Meet the Florist: KATE WOODLEY
March 2024
This month we meet the wonderful Kate Woodley from Two Wild Hands. Kate is a floral designer and event stylist who has had a love affair with flowers since she was a girl. Her incredibly romantic bouquets are a feast for the eyes and heart – her speciality is creating arrangements and installations for weddings – and I love her ability to transform a collection of sweet blooms into floaty and organic designs.
Kate lives and works in Newcastle in the verdant Hunter Region of NSW, tending to her family and her menagerie of animals (including a cat called Yuzu who occasionally features on the Two Wild Hands Instagram feed!). Kate originally trained as an interior designer, but, in a moment of fortuitous inspiration, her love of flowers led her to enrol in a floristry course and she’s never looked back.
Aside from weddings, Kate also caters for other personal occasions and some corporate events. She always works closely with her clients to ascertain what they are looking for in an arrangement and then uses her considerable talent and imagination to go beyond their expectations.
I particularly enjoy Kate’s use of full blooms, such as garden roses and ranunculus, which she often combines with daintier wildflowers (or flowers from her own garden) to create loose, organic and layered arrangements with luscious textural and visual depth. While her bouquets are often made up of many varieties, her trademark soft, pastel hues, including blush, coral and cream, and muted colour palettes assure that the different blooms work together in harmony. Accents of deeper and darker related tones add a touch of drama, too. Due to her use of minimal foliage, Kate allows her carefully selected and stunning seasonal flowers to be the centre of attention.
Our flower for March is Kate’s favourite: Japanese anemones. Here’s what Kate had to say when I interviewed her for our 2024 Planner.
1/ What are some of your favourite flowers that inspire you? Why?
I love quiet and unassuming florals such as hellebore, freesia, cosmos, fritillaria, pansy, corncockle and dog roses. But my favourite flower to work with is the humble Japanese anemone. With its open face, minimal petals and tall, wandering stem, it’s floaty, joyful and calming.
2/ Do you have any fun facts, growing tips or styling tips for Japanese anemones you’d like to share?
I love adding clusters of white Japanese anemones (or cosmos) to bouquets to create a wildflower moment. By arranging the prettiest stems to sit higher, these elegant flowers float like butterflies. They always add freshness to my favourite warm-toned and neutral palettes. Although anemones and cosmos can be finicky in warm temperatures, they should last a few days if prepared and hydrated properly.
3/ If you could give any advice to aspiring flower lovers, what would that be?
Stay inspired! There is so much joy and inspiration to be had in every season. Spring and summer offer a huge variety of beautiful blooms, but there is something so special about flowers that bloom in the quieter months, such as hellebore and freesia. Moss-covered branches, autumnal foliage and wild grasses capture me just as much as a perfect rose.
4/ Sustainability is a growing trend in the floristry industry. Flower growers and designers have become more mindful in lessening the impacts to our beautiful nature. What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability is an intentional approach to lessening my personal impact on our earth. Every small step counts – and imperfect sustainability is better than none at all. One thing I highlight in my work is the use of locally grown blooms. Cutting down the miles flowers have travelled, as well as supporting local producers, is such an important step in our industry’s sustainability.
You can find Kate’s website here or follow her on Insta here.
SHOP THE Japanese Anemones COLLECTION
