In Clare Mahoney’s work, fragility and resilience are held in careful tension. Through botanical casting and porcelain, delicate natural forms are translated into objects of quiet strength — inviting us to slow down, look closely, and make with attention.

Botanical casting sits at the meeting point of science and craft, translating fleeting plant forms into enduring plaster reliefs. From ancient traditions to contemporary practice, the article traces a quiet lineage of observation, material exchange and making. At The Old Vicarage, this history continues through hands-on workshops that invite close looking, patience and care.

Julia talks about her creative process, working with paper and paint, and finding beauty in the overlooked details of home and harvest. A reflection on slowness, craft and seeing afresh.

Join us at The Old Vicarage in Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset, the home of Asterion & Co. for our monthly Book or Poetry Circle.

Asterion & Co. invites you to bring the green indoors — craft wreaths, paint your own seasonal botanicals Christmas card, all honouring Christmas traditions.

Neil Crump, Founder of Asterion & Co., blends a background in biology, art, and communications to create meaningful experiences in Somerset. Rooted in craftsmanship and connection, his story inspires Asterion’s philosophy of living, making and doing things well.

Botanical illustrator and card designer Kate Charlton brings her painter’s eye and florist’s sensitivity to every petal she paints. From her Somerset studio to The Old Vicarage in Leigh-on-Mendip, she shares how emotion, craftsmanship, and quiet confidence shape her work — and her upcoming Asterion & Co. Christmas Card Course.

Heritage-Inspired Learning™ is Asterion & Co.’s signature way of sharing knowledge and experiences — taking the best of traditional skills, practices and aesthetics and pairing them with contemporary insights, techniques and thinking. It’s learning rooted in the wisdom of the past, yet shaped for the needs and creativity of today.

What do you go when the kitchen garden produces a mini mountain of produce? A preserve is my go to. Grapes and cucamelons make a delicious rich chutney that smells and tastes like heaven.

At first glance, the cucamelon looks like a modern novelty destined for Instagram fame — a miniature watermelon, the size of a grape, with a cucumber-like cross section, satisfying big crunch and a cucumber taste with a hint of tangy lime.

These tiny fruits (Melothria scabra) are no modern hybrid at all, but heirs to a heritage that stretches back centuries to the heart of Central America.

Asterion Founder, Neil Crump, chats to Chris, our first official collaborator, about the values that underpin good growing and good living.