Hearts & Roses : A small block with a big heart

I'm not always sure what the story behind my designs are; they reveal themselves as they grow, but every now and then, one arrives with its full story already there. Hearts and Roses is a small design, but its story is layered with memory, loss, family, friendship, and love. It grew from a long-standing fascination with shape and space, and was sparked by a simple comment during a Christmas conversation.

In this post, I’m sharing the journey behind the block — where the idea came from, the people it connects to, and how a tiny carved heart ended up carrying so much meaning.

The Shapes made by Gaps

I have been fascinated by the shapes made by gaps ever since the concept was pointed out to me by a tutor I had for a garden design course I did back in 2000 - goodness that is a while ago! The tutor had an art background, and for him, design was as much about the negative space as it was about the positive. We would start with a flat plan of the space and just lay down form without a concept of what the function might be. Since then that concept has grown in my mind to the idea of creating specific shape out of other shapes, and the spaces in-between.

So far, I have created two different designs using this principle. One is larger and slightly more complex, but it’s the smaller one that has the biggest heart.

A Seasonal design Challenge

At Christmas, I had been chatting with mum, about how tricky it can be to make a design feel seasonal, while still working year-round. I mentioned a block I’d already made - a stylised Pohutukawa, a bottlebrush native to New Zealand, and known as the New Zealand Christmas Tree. It is pretty iconic in Kiwiana, and I do love it – those beautiful red brushes are out in full force at Christmas. So, yes, it feels Christmassy to me, but also stands up as a design for any time of year.

I had said, “valentine’s day is coming up …. What on earth could do with that?’

To which mum replied, ‘Well, do a heart.’

At which point I rolled my eyes (metaphorically of course) and said, ‘Yep, thanks for that’.

But actually, she did get me thinking. I was thinking – hearts, roses, love, friendship, family.

Hearts and Roses

It turns out, this design comes from loss and flowers, two losses to be precise.

Love, Loss and a bit of Lino

The first was a dear friend who, even five years on, I still find myself chatting to in my head most days. I miss her laugh, I miss her company and everything that comes with a loving friendship – she is still very present in my life.

The second was my father. When we were kids he always encouraged us to try new things. He had a bit of a mantra: ‘There’s no such thing as bored, you just aren’t using your brain’. He would come home with things - my brothers remember mechanical things to pull apart… and try to put back together. And specific to my life now, I remember a lino cutting set.

I probably remember it so well, because I have a scar on my wrist from the first time I used it – before I learnt to keep both hands behind the blade! That sort of reinforced learning is a bit of a theme with me – I have a similar scar on my knee from woodwork class in high school. When I was home not long before he died, we were talking about my design and block making – Dad didn’t particularly remember getting us the set, but when I showed him the scar, he did grin and shake his head.

A Family of Roses

I do love a flower, and strongly believe a weed is only a flower in the wrong place (I have lots of weeds). And although I cannot for the life of me successfully grow them, as a family we have quite a strong connection with roses.

Mum & Dad with their wedding roses

My maternal grandparents, Stephen (Jim) and Rima used to grow and propagate roses at their nursery in the Stoke region around Nelson, in New Zealand’s South Island, during the 1960’s.

One of their new propagations was a rose they named Rima, which for probably quite obvious reasons, has been in many family gardens over the years.

I had buds of it in my bouquet for my first marriage – it was a lovely rose, had a good scent and was a beautiful pinky apricot in colour.

The photos included here show my parents picking roses at the nursery the day before their wedding. The other is my 18 year old self, Susan Rima standing in front of a bed of Rosa Rima at the Samuels Rose Garden. Moments caught in time

Rosa Rima

If you’re interested in a little rabbit hole, there’s a small article here about my grandparents and what was frankly, an interesting life in very different times

A Design with Heart

So, while this design might have its origins in loss, it is inspired by love, happiness and fond memory – and I hope that is what comes through most clearly.

It’s not a large block, more of a stamp really, but it carries a lot of emotion. I think it’s quite striking on its own, or grouped together in a pattern. Whether you see it as a heart, a rose or simply a beautiful composition of shape and space, I hope it speaks to you too.

Designs like this remind me why I love what I do — they hold stories, memories, and emotions that often run deeper than the surface suggests. Hearts and Roses may be small in size, but it carries with it a lifetime of connection, love, and the quiet joy of things remembered.