urban botanical
Dundee
Urban Botanical is a Botanical Design Service based in Dundee. Our bespoke
service offers beautiful, romantic, naturally styled botanicals for your wedding
or event. I established in 2016 Urban Botanical, my intention was to approach
floristry from a fresh perspective, one not bound by rules or code. My
background is in Fine Art having graduated with a BA Hons in Fine Art from
Duncan of Jordanstone then continuing on to gain a Master’s degree in Art
History from St Andrews University. After University I worked as a freelance
Arts Educator running workshops in DCA and McManus Galleries for a few years
prior to working in floristry. By 2015 I was working in a local florist, my
second florist job but my urge to push the forbidden boundaries and explore the
‘frowned’ upon often caused disagreement. My background in Fine Art influences
my approach to floristry, often problem-solving in a different manner from the
‘old fashioned’ or ‘traditional methods’ of floristry. The floristry that
excited me was different, it was modern..… arty.. I decided then I had to find
my own group of like-minded artist type florists. Through ‘The Glasgow Flower
School’ I came to meet Jay Archer – Multi-award-winning florist Jay is known for
championing British-grown, sustainable and seasonal flowers, and is widely
respected within the wedding and floral industry. Jay talked about largely being
self-taught, her work was beautiful, I was in love.. I finally found the
definition of ‘floristry’ that I fitted into. My confidence started to grow and
I started to really believe in myself but also I realised that just like Art,
Floristry is subjective and not everyone will like what I like. During my final
year at Art School, we learned the basics of being a ‘self-employed’ artist,
learning things like how to quote and price a particular job based on materials,
design, and execution which has obviously helped me a lot, also things like
Brand Identity, bookkeeping, and accounts. Brand identity or brand ethos for me
is something of a journey, constantly defining the things that are important to
me, for what I want Urban Botanical to look like, what it represents. Whilst
Urban Botanical is my career it is also my lifestyle. Country forage walks with
my children is just normal for us, as is collecting ‘pretty weeds’ and
wildflowers. Throughout the spring and summer, my ethos is to mainly use locally
grown flowers, greenery, and herbs some of which produce the most delicate
flowers as well as scent which is an important factor in my bridal work. Scent
can evoke memories which is where my love for flowers started as a little girl
picking flowers in my parent’s garden, making perfume, and potions. Do I like my
job? YES – I love my job, working with nature, and the seasons is something I
never realised I would love so much.
