We first met Floor in our studio in Dalfsen, in the Dutch countryside. A talented artist with a love for nature, craft and design. An idea was born, and Floor started drawing. We are excited to introduce her work to you now. Two limited edition art prints Floor crafted exclusively for you: Forest Dream and Edible Flowers.
Floor Rieder is an award winning Dutch illustrator. She studied at the ArtEZ ART academy Zwolle. In 2013 Floor illustrated the book 'The Mystery of Everything That Lives'. It was a great start because she won the 'Gouden Penseel' Price. A year later, Floor drew 'Alice in Wonderland', which was internationally awarded. For her latest work for the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, she was inspired by the lush flowers of the old masters in the museum. The drawings are so beautiful. The idea for the botanical collage of edible flowers arose. Floor has made, signed and numbered two fine Art prints exclusively for By Mölle.
How did your love for drawing come about?
"I come from a creative family. My grandfather was a goldsmith, my father is a furniture maker and my mother is a drawing and crafts teacher. I like to work with traditional techniques. Pure handicrafts such as woodcut and linocuts. I made the edible flowers with a dip pen. That is very accurate and precise. I like order. Everything has a place in my house. That gives me peace of mind. If you look closely you will see stillness in all my drawings, no matter how full they are." 
Where do you get your inspiration from?
"I actually get inspiration from everywhere, all day long. When I travel, I always bring an extra suitcase, because I like to buy books. About architecture, plants, old maps, stamp books, patterns or books about art and Art Deco. Nature is a great source of inspiration for me. Since I live in Broek in Waterland, I cycle through the meadows to my studio in Amsterdam. I love it, it is soo beautiful. Really one big sea of flowers. Every week I see new flowers blooming. The poppy that rises alone. And the deep blue color of cornflower. So beautiful!"
Edible flowers?
"I pay extra attention to flowers since I am working on the cookbook for the Rijksmuseum with chef Joris Bijdendijk of restaurant RIJKS. It has become much more than just a cookbook. There are all kinds of special facts about fruit and vegetables. I found the edible flowers especially fascinating. Then the idea for edible flowers arose. I grew up with an organic vegetable garden and wild picking. More should be told about that. I had been looking for a botanical map about edible flowers for a while. The old ones that used to hang in classrooms. But I didn't come across those about edible flowers. I thought that was a shame because I really enjoy passing on knowledge about edible flowers to my children. Then I made it myself. My daughter already says in the garden, this is Boragie mama, and then she points to cucumber herb. I enjoy that. And it is also my dream wish that many more children can see how beautiful edible flowers are. If you look closely at zucchini, squash, nasturtium. They are beautiful flowers that smell wonderful. The scent of jasmine is so nice. I recently read that it is related to the olive. And now I can really smell the warm olive-like scent."
What does slow living mean to you?
"Slow living for me is peace and attention, emptiness in my agenda and time to cook all day. I like the routine and order in the kitchen and then dining together. Cosiness with candles. Natural food is important to me because I am extremely allergic. I really need to watch what I eat. And you automatically pay attention to all natural materials. What I put on, what I clean with and what I furnish my home with I really appreciate it when attention is paid to sustainability and quality. I have By Mölle linen curtains in the color blush and it only gets better with time. I love that."
What is your dream?
"I would like to build my own house with large windows and a lot of wood. I like my house, but building my own house is a dream. I'm going to draw it myself and it will be exactly the way I want it. I like details that have been carefully thought out. That's so nice about 't Witte Huis. That is so well built. Functional with beautiful materials. And it is so beautiful in the middle of the forest. I was inspired by the atmosphere, zeitgeist and details on the facade of 't Witte Huis for the second drawing. It is the time of rich patterns and symbolism. You can see that someone has paid a lot of attention to craftsmanship and use of color. If you look closely you will see more and more details. I wanted that in this drawing too. Timelessly and beautiful with a touch of melancholy. I imagine that you can keep looking at it and it makes you happy. I can already enjoy that."
Shop the limited edition art prints of Floor Rieder here:
Edible Flowers art print
Forest Dream art print