Hayley, Absolute Flowers & Home
Auteur : Kris | 11-13-2010
Floral extensions & beyond !
Meet Hayley Newstead, whom Axelle & I met at the Kelly Hoppen school of design this year.
She is just another one of those amazing designers that gets noticed, and by the jettiest people in town....and not just in London. She is being called in worldwide for all sorts of design projects: whether it be a fabulous big star event, the Grey Goose Vodka Winter ball with Elton John, or a charity event in New York....
Her style?"Contemporary-Luxury which is clean, and bespoke to match the home." It's all about the container! The "vessel" is the focus to her floral designs and she will soon be coming out with a book that explains all this and more about the importance of floral design in a space.
How does she do it ?
"Flowers were just a Saturday job for me in the beginning and I was all set for a career in fashion until the last recession in the 90's". She then she opened her own shop 'Absolute Flowers & Home' in the chic neighbourhood of Little Venice in London.
Who are your fashion icons?
"I love to mix/match: Stella McCartney, Chloë... Amongst others..."
She soon became famous for her meticulously styled bouquets and remains called upon by the interior design elite to finish off turn-key projects.
We were lucky to benefit from her savoir-faire and here are just a few tips to get you started in floral design for your home:
- Foliage is out! Just buy your favourite flowers.
- For roses: remove all rose leaves as they drink up all the water, and remove the spindly green bits under the rose blossoms for a cleaner look.
- When hosting a party, buy the flowers a few days in advance to allow them to open.
- Before you remove the paper around the flowers, leave it on for an hour in the vase to allow the flowers to acclimate to the water temperature.
- Hayley hates to see stems through clear glass vessels – me too! But if you insist on using them, add a drop of bleach to kill the germs.
Her favourite flowers
Roses: Amnesia with Grays, Vendella, Quicksand.
Besides roses she also loves: lily of the valley, peonies, dahlias, hydrangeas...
Hayley is a perfect example of how word of mouth can take you very far in the design arena. Uniqueness, quality, the local community and branding are helping her move into more than just flowers. She is being called upon for many interior projects to decorate with furniture and fabrics in her clearly vintage-chic style.
Her floral shop has grown next door to include a vintage interior design shop with accessories, furniture, leather poufs, jewelry...
I met her in the shop at 3pm when she had just finished her bowl of pasta on top of cardboard boxes. "Up at 5am today for a photo shoot, deliveries all day of our new furniture collection..." Get a load of this fabulous chair!
And in 5 years time Hayley? Are you thinking of going global?
No comment...
Well she sure could if she put her mind to it with such a unique brand. Bravo!
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