I’m Violetta Chmielewska, and for five years now, I’ve been head over heels in love with the secrets of pressing and drying plants. I turn these botanical treasures into modern collages and compositions, celebrating the beauty of nature in every frame.

I started @_mala_laka in March 2021 as a space to share my awe for the natural world. The name "Mała Łąka" (Little Meadow) comes from one of my favorite spots in the Tatra Mountains, the Mała Łąka Valley, where I often wander.

My flowers come from many places: some grow on my attic windowsills, others are found in wild meadows or collected during summer hikes in the Beskids and Gorce mountains. I also support local flower farms near Krakow. Everything is dried the traditional way—flat-pressed in wood. It takes patience and a lot of heart to keep their colors vivid, but the thrill of opening a press after weeks of waiting is incomparable.

Between foraging and sorting, I spend hundreds of hours a year working with plants. But the real magic happens at the very end: the search for the perfect layout, the play with colors, and that final, rewarding moment when the composition comes together.