Way of Life: Local Spotlight Interview
Sustainability is a big part of the way you work. Why? And what does that mean in practice?
Sarah: The problem with flowers is that people want everything and they want it now. It’s the same issue that you get in supermarkets. We’ve lost the idea of seasonality. People want white roses [a summer bloom] for their wedding in winter. That demand means flowers are grown all over the world, wrapped in plastic, kept in refrigeration and transported.
Hive Collective: More on us at Borrowed Light
The advantages of being a small business owner:
The flexibility of running our own hours. We both started on this part-time, and have families to support and spend time with, so flexibility has been really important and a driving force to do it in the first place. The fact that there are two of us is also brilliant as it has helped with flexibility.
Getting a work/life balance has been a priority and sometimes we know that it will go one way when its busy and the other when we get holidays, - but ultimately we get to decide.
Way of Life: How to arrange flowers with Borrowed Light Floral Studio
There's nothing quite like freshly cut flowers to help you feel that everything's coming up roses. So say Sarah Purchase and Claudia Van Rensburg, the founders of north London floral studio Borrowed Light.
Startups. Business ideas for 2019: Macramé and houseplants
Sarah Purchase, owner of floral studio Borrowed Light, adds that she has seen “a lot of requests for air purifying plants as people look for a way to improve their indoor environment from a health perspective”.
For Purchase, “related crafts, such as casting, ceramics or macramé, have grown alongside the trend for incorporating plants into the home and macramé has been going in and out of fashion for centuries, so was due for a revival”.
The houseplant/macramé trends Purchase predicts for 2019 include:
“Hanging and trailing plants, especially the senecio family. Spider plants are having a resurgence along with their 70s cousins in the macramé department.
“Incorporating decorative items such as shells into macramé designs has already been seen on the SS19 catwalk. Clustering is also becoming the new form of display, as people become more confident their collection grows and they tend to group their plants together for impact.
“There has been a return to independent and local business, people are very supportive of start-ups having seen declining and empty high streets.
“We also make a real effort to connect with the local community through our work and are currently working on a project bringing local businesses together for the Walthamstow Borough of Culture.”
A Customer Feature
I found other wonderful place to enjoy plants like Borrowed Light Floral Studio in Walthamstow. I go there to buy plants and to enjoy the soft and lifely environment, the fresh smell of plants makes me feel happy and relaxed.