Fiona Le Neveu
Which course did you study at Tallulah Rose and when?
I studied Rachel’s Online Career Change Course throughout 2023 and the Three-Day Sustainable Sympathy Flowers at Levens Hall in June 2024.
What did you most enjoy about the course?
Honestly, the time I’ve spent learning with Tallulah Rose has been life changing and I’ve loved every minute of it. Rachel has such a calm, nurturing way of teaching and the flowers in school were the most beautiful, characterful British blooms grown by local farmers. The wall of stunning flowers, the smells, the colours as I walked through the door each morning – that was one of my favourite bits, but it really is challenging to choose the one thing I enjoyed the most.
What has been your most memorable moment since finishing the course?
There’s been so many, but I think taking the plunge and opening my own studio is the standout moment for me. I’ve had to be brave and I’ve definitely had to be resilient, but seeing my client’s faces when I dress their spaces or when they tell me they can’t make a wreath and their absolute pride when they create something totally bespoke and absolutely beautiful – it’s captivating.
What is the best part of having your own floristry business?
I love that having my own business gives me creative freedom, but the best part, without question, is the people I’ve met and continue to meet along the way. Whilst I work for myself and often on my own, when I’m doing shoots or events, I’m part of a team of creatives who are such a source of inspiration. We work really ruddy hard, but we laugh a lot! It’s so good for the soul!
Are you seeing the financial return to your business, that you had hoped for when investing in training with Tallulah Rose?
It’s early days for me and I’m still building my business, but yes, I’m where I projected I would be, a year in.
What’s the best piece of advice Rachel gave you
To take a step back, to trust the process and to take inspiration from how and where a flower grows naturally and incorporate that into my work
What would you say makes your floristry business unique?
I was, for 20 years pre flowers, a Chartered Town Planner, working in urban regeneration, urban design and property development. Throughout that time, flowers were a hobby and a weekend treat, providing much needed respite from the politics around planning and development!
I’ve always valued great design and advocated well planned and beautifully planted usable green spaces and biodiversity within new developments. As my professional career evolved, I spent much of my time styling residential and commercial interior spaces. I noticed, I was forever bringing the outside in to add the natural textures, colours and movement us humans crave. And I LOVED it. That was my epiphany really – the moment I knew that was where I needed to go next.
I think the ability to combine my experience around design of buildings and places with floristry is what makes my business unique. I understand spaces and I instinctively see how to make them come alive, taking inspiration from the world I see outside of the window. My work is textural, natural and on the right side of untamed!
Is there an opportunity that springs to mind that Tallulah Rose gave you the confidence to pursue?
I mean, all of them! But one that comes to mind is when I was asked to present a proposal for a Chelsea in Bloom installation. I actually organised a 1:1 with Rachel to talk it through. She gave me such genuine and real life advice, particularly around pricing, which I think is one of the trickiest things when your business is in its infancy! Rachel’s advice helped me to value myself and my skills and to price accordingly!
What is your favourite British flower and why
Oh gosh……..that’s a tough one and my answer isn’t conventional…but I’d have to say Old Man’s Beard (Clematis Vitalba) I love the fluff……and how resilient and adaptable it is, growing abundantly in the most spartan of landscapes. And, Astrantia……but that goes without saying!
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