Speakers

• Debrah J Flowers

  Debrah J Flowers

  

  I don’t have a fancy story of growing up on a tulip field smelling freshly cut flowers every morning. I started my career as a wedding stylist; but found myself increasingly captivated by the floral aspect of design and I had a natural ability to create stunning and individual displays. Every arrangement I create is a reflection of my dedication to showcasing the delicate balance of colors, textures, and forms found in nature. It's a way for me to share the enchanting diversity of flowers and plants with others, spreading joy and brightening up special moments with brining the outside in!
  
  Moreover, floristry is my way of contributing to sustainability and eco-conscious practices. I take pride in sourcing flowers responsibly, supporting local growers, and minimizing environmental impact. It's a small but meaningful step towards a greener and more ethical future. Floristry is not just a profession for me; it's a calling. It’s my God given gift, it’s about creating meaningful connections, respecting nature, and spreading beauty in a world that often needs it the most.

• Hamish Powell

  Hamish Powell

  

  Hamish Powell is a multidisciplinary floral artist and apostle of plants, with an atelier on the bank of the River Thames, Central London. A background in botanical science forms the foundation of his work; met with the juxtaposed fashion and art worlds, he seeks to radically reawaken our lost connection to nature through beauty.
  
  If not choreographing the flowers, he is writing about them; floristry and poetry are two different routes to the same destination – emotional expression. Hamish’s work appears in editorials, fashion events and gallery exhibitions across the world; his thirst for our cultural diversities of floral obsession has plunged him in artist residencies from Singapore to Australia to Tanzania and beyond.

• Lunaria

  Lunaria

  

  Deborah Bain is a floral artist and designer. She is the founder and creative director of LUNARIA, a floral studio and cutting garden based near Bruton, Somerset.
  
  Recognised for her artful compositions and sculptural designs, which often defy gravity on a large scale, her work consistently explores form, movement, texture and tonal contrast with refinement and impact.
  
  With a decade-long background in interiors and exhibitions she blends her expertise into floristry and horticulture to transform space mixing living plants, cut flowers and dried materials from nature.
  
  With a cutting garden supplying much of her materials, she celebrates British flowers and true seasonality, Her passion for sustainability drives her to exclude floral foam and minimise imports, opting instead for homegrown stems into often handcrafted subframes and innovative solutions for concealed mechanics.

• Milli Proust of Alma Proust Studio

  Milli Proust of Alma Proust Studio

  

  Inspired by how plants grow in the garden and in the wild - Milli Proust works with the ingredients she cultivates at her flower farm in West Sussex, creating romantic and playful designs that reflect the seasons for weddings, events, brands, customers, and personal clients.
  
  She works alongside her business partner Paris under the name ALMA|PROUST, growing flowers for florists and for their own event work. The stems are grown in rhythm with nature, with long-term sustainability at the forefront of every decision they make. They run a specialty seed shop alongside their design studio, with varieties chosen that have unique colours, are wildlife friendly or have great scent.

• Swallows & Damsons

  Swallows & Damsons

  

  Anna Potter is an author and co-founder of Swallows & Damsons, a UK based flower shop. Swallows & Damsons opened its doors in 2008 and has remained a little flower shop in the heart of the community, whilst designing and teaching world wide for clients including Gucci, Architectural Digest, Domino magazine, Food 52, Harpers Bazaar, The Telegraph, Gardens Illustrated and Town & Country Magazine. Anna has also authored two best selling books, The Flower Fix and Flower Philosophy. 
  
  Known for bringing an unexpected and uniquely wild feel to floristry, Anna moves beyond the confines of blooms in floral decoration, incorporating a wealth of natural products and curiosities. Celebrating imperfections, subtlety in colour and form in her designs, with inspiration from the rich darkness of Dutch still life paintings, Swallows & Damsons are modern day influencers in a new wave of floral art and design.