Shoreditch Pop-Up 2022: A Celebration of Nature, Technology, and Creativity

Explore the Shoreditch Pop-Up, a vibrant celebration of nature, technology, and creativity by Sowvital, featuring unique workshops and art installations.

Coinciding with our Sowvital launch, we brought our brand to London’s East End, opening an inspiring pop-up shop in Shoreditch.

This curated space reflected our ethos, blending nature with modern design to engage passers-by.

Punctuated by Sowvital’s signature scent, the shop served as a sensory journey, combining botanical artistry and product innovation.

Contents

1. Bridging the Gap Between Digital and Natural

2. Nature Printing with Pia Östlund

3. 3D Printed Ceramics by Josef Stöger

Bridging the Gap Between the Digital and Natural

Midway through the residency, we transformed the space into a gallery showcasing a range of AI-generated artworks commissioned by Sowvital.

 These unique pieces represented the intersection between the digital and natural worlds, inviting visitors to explore the evolving relationship between technology and the environment.

Nature Printing with Pia Östlund

Photography: Jack Lewis

One of the highlights of the pop-up event was a workshop led by Swedish designer and printmaker Pia Östlund. Her work, deeply influenced by nature, utilises a rare printing method that has not been practised since the 19th century.

Renaissance-era herbalists used this technique in Italy to study and document the medicinal and utilitarian properties of plants.

Östlund, one of the few contemporary artists practising this traditional method, follows in the footsteps of printers like Auer, Bradbury, and Kyhl. She creates intricate plant images by applying pressure to leaves, passing them through processes involving roofing lead, electric currents, copper sulphates, and sulphuric acid.

The workshop allowed visitors to witness this unique art form in action. Östlund’s passion for preserving the ephemeral nature of plants through printmaking was a perfect fit for our Shoreditch space, as her work mirrored Sowvital’s mission to combine art, nature, and scientific exploration. Check out more of Östlund’s incredible work here.

3D Printed Ceramics by Josef Stöger

STYLING: Nicholas Rogers, Sandip Chudha

Alongside Östlund’s workshop, we were thrilled to collaborate with Austrian artist Josef Stöger, whose work in 3D-printed ceramics complemented the pop-up’s modern aesthetic.

Stöger’s process involves creating digital designs that are printed layer by layer using a clay extruder. This method allows for precision and complexity in design, impossible to achieve by hand, and showcases how science and technology can merge to elevate artistic expression.

Stöger designed and printed delicate ceramic pedestals to display Sowvital’s products throughout the pop-up. His organic shapes, created using natural materials, symbolised the seamless integration of sustainability with contemporary art and design.

This collaboration aligned perfectly with Sowvital’s values of sustainability and innovation, demonstrating how cutting-edge technology can highlight the beauty of the natural world. Click here to find out if Josef Stöger is coming to an exhibition near you.

Conclusion

Our Shoreditch pop-up wasn’t just a retail space—it was an embodiment of Sowvital’s core mission to nurture and celebrate the connections between nature, technology, and art.

By transforming the space into a multi-sensory experience, we showed how modern innovations, from AI-generated artworks to traditional nature printing and 3D-printed ceramics, can enrich our understanding and appreciation of the world around us.

These collaborations with artists like Pia Östlund and Josef Stöger brought to life our commitment to sustainability, creativity, and the celebration of botanical beauty.