When at I look back on little me, I see myself wandering through my mums garden, plucking the most beautiful of the flowers and bunching them up for her to put in a vase on the windowsill. So I see i've always been in awe of their colours, and that they continue to grow, year after year.
In the later years of high school, we were pushed to go to uni and I had no clue what I wanted to do, so I ticked lots of different boxes on the sheet that the careers advisor sent around, thinking that there was nothing that really sparked a passion in me. I liked creating, but didn't want to sit behind a desk. So Graphic design was out. I loved reading and writing, but again, I can't sit still. So journalism wasn't for me. But I had to tick, something, and floral design wasn't on the list.
I got accepted into my first preference I'd ticked, but started my apprenticeship with a stunning florist in Melbourne City. A big window encouraged passerby's to take a minute out of their busy schedules to gaze into the window full of colour. It was such a happy place, and so started my love of flowers.
I really began to hone into the specific flowers and styles I loved when I did a workshop with Nicole from Soil & Stem at Field of Roses in New Zealand. This was the turning point where I decided instead of working for someone else full time, I wanted to freelance for lots of different florists to learn as many different techniques as I could.
Flora by T was born, I bought lots of flowers and took lots of photos to practise what I learnt. I had weekly cafes and businesses I was delivering flowers to and I took on my first wedding. I made it work, and suddenly had enquiries flying in.
A couple of years of busy wedding weekends, and I'm here. Loving it.
T x