The Doreen Rose was inspired by an English lady who had introduced us to rose gardening.
It started several years ago with tea in Doreen’s garden in Brentford, West London. We were introduced to some lovely roses then. We were at the Hillier Garden Centre at Syon Park with her when we bought our pink rose plant. We took it home to Fulham by Uber and it’s been growing in our studio garden ever since.
The roses we drew were usually done in our past time, whether outdoors or indoors. But for the Doreen Rose, we waited for these pink roses to fully bloom in mid-November of 2021 to draw it. It was a four-week wait.
Using flowers and leaves, the Doreen Rose is the language we use to express our gratitude and to tell the story of our friendship:
- The Doreen Rose: a tribute to our dear friend
- The Syon Park Rose: based on roses of the same plant as the Doreen Rose’s
- The Fulham Orchid: based on the orchid plant we grow in Fulham, which symbolises our tropical origin
- The Whitstable Mallow: based on the flowers we saw by the Whitstable seaside
- The Manjung Leaves: based on the leaves that had grown in our parents’ garden, close to the seaside in Malaysia
The flowers and leaves remind us of plants that grow along the English and Malaysian riversides and coasts.
The Doreen Rose is a nod to someone dear who had shared with us her love of nature and gardening. We hope it is something worthy of a precious gift for your dearest.
Studio GLUE 