Tell us about your journey into floristry?
I always smile when I tell this story as over the years I have asked so many students the same question and they come back with the most romantic of stories, telling me of their of childhoods spent in the garden and loving flowers at an early age. I did not think about flowers at all until I was twenty three! I liked them of the course, but I knew nothing and had very little interest.
My background was in the theatre, script writing and performing. After university I lost a huge amount of confidence and I couldn’t see a way I could make it in an industry which requires a huge amount of confidence. So I got an office job, a slightly odd decision, and one that I regretted after six weeks. Sitting behind a desk is not for me. I have always been creative, I draw and paint. Part of my office job however was to phone the London florists and organise the flowers for our events. I was always struck how the florists could take my brief and bring it to life.
To get me through that job I enrolled in an evening course. The course was a long way from what I teach, carnations, chrysanthemums (not the good ones) were everyway, cellophane, poly ribbon, but nevertheless I was hooked. I quit my job and decided to become a florist.
What was your training?
I did a two year diploma at a local college, but I didn’t get on with the course. My knowledge was limited on sustainability then, but from the very beginning I didn’t get on with foam. I hated using it and looked to use other methods.
I found it frustrating as we had to provide our own flowers and I didn’t have the budget that other students had. I also found it difficult being restricted by so many rules. To me I have always wanted to create gardens indoors. I am inspired by the seasons and have always wanted to be led by flower movement and not to be restricted by so many rules.
After my college course I went to London and enrolled in a career course at Jane Packer, then later at McQueens. Further still I enrolled in online training with world renowned teacher Kiana Underwood of Tulpina Design. The combination of the three educational settings taught me the type of floristry that I wanted to create.
Tell us about your wedding business
I created The Vintage Flower House back in 2008. At the time vintage colour roses were everywhere and I couldn’t get enough of them. I had no desire to open a shop. Although the idea of setting up a shop is a lovely romantic idea, for me the numbers didn’t add up. I could see that rents were high in the villages where I lived and working with perishable goods is always difficult, especially when you are trying to predict your footfall.
So I set up at home instead. I decided to just concentrate on weddings as I knew this was the area where you could generate the hignest income as a florist and I wanted to be seen as a specialist. This worked for me and the business grew rapidly.
Why did you decide to close The Vintage Flower House?
Life got in the way. Despite having my first son with no problems, he came with me on a wedding five days after I had given birth, the birth of my second son was not so straight forward. I had a complicated pregnancy and had a series of conditions which made me poorly. So I decided it was time for me to put a pin in the business and concentrate on my family.
How did Flourish Sussex Flower School come about?
Fast forward a few years, I had my daughter. When she was six months old I started to think about returning to work. At the time I knew that I couldn’t go back to the wedding business. My husband at the time worked extremely long hours and was often away, so I felt I couldn’t then be busy all of the weekends.
I started to look around to see what courses and training programmes were like in the local area. To my surprise nothing had moved on since I trained. Courses seem to be very stuck in traditional methods and if you went to London the courses were extremely costly.
I began to think about classes and I started to advertise Posy and Prosecco workshops. They became very popular. It was a great way for people to enjoy a night out with a friend or loved one, learn about flowers, create something beautiful and enjoy a glass of bubbles.
From here I started to think about career courses and if I was training again how I would want to be taught. This is when I created the two week career courses.
How has the business grown?
In 2020 the reputation of the business grew rapidly. Instagram was a fantastic tool for this. The school became known for teaching with sustainable methods, using British produce when available and creating beautiful designs and always bringing the outdoors inside.
The reputation of the school has continued to grow and despite me taking six months off for personal reasons, I am happy to say I am back teaching and I am really excited for the future of Flourish. I have lots of ideas that I am excited to implement them in 2026.
What has been your biggest failure?
I don’t really like to label anything as a failure as I believe you learn a lot from things that don’t go the way you hoped. I dreamt of owning my own studio and when it happened I was so happy and it was very beautiful. However the premises wasn’t right. The location was difficult, parking was an issue. It got ridiculously hot, not ideal when working with flowers and to be honest it was just a bit lonely!
I met Emma from Pitfields Cutting Garden back in 2021 and when she said she was expanding the workshop space, we talked about me relocating the school to the farm and I have never looked back.
Having Flourish based at Pitfields is the ideal location. Students can learn while being surrounded by seasonal growth.
What aspect of the school are you most proud of?
Creating a business that works around my children is definitely something I cherish.
I am really proud of the career courses, the practical two week intensive course. It is jam packed with knowledge and allows students to develop their own creativity. I am also really proud of our online business programme. This is a four week course which is made up of twelve online modules. I tell all of my students there is no point learning the practical side of floristry if you don’t know the business side. Our online course is a building block, covering all aspects of running a small business. It is full of tools, resources and information, it is definitely something I wish I had learnt when I started out.
The main aspect that I am most proud of however, is the community of Flourish graduates. I love seeing past students freelancing for each other and it is very special that so many students are now working in their dream job.
I am also a massive champion of women. I love to support women to follow their dreams. Whatever size of business you want to create it is such an achievement and a journey that I love to be part of.
What does the future hold for Flourish?
More career courses, more specialist classes, more demonstrations. As I said I am always bursting with ideas so I am looking forward to setting them in motion soon.
What advice woulf you give to someone who is thinking about a career in floristry?
Do it! I am obviously bias, but it is such a joy to work with nature. The most important thing is to find an educational setting that teaches you the type of floristry that you want to learn. At Flourish I hold two open mornings a year. These events are completely free and I feel they give people a great insight into the school. It’s a great industry, but it is also competitve so you need to find your style and carve out your own little piece in the industry.
If you are not confident don’t worry. try to put nerves to the side. I teach so many people who start off the two weeks feeling so under confident and by the end they are flourishing. Find a community that is supportive and will champion you, that is what we are all about at Flourish Sussex Flower School.
