ABOUT LEILA + OLIVE
Leila + Olive is an art brand founded by illustrator, author, and floral designer Nicole Rallis. Since 2015, Rallis has devoted her enchantment with the union between nature and mystical transformation into building botanical-inspired works, including four renowned tools of divination: the Pythia Botanica Oracle, the Ophidia Rosa Tarot, the Maiden Oracle, and Viola Lux Umbra.
Created with both timeless and immediate, heartfelt impulses, each Leila + Olive piece, from botanical decks to limited-run illustrated prints, draws on elements near and afar, from the soil to the stars. In particular, mysteries explored among botanical growing seasons and Rallis' Hellenic heritage appear as regular touch points in the work.
Thousands of people across the world, from San Francisco to Paris and beyond, have taken personal journeys with these decks, sharing as they go with readings and musings on their connection to botanical magic. Among other outlets, Leila + Olive's work has been featured in Vogue, NYLON, Teen Vogue, frankie, The Numinous, and Enchanted Living.
FROM THE ARTIST
When I grow up, I want a floral life. It wasn't put so well as a kid, waiting knee-deep in Yiayia's garden boots for Papou to meet me at the Roses. But in words and images of youthful whimsy, I remember the seeds of that dream: Sunflowers as tall as my grandfather, rainbow-dipped heirloom tomatoes, dizzying Begonia leaves, Spring Pansies, and my grandmother watering blooms of every hue. My grandparents carved out a brick-lined garden back then, a magical place that defied in splendid, fruitful glory the concrete of a city home's backyard. It was there that I dreamed of a botanical future; of each day renewed with green; of a garden like theirs.
Now I have a garden of my own and Leila + Olive is my garden of art, sprouting up from the illuminations of blooms to growth yet unseen. Each work in my collection is a stop along this botanical journey, a creative moment of transformation, indelibly sprouted from the past while tethered to truths dreamt of a vining future.
In this most cherished part of my world is where botanicals and magic meet, from the garden to the cards.
Meet Nicole
Nicole Rallis is an illustrator, author, and floral designer. She has devoted her lifelong enchantment with the union between nature and mystical transformation into building botanical-inspired works. Originally from New York City, she now lives in the forests of New England, arranging flowers, tending to the garden, and crafting delicate illustrations.
Meet Peter
Peter Henry Reed is an author and artist living in New England. Peter started his career as a music journalist in Berkeley, CA, with work cited by such publications as The Guardian and Rolling Stone, before expanding into the botanical roots of his childhood. The pair collaborate on many creative endeavors together, including the beloved Ad Orbita Tarot and published works.
