Bringing the Outdoors Indoors
Surrounding yourself with nature and the colour green has so many positive qualities. The colour green is meant to bring calmness, bring down anxiety all because when we look at it it brings us closer to nature.
Often when we think of bringing in flowers to the home pound signs may appear. But bringing nature indoors doesn’t have to be expensive. Here we guide you through three arrangements that are quick, easy and cost effective, allowing you to enjoy nature inside as well as outside.
Outdoors Indoors
Ideas to bring nature into your home.
Surrounding yourself with nature and the colour green has so many positive factors. The colour green is meant to bring calmness, bring down anxiety, all because when we look at any shade of green it makes us think about nature.
Often when we think of bringing flowers into the home pound signs may appear. But bringing nature indoors doesn’t have to be expensive. Here we guide you through three arrangements that are quick, easy and cost effective, allowing you to enjoy nature inside as well as outside.
Entrance Table Flowers
Having flowers on an entrance table is one of the places I always try and place an arrangement. As soon as you open your front door you want to feel calm, relaxed and for guests, flowers will add to that inviting feeling. For me I don’t want anything too over the top. A simple small vase or white jug filled with a combination of flowers and foliage will be enough to add to the table, without it looking too dramatic
Top tip: You must think about the colour of your table and the objects you have on it when choosing your palette for your flowers. I have quite a bit of rustic burnt orange and brown. In the autumn it is fun to bring out those darker tones, but for spring, summer and winter my go too is white and a silvery green. I want something understated and not competing with the oranges and browns. Simplicity is key.
I have used “Ariadne’ Butterfly Ranunculus in the white jug.
2: Bringing in the Branches
Branches are a lovely way of filling space and if you are a lucky enough to have access to a garden this is a bonus as they are free! Branches can fill a large space and provide beautiful movement. When arranging your branches it is important to hold the branches and see where the stems naturally want to go. If you arrange by being led with the flower movement of the branches, your display will be natural bringing beauty and elegance to your design.
Top tip when working with branches: any flower that has a woody stem needs to be seared. This simply means putting the stem after you have cut it ,at a 45 degree angle, into boiling water for 30 seconds. It’s important that you don’t leave them in for any longer than that otherwise they will get damaged and die.
Flower varities that I have used around the house. Populus Eucalyptus, Buttefly Ranunculus “Ariadne’ and Papaver Seed Heads, small.
3: Decorating The Fireplace
I love fireplaces and it’s a good job as we live in a 15th century farmhouse, so fireplaces are in most of the rooms. Even though the house is very old I didn’t want the interior to be oldie worldly, instead I have opted for different looks; a dark snug, a monochromatic lounge and for this space it is all about white.
This is actually a landing, but it is a large space so I wanted to create it into a space that we could use. With three small children I find trying to get moments of calm challenging. But by having spaces around the home that reflect calmness can really help me to take a moment.
This space has textured walls and beams. The floor is dark, but it gets a lot of light. Old houses have a tendency of looking dark, something I wanted to avoid. By filling it with white objects and plants allows the brightness to be shown.
For this display I used three white thin vases. I wanted to combine different textures. The Populus berry eucalyptus is so incredibly beautiful, so it really just needs space and placing. Just having it on mass is stunning and it will just do its thing. The poppy heads add a lovely texture and the ranunculus just bring that element of femininity to the piece.
Bonus: both the poppy heads and eucalyptus will dry which means I only need to change the small vase, making it less maintenance and cheaper.
To see how I created the fireplace display check out our Instagram grid where we share lots of ideas on creating beautiful floral arrangements in the home.
Thanks for stopping by!
Alicia xx
#interiors #homestyling #eucalyptus #floristry tecniques #flowerschool #sussexflowerschool #floristrycoursessussex #fireplacedecor #farmhouse #summerblooms #homedecor #plants
Wedding Flowers Sussex
Wedding flowers are of course one of the most important part of the floristry industry. More than ever people are wanting to make their weddings completely unique and transform their wedding venue, which can be done with lowers.
Combining vision, inspiration with your clients wishes, while making sure you come away with a healthy profit can be a challenging task.
Our four day intensive Wedding Mash Up course combines inspirational designs, with eco friendly techniques and business knowledge, so that students come away with a wealth of knowledge and vision to supply their own clients.
