Embracing Easter Traditions with Artistic Flair
Are you decorating your home with chicks, bunnies, and hanging ornaments on an Easter tree? Indeed, Easter trees have become a popular trend. Decorating doors with foliage, bows, lights, and various ornaments is no longer limited to Christmas and Halloween; it is now a growing way to celebrate the spring holiday.
If you have embraced the "twig style" Easter tree trend, you might be displaying ornaments created by a Welsh artist who was an early contributor to this burgeoning Easter celebration style.
From Art Teacher to Celebrated Creator
Amy Swann, hailing from Llanfrothen near the renowned Italianate village of Portmeirion in Gwynedd, transitioned from being an art teacher to a creator whose work is sold across the UK, including at London's historic Fortnum and Mason department store.
Nature and Heritage as Artistic Foundations
Amy attributes her childhood environment as a major influence on her artistic approach, particularly the strong connection to the natural world that initially inspired her.
Her upbringing in the small village of Llanfrothen, situated at the base of Cnicht mountain, placed her near the beautifully sculpted estate of Plas Brondanw, the former home of architect Clough Williams-Ellis, who designed much of the surrounding landscape.
A foundation established by Williams-Ellis manages approximately 50 homes in the area, renting them exclusively to local residents to help sustain the community.
These homes are often painted with distinctive whitewash and feature his signature turquoise blue woodwork, lending a storybook charm to Amy's surroundings in what she describes as a "quite an ancient village" during her childhood.
"There's some Roman paths there and it feels a bit like it's stuck in history in some way in the older parts. It's stayed the same since I was a child."
From a young age, Amy would pick wildflowers and bring them home to draw.
At school, she learned about traditions, folklore, and local history, which she considers a crucial part of her upbringing and understanding of her Welsh identity.
She also credits her mother for nurturing her early artistic interests by providing beautifully illustrated books.
"My mother had good taste in books... she used to buy me beautifully illustrated books. Things like Brambly Hedge, Flower Fairies, but even earlier than that. She kept all the books she had as a little girl, so my first memory of art is in books, in those nostalgic illustrations, where the colour palettes are so soft and sensitive."
Living close to such a rich natural environment allowed Amy to connect the imagery in books directly to the real world around her.
"In Brambly Hedge, for example, you'd see the little mice in hedgerows that if I went out of my door, I'd see the same where I lived. There were little secret pathways through trees or holes in little oak trees where mice might live, or primroses lining a little ancient pathway. The pathway between my imagination and reality was very close. I could see it in a book and I could see it where I lived."
Education and Early Career
Inspired by art teachers such as Luned Parry, who were also practicing Welsh artists, Amy pursued a degree in printed textiles at Loughborough University. She then taught visual arts at a college in Chester for 12 years.
Discovering a Crafting Tradition Abroad
During her honeymoon in Austria near Christmas, Amy encountered a crafting tradition that would later influence her artistic direction.
"There were so many beautiful Christmas decorations that were made there, and people were buying them because they were made there. They wanted something that felt authentic, not a souvenir even, just something that felt real, because it was a Christmassy place. I went to see a little woodcarver who'd carved everything there himself and I remember saying to my husband 'why don't we have anything like that in our country'?"
Balancing Family and Art
After having a baby and discovering she was pregnant with twins, Amy sought a creative pursuit that would accommodate her family life.
Back in Llanfrothen, she began sculpting flowers from icing and other materials. Friends soon requested her to decorate their wedding cakes.
"I was drawing on my childhood. I thought it would be lovely to have a cake covered in flowers that looked like you'd just picked them from the meadow or the hedgerow. That really took off. I was contacted by magazines asking me if I could do things for their cover shots for the magazines, and also features inside."
Her work gained further recognition when she appeared alongside Kirstie Allsopp on the show Kirstie's Handmade Christmas in 2016.
Adapting During the Pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic caused weddings to be postponed, Amy reflected on the Austrian woodcarver's handmade Christmas decorations.
"Because I was in a place where I wasn't working as a teacher or anything, I had the space to think 'what next?' During Covid everybody was being quite creative anyway. September of that year I was painting baubles – it's quite a thing now but it wasn't then. A bauble on a tree was personalised or hand-made in this country and not shipped over."
Her creations gained attention on Instagram, leading to direct sales and business growth.
Collaborations and Growing Demand
In 2023, Fortnum and Mason commissioned Amy to design a series of decorations inspired by the 12 days of Christmas. She has continued to collaborate with the store annually.
While Christmas remains her busiest season, Amy has observed a significant increase in demand for Easter and spring decorations.
Consumer market agency Mintel reports that Easter spending has grown from £550 million in 2016 to a projected £1.7 billion in 2025.
"I think people are moving towards the trend of investing in Easter now. People want to decorate and make things pretty at home. It's about sustainability as well, and making sure that people are investing in things that are made in this country but also things that will last."
Amy emphasizes the importance of her work being recognized as entirely made in Wales, which she considers a significant part of her identity.
"I'm always trying to promote it because I do think as Welsh artists we can get lost in the ether of being from Great Britain."
Future Aspirations
Amy hopes to author a book on Welsh folklore and traditions, many of which were integral to the seasonal rhythms she experienced growing up.
"When you grow up in rural Wales, you're very much aware of the seasons because you look to nature for those changes. I remember my nain [grandmother] who lived in the village saying 'oh I heard the cuckoo today' and that marks the beginning of a new phase, or the lambs that are in the field and you know spring's coming. Anything like that that embeds itself in you as a child stays with you."
