Urban Botanical

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.