Mottled Tiger Moth Placemat

Bell Hutley x Bertioli collection

A collaborative range of tableware, inspired by the intricate nexus of nature.

“Nature is our muse. It is a source of constant inspiration.”

This statement is true for both Bell Hutley and Caryn & Milly Hibbert, the mother & daughter duo behind Bertioli.

Nature is a careful balance, an intricate nexus of relationships between plants, fungi, insects, and animals, supporting one another in the equilibrium of life. It is also true that the wellbeing of mankind is inextricably linked to that of the natural world. In recent years, the fragility of nature has been put at the forefront of conversation, with species decline and habitat loss at the heart. One of the key concerns has been around the health of pollinators and the crucial role that they play in every ecosystem.

With this collaborative collection, we bring together the distinctive illustrations by Bell and Caryn to celebrate pollinators and highlight their relationships with both common and unique plantlife. to inspire conversation around the table and a deeper connection to nature.

“Bertioli’s mission is to consolidate the idea that in nurturing nature, we nurture ourselves.” Caryn Hibbert.

Stinging Nettle & Tiger Moth – 

Moths are often brushed aside with their home-invader connotations, however only two of the 2500 species of moth in the UK are guilty of wrecking wardrobes! The rest play a vital role as a food source for birds and other animals as well as overnight pollinators. They also compete on the beauty scale, coming in a fabulous array of luminous colours and entrancing shapes.  The Tiger Moth is a wonderful example of this, with bright orange hindwings, hidden under a fabulous pair of animal print forewings. Tiger Moths reside up and down the country, favouring damp meadows and open woodlands as well as gardens to call their home. Their caterpillars eat a variety of herbaceous plants, particularly choosing the common stinging nettle. Sadly, moth populations have crashed in the last 40 years, with the Garden Tiger Moth populations in Britain dropping by 92% since 1968.  This decline has lasting impacts on the wider ecosystem, not only are moths’ important pollinators for wildflowers such as orchids, but the drop in moth populations is also connected to declines in the number of other species, such as bats and cuckoos, both of which can be found at Thyme. Cuckoos specialise in eating hairy caterpillars, and with the Tiger Moth caterpillar lovingly named the ‘woolly bear’, it is a delicacy.

We have been inspired by the special relationship between tiger moths and the common nettle, and the fundamental role moths play in nature, to create this collection.

Size: 28cm Diameter

Protective melamine coating

Material: Eucalyptus, cork 

Digital print & backed in black baize

Matt Finish 

Heat-resistance to 140˚C

Made in UK