Interview with Alicia Grainger of Grace & Green

I hope you had a great weekend.  Today, I’m delighted to feature an interview with florist Alicia Grainger of Grace & Green.

Could you tell us what prompted you to become a florist?

In my mid-twenties, I started thinking about whether I wanted to carry on in my career in fund-raising long-term.

I’ve always loved the outdoors and had recently become interested in gardening, having had my first garden flat in London.

I wanted to do something that was more creative and combined my love of the outdoors, plants and flowers.

So, I enrolled on an evening course in floristry and have never looked back!

When did you start your business and where are you based?

Grace & Green was launched last year and we’re based in SW London.

We’re happy to work in venues across London and Surrey.  Although we’re also happy to travel further afield, if requested.

We did a wedding in Wiltshire last year, but the couple were based in London.  So it made sense, as we could do all their consultations locally.

What kind of floristry services do you offer?

Grace & Green focuses on weddings.  But we also provide flowers for special parties such as birthdays, anniversaries and dinner parties.

As we don’t have a shop, we focus exclusively on each event.  And we only do one event per day so that we can give all our attention to our clients on that day.

We talk to couples and clients as much as possible before the event so that we can make sure we really provide the flowers they want.

How would you describe your style?

Our impact on the environment is important to us, so we use locally sourced, British and seasonal flowers, along with living plants and trees where possible.

Our style is very natural, and ‘garden-like’, using the best materials that the seasons have to offer.

What are your plans for 2013?

I really want to continue to expand Grace & Green and to continue working with The Natural Wedding Company to provide couples with wonderful seasonal wedding flowers.

And we’d like to work with more venues across SW London and Surrey too.

What is your favourite flower?

It’s hard to choose just one.  Although one of my favourites is ranunculus, which I had in my wedding bouquet.  They’re so soft, delicate and romantic.

You can’t beat the smell of sweet peas in the summer though!

Many thanks to Alicia for all her help in compiling today’s blog post.

If you’d like to keep up-to-date with her news, she’s on Twitter and Facebook.  Plus she has a blog and is on Pinterest.

P.S.  Alicia is part of a very creative and talented family! I’ve featured her sister Charlotte and her mum Sandra on Flowerona in the past…

(Images : Grace & Green)