Leaves and Weaves is a small enterprise operated by Sharon from her home in the Brisbane bayside suburb of Manly. It focuses on two handmade processes- ecoprinting and papier maché.

 After attending a small workshop in 2019 to learn ecoprinting on paper, Sharon was bitten by the ecoprinting ‘bug’. The pandemic of 2020 provided plenty of time at home to experiment and study ecoprinting methods.

Encouraged by friends and family, Sharon collects flowers and leaves from public spaces and friends’ gardens as her own garden is only an apartment courtyard. Living in Australia, eucalypts and other trees and plants are always accessible and in Brisbane’s sub-tropical climate, seasonal flowers and leaves are available year round. The local florist ‘Flowers on Cambridge’ is a great source of unwanted rose leaves and eucalypts.

Sharon has a little band of friends who, like her, enjoy the treasure hunt at charity shops. Her friends now know to look for good quality garments made of natural fibres at the right price. Sometimes friends gift her garments directly rather than send them to the charity shops. These are re-invented with leaves, natural dyes and shibori dyeing techniques. There is a particular joy in finding a quality garment and reimagining it into something different that in turn gives its new owner joy when wearing.

Papier maché was an accidental craft which Sharon discovered utilised her mixed media skills and experience. The delights of tissue paper and pressed flowers morphed together to produce the little lanterns known as “planterns” as they always feature real flowers or botanical prints.