From creating a show stopper of a bridal bouquet, to a table installation to a fireplace design and stair case display, at Flourish Sussex Flower School we pack this course with everything we believe you need to know, so that you come away with the knowledge and tools to execute unique wedding flowers successfully and confidently.
On day one students are given an introduction to the course and listen to Alicia’s experience of running her own wedding and event business for eight years. Then a demonstration is given of how to create a seasonal, garden style bridal bouquet, finished off by beautiful botanical dyed silk ribbons from northern hands. In the afternoon a model comes in to hold the arrangements while the students work is photographed.
Day two we will turn our attention to table installation. As a group we will create runners, table vases, urns, meadows, all to create a striking display.
Day three we will turn our attention to the business side. Students will be taught how to order from a wholesaler, how to allocate flowers to arrangements, pricing, running a successful wedding.
On the final day we work in a private home and decorate the fireplace and staircase.
All arrangements will be photographed and students will be sent final shots of the arrangements, plus images of your working.
Course Details:
Date: 17th-20th October 2022
Price: £860.00 includes all flowers and foliage. Payment plans are available to all.
Make Your Easter Wreath with Flourish Sussex!
Hello! I'm Alicia from Flourish Sussex Flower School. I founded the school in 2017 and have been lucky enough to welcome many students through our studio doors. We moved to our permanent studio here in Sussex last June and we have created a beautiful space for students to get creative in.
This blog is where I share floristry tricks, tips, inspiration and guidance. I want to share my passion of floristry and hopefully get you to get creative with flowers. I hope you enjoy!
Easter is fast approaching and what could be more wonderful than creating your own Easter wreath for your home. Here at Flourish Sussex we have everlasting wreaths and wreath kits that you can choose from to celebrate this wonderful time of year.
This year we have three glorious designs to choose from.: The Bridgerton, The Featherington and The Danbury. Each one comes with a grapevine wreath frame, a beautiful selection of dried flowers and foliage and a velvet ribbon. Instructions are included in the pack and if you need some extra help you can simply watch a tutorial on our Youtube channel.
Check out our Bridgerton wreath tutorial here
Please note the video shows the wreath on a large frame, this year we are only doing medium wreath kits.
If you don’t fancy making a wreath we also sell pre-made kits, check out our online store for the spring collection.
If you want to make an event of it, why not sign up to our half day spring making course. Spend the morning with us on the 6th April and create your own wreath under the guidance of myself. You also get some sweets treats and a glass of fizz.
Get creative with Flourish Sussex Flower school this spring time!
All about Ribbons!
Hello! I'm Alicia from Flourish Sussex Flower School. I founded the school in 2017 and have been lucky enough to welcome many students through our studio doors. We moved to our permanent studio here in Sussex last June and we have created a beautiful space for students to get creative in.
This blog is where I share floristry tricks, tips, inspiration and guidance. I want to share my passion of floristry and hopefully get you to get creative with flowers. I hope you enjoy!
I love ribbons. I think they can add such beauty to any bouquet. But as a florist it is really important that you know the different types of ribbons that are out there. In this tutorial I discuss some of the ribbons we use at Flourish Sussex Flower School and who are my preferred suppliers.
LINKS:
Northern Hands: https://www.northern-hands-uk.com/
Lancaster and Cornish: https://www.lancasterandcornish.co.uk/
CFleurs Design Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Cfleursdesign?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=569996199
Confidence or lack of!
breathe in courage and breathe out fear
Yesterday I put up this motto on Instagram . Aw yes Instagram. The platform that has transformed so many small businesses profiles. It has allowed exposure in a way that no small business could have ever dreamed to of gained ten years ago and bonus its free!
This incredible platform has allowed businesses to connect, reach potential clients and customers in vast numbers. The advantages for this social network are endless. However and this is a big however, it in turn also forces business owners to be extroverts or pretend at least and this is where the problems begin.
Extrovert or Introvert?
As part of the business class I teach here at Flourish Sussex Flower School I discuss this idea of being an extrovert or introvert. Many people, my friends including, would probably think I am an extrovert. I appear comfortable with my friends, I like hosting parties and I am confident talking about subjects I feel passionate about. However I do a great deal of masking. I believe this comes from the fact that I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was six. I spent a lot of time in my teenage years through to my early twenties trying to hide it from others. I was so worried about being labelled as unintelligent, so I hid it from the world and worked twice as hard to achieve exam results.
