Feeling Festive!

I love the festive season. Which sits precisely between the day when time has sped up so much in it's hurry to get to the new year that it cannot possibly travel any faster (usually the last week of November)*, and that blissful grind to a halt that happens on December 26th, when as a nation we seem to remember to breathe again.

I quite like the enthusiasm with which we throw ourselves into a dedicated social life, trying to catch up with the people that matter to us. Christmas is a good time for that. Christmas also gives us a reason to do things, to say things that we truly and genuinely believe and feel, but without a reason, we don't say or do them at all, perhaps for worry that it will seem a little bit mushy...

This festive season, it is my goal to absolutely make the most of the REASON and use it to it's ful capacity! I am going to write some cards that say more than merry Christmas. I am going to tell people how fabulous I think they are, and why. I'm bringing the joy and the grattitude!

Here are some of the things I plan to be saying over the next few weeks, to some of the people I encounter through my shop...

To my suppliers at the markets? Thank you for making 3.45am a great time to get up, for your bold personalities and starting my days with such wonderful energy. Thank you for making the impossible possible; giving me the most gorgeous produce at short notice or sometimes even in the wrong season!

To my barista? Thank you for caffeinating my mornings with ever perfect coffees, just how I like them.

To my customers? Thank you for sharing your stories with me, and letting us be a part of some of the moments in your year.

To the passers by who wave every single day? Thank you for making me smile, day in, day out.

To Amy and Heidi, who work with me? You are superstars. Thank you for being a part of Red Fragrance this year, for helping me keep some sanity in the craziness of it all, for your creativity and effervescent personalities that are a joy to have here!

So... there you have it. Five mushy thank yous (from a very very long list!) I will be giving this festive season.

I hope this inspires you to use the festive season as your reason or excuse to get your mushy on, and tell some people how fab they are!

x

* Surely I am not the only one who has noticed this scientific fact. Time gradually speeds itself up, (How does this happen??? I don't know where my year went, but wherever it went, it went very fast!), usually startings some time in September when the weather warms up and we can smell the first tempting wafts of jasmine in the air.

Perfect Peonies

I was so very lucky last week to receive a big bunch of absolutely stunning, hot pink peonies.

Despite spending my days surrounded by flowers, the peonies never cease to amaze me. From a bud smaller than my fist explodes the most enormous flower, a spiral of countless petals, bigger than my outstretched palm. As the days go by and the flowers get bigger and bigger, the intense hot pink fades to a beautiful apricot and finally to an antique cream. It's hard to believe these enormous cream flowers came from those little hot pink buds on day one.

To watch something open and change so dramatically is a joy - every time I caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of my eye, I couldn't help but smile. How lucky to be surrounded by such magnificent things!

I simply had to keep a photo diary... (And I promise that all the photos are of exactly the same bunch - incredible, I know). I hope you are amazed and delighted with these spectacular flowers as me.


Day1. Day 1. Day 1.

End of Day 1.

Day 2. Day 3.Day 4.


End of Day 4.

Day 5.Day 5.

(Of course, to the wonderful person who knew these were my favourite; such a loud and delighted thank you!)

All knotted up!

While there's always things to be excited about, there are two things I just have to write about today!


First thing's first...

Congratulations to our friends at The Knot on launching their new magazine!

And now that you know there's a lovely new wedding magazine to look out for, I'm especially excited to tell you that if you flick to page 50, you'll find a Red Fragrance bouquet sitting among the gorgeous amethyst bridesmaid's dresses!

Just had to share the news!

Be fascinating.

Spring Racing Carnival...


Pick a winner... A surprisingly lofty ambition for some of us, yours truly included.


Why is it that even though so many of us are challenged by the prospect of picking a winner,

(because A. We haven't done our research in the lead up to the racing season, B. We don't understand the form guide on the day, C. We've done the research, read the newspaper and still manage to pick the horse that might as well be running backwards, or D. We're picking horses based purely on their name or the fact that the jockey will be wearing silks that complement our frock)

the races are such an exciting day out?


For lots of my friends, the races are a fabulous excuse to spend days (or weeks...) planning a sensational outfit, and spend the day feeling just a little bit glamourous, sipping bubbly and watching the horses. When we spend so many hours of our week in work clothes, whether they be corporate attire, a uniform or even something more relaxed, the races are an all too rare occasion to really dress up.



Of course, the races wouldn't be the races without a fabulous hat or fascinator! We opted for fascinators of fresh flowers. Not only were they unusual, (and we certainly didn't bump into anyone with the same head piece on!), they felt that little bit more special, each one designed especially for the wearer and her outfit.



Despite a proven inability to pick a winner, I'm looking forward to the next day out at the races and spending the morning getting a bit glam.


And until then, I'm keeping an eye out for any opportunity to get a little bit more dressed up than I usually would, and simply

Be Fascinating.










(Thank you to Sarah, Jess, Natalie and Helen for a fabulous day out and letting me post photos of them looking especially florally fascinating! x)

We LOVE seeing photos of our flowers in action...


A couple of weeks ago I included some photos of Catherine and Sean's wedding flowers in the shop. Needless to say I was very excited when I received photos of the flowers in action at their wedding!



SO, a big thank you to Catherine and Sean for sharing their day with us, and allowing us to share it with you.

(Photographs by Rasha Photography)

If you have any photos of your Red Fragrance flowers in action, or any stories about your Red Fragrance flowers doing their job, we'd love to hear from you at flowers@redfragrance.com.au

Mornings... as a florist.

Mornings as a florist start a couple of hours before sunrise (especially in Winter!). And while it's freezing cold at the moment, it's actually a gorgeous time to be up and about.

The markets house an incredible community of vibrant personalities and have a wonderful buzz about them. It's hard to stay sleepy under the bright lights, surrounded by early morning banter and wall to wall flowers!


I love starting my day before the sun comes up, surrounded by beautiful flowers and fabulous people. For those first couple of hours of the day, outside it's cold and silent while the rest of the world is yet to stir. Yet we are the privileged few under the lights, in amongst the hustle and bustle, starting our days with gusto!

Stefan (or, more appropriately we think, Stefan-otis) - market super star!*
*Also, a stellar sweet pea swindler and fabulous field rose finder!

"Are these for a special occasion?"

This is a question I love to ask people when they're selecting flowers. I delight in hearing who they're for, why they've chosen a certain flower, or what occasion they're acknowledging. There is so often a wonderful story behind a visit to the flower shop, and hearing the stories is one of the best parts of my day.

Some of my favourite responses have been for flowers for no reason - spontaneous, "just because" flowers. It's nice to know these people were thinking of someone special, and are taking them flowers to remind that person of just how special they are!

"Nah, not really... she's not feeling well so I thought these'd brighten her day"

"No particular occasion; my husband was complaining that nobody's ever sent him flowers, so I thought I would!"

"No, not today... she's had a tough week at work, and it's winter so it's all a bit gloomy. Thought she'd like these"

"Nope, and I'm not even in trouble!"

"Oh, my flat mate's going through a bit of a rough patch, so figured this'd be a nice thing to do"

"No, but my girlfriend always walks past here and points out the orchids, so I'm going to surprise her"


To all the fabulous people who have shared their stories with me, and the lovely men (and women!) who've gone home carrying flowers "just because", you make my day and remind me why I do what I do... High Five!

It's always a privilege to be a part of a wedding and help create a lovely atmosphere for the day. The process of meeting with a bride for the first time to discuss her flowers, and as the day comes closer, watching out at the markets as the flowers she's chosen start to come into season, then finally creating the arrangements and meeting her on her big day is really special.

The smile on a bride's face the moment she first holds her bouquet is pricesless, and absolutely makes my day.

Catherine and Sean's wedding was no exception. Firstly, what a gorgeous day for a wedding! Not a cloud in the sky, warm winter sun... perfect!

Here are a couple of snaps of their flowers...



Friday afternoon saw us creating table centres of tall tortured willow, decorated with individually wired pink dendrobium orchids.

The shop felt a bit like an enchanted forest with all of these cherry blossom-esque arrangements! (It was quite nice being surrounded by them, and we were quite reluctant to let them go! Never mind - they had a wedding reception to make gorgeous, so I delivered them to the city on Saturday morning).



Catherine chose a soft, dense posy of David Austin roses, Julia roses, strawberry bush, blushing bride, freesias and dusty miller foliage. With the David Austins opening up, the bouquet smelled fabulous! (They say smell is one of the strongest triggers for memory, so I hope every time she smells roses, Catherine will think of her special day!)

A beautiful winter day, a happy bride and a shop full of flowers. Lovely!