The FlowerJoy@Ilkley story
I have always loved flowers!
My nanna had a beautiful garden with prolific hydrangea bushes and the prettiest Cecil Brunner rose in her front garden. My mum also had an extensive garden in my hometown of Brisbane, with over 80 camellia bushes. I have fond memories of Mum cutting camellias and gifting them to her friends in shoe boxes. She always had flowers in the house and started the tradition of putting a little vase of homegrown flowers next to the bed when we came to visit. At 90, mum is still on the flower roster at church! She was the one who educated me on the names of flowers and sparked my interest in floristry. I clearly remember at the end of Year 12 walking into the Kenmore Village Florist shop, a very different shop than the one today, and breathing in the intoxicating floral perfume. I mused about one day working in that lovely store but quickly dismissed the thought, and followed in my siblings’ footsteps by going to university.
I studied to be a teacher and for the last 37 years, I’ve worked in education, with the last 16 years as a school Guidance Officer. Over that time, my love for flowers remained constant. I have lived in various towns over the years and in each home, I have cultivated and nurtured my garden. It’s my sanctuary. My home is decorated with cut flowers from my garden and I have continued the tradition of a little vase of flowers next to the bed, when visitors come to stay!
A few years ago, I started spreading the flower joy by conducting flower arranging workshops for my friends and supplying friends with flowers for their special events. They encouraged me to run more workshops as they wanted to bring their friends! As one friend so eloquently put it “Your workshops are a perfect antidote for this crazy world we live in!”
People have said they have looked at their garden in a whole new light following a FlowerJoy workshop. We look at using what people have in their gardens, that can be combined with store bought flowers, to create a beautiful arrangement. I know that my workshops have created lasting memories for each person who has attended.
FlowerJoy was born and evolved into FlowerJoy@Ilkley, to give a nod to our little piece of paradise on the Sunshine Coast.
Wanting to learn more I decided to study at the Flower School and am now a qualified florist. I still love hosting workshops but the funeral flower arranging with families following a bereavement is something I feel passionate about. A lovely combination of my love of flowers combined with my years of counselling experience.
Contact me to discuss your flower requirements, specialising in funeral flowers, bespoke workshops, event flowers and corporate flowers.
Flower Hearts
My business logo includes a little heart with flowers. There is a specific reason for doing this.
At each workshop I give every participant a tiny, hand-embroidered, felt heart. A lady in Tasmania started the 1000Hearts project as a way of spreading kindness. She sends them all over the country, to people experiencing hardship as a result of a natural disaster or tragic event, and even overseas too, as a gesture of kindness. They can be tucked in a pocket or placed in a special place to remind people to give and receive kindness.
As a proud “Heartist”, I have included the little heart with embroidered flowers in the centre of my logo, as the notion of giving and receiving with kindness is at the heart of my floral work.
