After a six month break, our In Conversation series is back and we are excited to share our most recent interview with Fiona Fleur Studio.
Can you tell us a little bit about your story and how Fiona Fleur began?
I worked in PR and marketing for around 10 years, I knew for a while that I wanted to have my own business and work in something creative. I left my PR job in June 2019 and have had Fiona Fleur for just over a year now, I built the business up while I worked at my old job as I needed to continue to support myself and didn't have any financial help to start the company. I have only started working with dried flowers since June and that is my absolute passion, I feel like I have found my niche and it comes naturally which is so refreshing!
Where does your passion for floristry come from?
I adore dried flowers; the soft natural shades and ethereal shapes and styles are mesmerising to me. I love creating designs that are bespoke, that no one else has done before and I can call my own, I have so many ideas in my mind that are waiting to be made into new designs! I have always loved Pampas Grass; this is incorporated into many of the designs and also available for customers to order on our web shop.
Where do you get inspiration for your floral designs?
Mainly from my mind, how I feel on the day and what I have started to imagine the piece will look like! I think about the way that the florals are formed and use their natural growth to determine their place in the arrangement. I love a beige aesthetic so I use similar shades in my designs as that's just what I love, I have really started to understand the truth in the phrase 'find something you love and you will never work a day in your life', I sometimes work 7 days a week and into the night and I genuinely am happier than I have ever been.
How did you develop your signature style?
I just follow my mind when I am creating, it's much more natural and organic when I just start to create, I constantly stand back and review and look at the movement of the piece - rearranging until I'm happy with the final design. Every single design is bespoke and isn't made again, this gives the client a unique design - with the knowledge that they own the only one in the world that is like this. When designing a bespoke arrangement we work closely with the client and consider the interiors as well as their preferred colour and style, the designs elevate and complement the existing space.
What gave you the courage to start your own business and what advice would you
give to those thinking of doing the same?
The realisation that the only person who makes you get up and go to the job you don't love is yourself, you can change that if it doesn't make you happy. The other realisation that life is so precious and you shouldn't spend it fulfilling someone else's career dreams, you should step out and fulfil your own - I wanted to step back and look at my life when I am 60 and be happy and proud, I feel that at this point I could do that now which makes me feel pure joy.
What does a typical working day look like for you?
I start the day around 6am, usually getting dressed into some sort of beige outfit (of course) and head to my shop in Covent Garden to start designing and creating, I am the most productive in the morning and can end up spending hours working on designs, orders or proposals. I break mid-morning for a coffee and meetings/phone calls. Around lunch one of the Flower Gals will open up the shop and I will either be chatting to customers or out at meetings or possibly an event, the day will probably end around 7pm where I will head home and pour a large glass of red and tune into some reality TV with a family size bag of Dairy Milk Large Chocolate Buttons, it's my guilty pleasure and I LOVE it.
What are your go-to wardrobe staples?
I adore wearing light colours; soft whites, sandy creams and natural beige - I also love to feel fabulous so I wear outfits that make me feel that way, often some heeled boots to
complete the look!
And finally...
If I wasn't running Fiona Fleur... I would work for an animal charity; I can't bear the thought of something so wonderful being compromised!
The best thing about my job... Being able to truthfully say that I love my job, so cringe but SO true.
My ideal breakfast... A thick wedge of white bread, toasted and lashings of creamy Lurpack butter - spread so thick it's like cheese - I am all about the carbs!
A holiday destination I love... Sicily - especially Cefalu, I stay at a beautiful hotel but I can't share the name as I love that it is a hidden gem.
My day isn't complete until... I'm wearing beige.
Words to live by... If you don't ask, you don't get - I don't think I would have got very far if I hadn't lived by this!
My favourite London hangout... Pizza Pomodoro's in Knightsbridge...WHAT a night!
 Pure Wool Top Coat > |
 Bouclé Tunic > |
 Leather Mini Skirt > |
 Broderie Anglaise Blouse > |
 Cotton-cord Trousers > |