Tell us about The Flowerstalk!
The Flowerstalk is a small, local flower shop based at Dobbies Garden Centre. We supply flowers for all occasions - cut flowers for the house, gift bunches and bouquets, funerals, corporate but what we love doing most of all is wedding flowers!
How did it all begin? How did you become a florist?
My Mum is a florist so I've grown up with it - watching her creating wedding flowers at home, helping her wire leaves for buttonholes when I was only about 8 years old - she helps me now! I started working in a flower shop as a saturday girl when I was 14 and quickly decided there was nothing I wanted to do more as a career so once I finished school I completed a 2 year floristry course at college.
What's the BEST part of your job?
I LOVE seeing the delight on peoples faces and their reaction to what you have created for them - priceless!
What's been the most exciting project you've worked on?
I was asked to create flowers for a "festival" wedding a couple of years ago which was a lot of fun. A complete blank canvas marquee totally transformed with beautiful, bright, colourful flowers. I even filled wellies with flowers for the tables which looked fab!
If you were creating a bouquet for yourself, what would you go for?
I don't really have a favourite style - I love really soft, neutral, blush colours together but also love really bright, bold and vibrant flowers. My favourites are peonies, tulips and gerberas.
What are your top tips for those starting their career in floristry?
Invest in a good pair of boots and a body warmer as it does get really really cold, even in summer sometimes. Being a florist is an incredibly rewarding job but it's a lot of hard work, long days, early starts so you really have to love it and embrace it.
What are your words of wisdom for couples choosing flowers for their big day?
Use the internet and magazines to collect ideas and images of the look and style you wish to create - the more images you collect the better. Meet with a couple of different florists and book with the one that you click with the most and you feel gets your vision. Try to use seasonal flowers as this will create more of a natural look on the day and also will keep the cost down.
What's your favourite type of arrangement to create?
I love making hand-tied bridal bouquets and also love a flower arch.
As a florist, what's your biggest challenge?
The weather - so unpredictable. When you need to get flowers open so that they are "just right" for a wedding and it's too hot, they open too much or it's freezing cold and the little darlings won't open despite how many lights you put them under.
Finally, Pinterest - friend or foe?
Friend - I use pinterest for everything. I create boards for a lot of my couples. It's a great way of showing them and checking that the ideas in my head match with the vision they have in theirs!