Sharing Our Creative World Of Floral Design, Face And Body Art
From early ages Louise and I both showed signs of artistic passions. I remember Louise being in awe of a vase of flowers at our Nan's house and exclaiming how beautiful they were, to which our Nan bluntly retorted, 'they're dead!' They were in fact tulips in full bloom, teetering on the edge of dropping their delicate petals but Louise could see their beauty.
My first love was dance, and always skipping and dancing about, my Mum used to tell me I was so light on my feet, that it appeared my feet never touched the ground. I would listen to classical music on our old gramophone and almost send myself into a trance, getting lost in Tchaikovsky's scores.
As teenagers and young adults, we spread our wings from our roots in Liverpool exploring our respective interests and developing a diverse set of skills.
Louise learnt the beginnings of her floral artistry and grounding techniques at Night School. From there she went on to gain her City and Guilds qualification, whilst enjoying competing and creating designs for Flower Festivals, church and friends.
Louise’s professional career in HR included working in HM Prison Service and the Salvation Army, where, as a Director her roles included looking after staff at one of the world’s most famous children’s homes Strawberry Field. Louise’s journey so far with flowers has taken her from her first 5 Iris design at night school to arranging flowers for the Queen.
I embarked on professional dance training at 14, going to a boarding vocational dance school in Chester. At 16 I moved down to the bright lights of London to complete a 3-year Diploma Course in Russian Ballet and other dance genres. My dance career took me around the world, performing in theatre shows, operas, circuses and onboard cruise ships. Mindful that the professional life of a dancer is not a long one, I re-trained as a make-up artist, working in theatre, film, TV and events, specializing in creative body art and special FX.
In 2013 due to family circumstances, I moved back to the Northwest and settling in Formby, the opportunity for Louise and I to combine our creative skills came about. Working with both flowers and make up we love creating innovative designs for all occasions and events.
We are both National Association of Flower Arrangement Society (NAFAS) Demonstrators and greatly enjoy travelling extensively with our Floral Art Demonstrations, were they present a talk on stage whilst creating a number of large floral displays based on a variety of themes.
Believing environmental sustainability to be the way forward for floral design, Louise and I always have this in mind when considering the materials and techniques we used in creating.
We love running workshops and classes in floral design and crafts. It gives us the opportunity to pass on our skills and see participants grow in confidence as they learn new techniques, having fun creating something they are proud of.
We're often asked if we work well together, which we do. Our varied skills and attributes complement each other. Louise being a bigger picture person and myself being drawn to detail. This combination has enabled us to gain a Gold Medal for Floral Design at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show, an achievement we are very proud of and delighted to have achieved together.
In our blog we'll be sharing some of our exciting projects, our thought and designing process. Inspiration often comes from the unexpected so we look forward to sharing our next creative journeys with you.
Please don't hesitate to contact us with you inquiries