My Unexpected Life as a Florist
The Things We Never Planned!
Ten years ago, on 1 August 2016, I opened the doors to The Wildflower Studio, a tiny little shop across the road from Surf Beach in a small coastal town in NSW.
It had the most beautiful Ellie Cashman floral wallpaper, a vintage sliding door and branches with skeletal lampshades hanging over the counter. There was nothing quite like it in town (despite there being four other florist shops and quite a few work-from-home arrangers in the area).
Flower Bench bursting with blooms Me at work Laundry tub full of succulents
There was a shelf full of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ and a bench FULL OF FLOWERS that I had bought at market early that morning.
And when I say early, I mean 4am early.
Here's the thing…
I never actually intended to become a florist.
Even after completing a two-year floristry course at TAFE, I still didn't want to be a florist. I had enrolled because I was working towards becoming an Interior Stylist and, quite frankly, I was terrible at flowers. It was a skill I wanted to master.
But somewhere along the way, I realised that floristry was really just another way of applying the elements and principles of design that I'd learnt while studying for my Diploma in Colour a few years earlier.
Huh.
Suddenly, it all made perfect sense.
And so here I was, in my own little slice of bliss, creating gorgeous bunches of traditional, exotic and native blooms.
At the end of my first day, I balanced the till and realised…
This is absolutely going to work.
I was thrilled with the first day's takings.
Of course, what I hadn't quite anticipated was just how HARD it would be.
Like, REALLY REALLY hard.
For example…
1. The early starts.
For me, this meant getting up at 2am so I could arrive at the market and join the queue at the gate before it opened at 4am, just to secure a car park. (A parking building opened about a year later and, let me tell you, it was a game changer.)
Then back to the shop by 8.30am to prepare everything for the day ahead. Stripping leaves and thorns, trimming stems and filling dozens of buckets and vases with water.
Then working until 5pm.
It was a LLOOOOONNNGGGG day.
2. The heavy lifting.
Buckets full of water and armfuls of flowers are surprisingly heavy.
3. Standing all day.
Day after day, on my feet on a concrete floor. Good rubber-soled boots and stress mats were essential equipment.
4. Keeping the shop looking beautiful.
There were bunches to make and have ready for customers while simultaneously processing orders and deliveries online and over the phone.
5. The events.
Quoting, planning, ordering, delivering and setting up flowers for weddings and events… all while running the shop.
Did I mention it was hard work?
But it was also incredibly rewarding.
Flower Bench The Wildflower Studio Interior Beautiful big bunches of flowers
Even now, whenever I smell sweet stocks or old-fashioned roses, I am immediately transported back to those early morning drives home from market. The car stuffed full of floral goodies, the excitement of unloading everything and then standing back and swooning over my choices, already imagining how gorgeous all those colours would look together.
I taught floral workshops too—posies, arrangements, wreaths and natives—as well as Chalk Paint™, gathering furniture makeover enthusiasts from near and far and teaching them how to take an old piece and turn it into something interesting and beautiful.
That little shop was a hive of activity.
And it thrived.
There were Valentine's Day and Mother's Day (our biggest day of the year), Anzac Day and Christmas. Every season and every occasion was an opportunity to create something a little different.
But perhaps the most important part of it all was the team behind the scenes.
I had the loveliest staff, right from day one. They were loyal, hardworking, fun and always had my back. I couldn't have done it without them.
After six years, and a move into new premises, I decided it was time for something different. I sold my little business to an eager young couple who took it on with great gusto and have made it completely their own.
That was four years ago. I honestly can't believe how quickly that time has flown.
Neon Florist sign Gorgeous flowers inside the shop Interior of my new flower shop
I'm so pleased I took that leap of faith. Running my own retail business taught me so much—not just about flowers, but about creativity, business, marketing, customers, people and, perhaps most importantly, myself.
Would I do it again?
I get asked this quite often.
No.
I've done it.
And I loved it.
But it's time to keep moving forward and take everything I learnt from that chapter into whatever comes next.
Because perhaps that's the thing about creative lives…
We're not always meant to stay in the place we started.
Sometimes we're simply meant to gather the experience, the lessons, the memories and the confidence—and carry them with us into the next adventure. And that is my unexpected life as a florist.
Yours in creativity
Shar
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