East meets west
So it’s not surprising her wares caught the attention of Toast co-founder Jess Seaton during a trip to Hackney’s Chatsworth Road, last Autumn.
“I loved the concept of Botany so much that we are working with this East London-based brand on a pop-up in our Notting Hill shop this spring,” she told Elle Decoration. “The team’s love of all things green is an inspiration”.
Maynard is equally fired up about the collaboration, which will see a selection of her plants and products exhibited in Toast’s Notting Hill branch.
“It’s so exciting! A dream come true to be asked to collaborate with Toast,” she said in an interview for the Toast website.
“I’d always admired Toast’s non-conformity to trend and appreciation for well-made, considered, non-throw away design. It’s a brand that stays true to a simple aesthetic of beautifully designed un-compromised design and has had a huge influence on me.”
When asked about her love of plants, she added: “I have had a fascination and a love of plants since I was very young. Which I think was partly formed by time spent with my grandmother who looked after both her own plants and our garden, as well as a local Georgian garden in our Fitzrovia neighbourhood. I also collected beautiful old botanical books for years. This helped me decide on the name ‘Botany’.”
Angela’s favourite plant: ‘Aurora’ pink jellybean succulent plant – “Its form and colour are amazing!”
The TOAST + BOTANY pop-up will run for six weeks, from Saturday 21 March, at TOAST, 191 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London, W11 2SB.