Although I may appear confident and do have a level of self belief (mainly due to me caring less as I have become older), I also deal with imposter syndrome. The inner dialogue that I have can be exhausting and my worst critic is myself. Sometimes that has it’s advantages. The level of work I produce is probably always quite high, as I am always trying to push myself to be the very best, as if I failed the inner voice would tell me it loudly.
I would like to add to this I am not like this with anyone else. In fact completely the opposite. I would never expect my kids to achieve so much and I am constantly telling them its ok to fail.
So despite the world maybe labelling me as an extrovert, there is no doubt in my mind and in those closest to me that I am an introvert and I am fine with this. But when it comes to running a business I believe it is harder for us introverts.
IGTV, REELS, STORIES, GRID
Can you feel the anxiety rising? As much as Instagram helps businesses it also requires you to ‘put yourself out there’. We probably know ourselves with the businesses that we follow and buy from, we like to be nosey. It’s not enough looking at the product anymore, we want to know a bit about the person behind the business, especially when it’s a small business. We want to hear their voice, see reels, see what they do in their daily lives. We live in a time where small business owners don’t just have to know their numbers, be the creators ,but they have to put their face out there and that is where anxiety, imposture syndrome can stop people from pursuing their dreams or give up on their business all together before its even begun.
One of the proudest parts of the school for me occurs on the Friday, the last day of our Foundation Course. We have a session about mental health. I state I am not expert, but I share my own experiences as person who has run two businesses, but who is essentially an introvert. Through this a discussion is formed. I am firm believer that sharing stories is a great way for people to realise that so many others feel exactly the same and that helps.
To feel less alone is the starting point to feel like maybe you can do it.
I am not saying that everyone on Instagram should come out and say, ‘yes isn’t this bloody hard and uncomfortable’, but maybe there needs to be more honesty and thats why I am such a fan of podcasts.
Podcasts
Podcasts are a great way of listening to high profile and successful people share their own experiences, fears and how they have overcome their feelings of inadequacy at points in their careers. We all have feelings of self doubt and imposture syndrome, but it is how we manage them which is the real challenge. What I have seen in my work at the school, is that there are so many talented and creative people out there, who are on the verge of turning away from their talent simply because that voice inside them becomes too strong and that feeling that everyone else is braver or stronger becomes too loud.I strongly believe that it would help everyone if we were tad more honest. It is difficult to do this on Instagram and perhaps we all like to see the shiny perfect life, but I am not sure it helps the business owners much and that is why I believe podcasts are so helpful.
I have been a fan of Fearne Cottons Happy Place since it started. It really has set a president on how conversation of mental health have to happen more. It’s a great podcast to hear some of the most famous people out their share their stories and dealings with anxiety.
I have recently discovered Conversations of Inspiration by Holly Tucker, founder of Not on The Hight Street and Holly & Co. I think every small business owner and new start up should listen to this. Hours of inspiring, real and honest conversation. It is so much more fruitful then just scrolling yourself down a rabbit hole on Instagram.
Action
If you are reading this and finding yourself saying ‘yes, yes, yes!!’ then probably you are on the same wave length as many of my students. But the question is once you recognise it within yourself, what do you do about it? If things are very dark and bad then please go to see a doctor or tell someone close to you. There is no shame in doing this. Life is difficult and when it gets to much asking for help is so important .
If you are feeling that that inner voice is getting too loud please do check out the podcasts above and also there are some amazing books out there. I am currently ready ‘Why has nobody told me this before’ by Dr Julie Smith. She also has an instagram page. This book has so many tips and I believe it should be read by everyone. It is such a good coaching to life.
Don’t let the inner voice stop you!
I guess the point of this blog is start a conversation. It is something we do at Flourish Sussex and I hope that if you are reading this it might help you. It is not easy to start a business or to enter a new creative industry, especially if you are an introvert. We are increasingly in an age that is demanding that we are all extroverts. But perhaps if we are more honest and just put our hands up and say, ‘yes I am an introvert, this is me. This is my creative business. I will share what I can in my own way, but no I am not going to do funny reels, as that is not me and you know what I am ok with that.’
By
Alicia
Links: