Dec. 08 – Blog: Deck the halls…
January 2, 2009 by Rose · 2 Comments
December proved to be one of the most exciting, rewarding and hard working times of the business so far!
We launched at Burford Garden Company in the second week of December which was very exciting, with the mixed bunches going down extremely well from the outset!
We created our mixed bunches with a gorgeous wintery and Chrtistmassy feel with white and red being the core colour themes, and added lots of berries, gold and silver thistles and even silver gypsopila – which although is not a normal flower choice for us looked wonderful sprayed silver and was more subtle than a lot of the Christmas additions you can find!
An extremely popular item in the range was our Christmas wreath – we wanted to do something of the best quality that was inspired by nature. We came up with a classic fir wreath – on a hand-made mossed base, and to add a modern twist we added eucalyptus to the foliage base (which gave it a fantastic scent as well as adding a lovely silvery/blue tone) and added beautiful black and white guinea fowl feathers.
***Style Tip*** We grouped the fir cones and feathers which helped to give it a more modern feel
We also had a great time spending as much time as possible in our stockists, giving demonstrations and having an opportunity to really speak to our customers and hearing your feedback, which we always consider and act upon. In fact if you have any feedback or special requests we would be very pleased to hear from you, and will always listen to what you have to say – what you think is extremely important to us.
December was topped off by two very special events. A Christening for Olivia May Thompson and a wonderful Christmas wedding– both of which I had the pleasure of doing the flowers for. In fact doing the event flowers is a wonderful opportunity to get really creative and a great change from making the bunches. It is a real pleasure to work with people to ensure they get exactly what they want – and to see them delighted on the day… I guess the whole point of being in this business.And don’t forget to have a look in the gallery to see a few of the mixed bunches we have been selling, as well as what they look like when you get them home!
http://www.triggersphotography.co.uk
With January set to be fairly quiet it will be a great chance to catch up on things and to take stock of 2008. With lots of new things on the way, in particular the launch of our flowers direct range and our new Pick and Mix in our retail stockists there is plenty to do! And we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
Rose
Sept. 08 – Blog: By appointment to London Mayor
September 18, 2008 by Rose · 2 Comments
Decorating Southwark Bridge, Saturday 13th September 2008…
Well, what a way to launch! Rose Hamson Flowers launched with a bang at this year’s Mayor’s Thames Festival, at the Feast on the Bridge, where, for one day a year, Southwark bridge is completely closed to traffic as a spectacular celebration of food and music takes place.
It is true that sweet floral scents can ensure pleasant dreams… but with the onset of 170 table decorations, in a range of sizes to fit an array of teapot shapes and sizes, 30 buttonholes, and 3 large wreath arrangements, sleeping well was not on the agenda in the days running up to it!
With a HUGE delivery of flowers, and hours of conditioning under my belt, off I headed to an old (and spooky) warehouse in the depths of South East London, which was to be our home for the next 24 hours as we prepared for the event.
170 empty teapots is an odd sight – especially when they have come from a variety of sources, from Charity Shops to Ebay. Some were beautiful, some ornate, some small, some huge, some horrendous and some absolutely hilarious… one of my particular favourites was this lion. However they all had one thing in common.. they needed to be filled with flowers and taken to Southwark Bridge to help dress 170 tables for the Feast.
It was a tough but thoroughly enjoyable experience – helped along by Mr Ronald McDonald and plenty of coffee. The flowers I chose were based on the overall harvest theme of the event, and I was lucky to make the most of some autumnal seasonal favourites, including some beautiful flamey Crocosmia, and some glorious dark red Dahlias. Along with some fabulous Hypericum, Poppy heads and Rosemary, they made for a great seasonal arrangement – which looked particularly good in front of St Pauls Cathedral!
I also had the pleasure of decorating the horse drawn harvest wagon, for which I chose garlands of hops, and beautiful floral wreaths two with Sunflowers and one with Roses. The day was opened with a display by some local school children, and for them I made some beautiful little buttonholes.. Pretty September flowers and White Lisianthus fot the girls… and broccoli heads and green beans for the boys (which actually looked fab!). All decorated in home style aluminium foil and twine.
We were blessed with pretty much the only sunny day of the summer, and to be on the empty bridge, just as dawn had broken was a wonderful experience – London was so peaceful, it was unlike the normal hustle and bustle – magical.
It was an incredible day, though I was very sad to not have met the lovely Boris. I was very happy with the flowers, and loved the idea of having them in teapots – a look which I shall definitely re-use, though I might be more particular about the teapot!
Many thanks to my three miracle helpers – Cherry, Jono and Jack – your help was invaluable.
Anyway, enough for now… I will write again soon with my latest news, there is many a trial and tribulation to starting your own business, so I will keep you posted!
Rose