35% of its wetlands between 1970 and 2015 – and although some sites are being restored, the rate of loss still appears to be increasing, due to urbanisation and unsustainable agriculture.
Wetlands form an important habitat, home to many plants, birds, animals and insects. We see dragonflies dancing on the river that runs through the farm at Thyme, as well as on the pond in the garden, as the dragonflies love the water lilies as a birthing place.
With this design, we have created a pond habitat on the tabletop, with the dragonflies dancing around the edge, and on top with the tumbler and placemat accessories.
