Ponderosa and Thyme: The Master of the Masterclass

Katie Rosellen on Education, Inspiration, and Creative Balance Ahead of MADRID BLOOMS

Could you tell us a bit about how you started in the world of floral design? What was your first job? 

I was 16 when I got my first job in a flower shop. I was the girl that cleaned up everything after the designers, so I got to watch amazing designers at work. I learnt a lot at that job. It stuck with me, I appreciated the flow of the work. I really like sweeping and cleaning, it was a good place to start. If you like that, then the job is going to be okay! It’s really part of the job. I didn’t really realise that when I decided to become a designer, but it’s built in. When I was 19 I went to floral school, and it changed my life. I learnt from a local lady who had had a flower shop for years, she taught out of her passion space, and she really loved it. She took us to see designers that presented their different styles and it was really inspiring to me. I think it’s what made me feel like an artist, I always knew I was an artist but I hadn’t found the medium I could express myself well in. With flowers it just clicked for me. 

When were you first hired as a floral designer?

My first job as a floral designer was for my own wedding, and then my best friend’s wedding. It was really cool, and emotional. It set the precedent really high for how I needed to feel about the flowers, because it was a mountaintop experience, for my first one. It set the bar pretty high. 

What is your signature as a floral designer? 

I’m often drawn to purple, pretty consistently. I think it's the blend of red and blue, so it goes with a lot of things. I really like to work on a minimal scale. I mean, I have done a lot of maximalist work, with lots of different flowers in one arrangement, but the thing that I always go back to is working with one variety of something in an arrangement, or two or three maximum. I come back to it over and over again. Allium purple is one of my favourites. Campanulas too, that colour of purple, I have like 50 lavender bushes … all the shades. 

"I like to think that flowers can change an environment. My goal is for someone to experience joy when they encounter them, it’s amazing what they can do to people."

Who or what are your main sources of inspiration? 

I think I am mostly inspired by paintings. I think before I became a painter I spent a considerable amount of time looking at paintings and trying to understand the way that it worked. I think a lot of my designs have been inspired by colors and shapes I’ve seen in paintings. When I started to paint myself I realised, there’s so much connection for me as far as inspiration goes. In the past a lot of the Dutch Masters are what inspired me most. I find myself drawn to loose style watercolors, I really enjoy figurative portraiture, I love watching painters paint, I think it's beautiful. I’m also really inspired by movement. Like ballet, I'm captured by it. I wish I could move like they move. Sometimes I feel like my flowers can do that for me. 

What has been the most significant learning experience in your career as a floral designer? 

I think learning to become still is the most significant thing that I have learnt. I think I am so focused on the blooming season, summer and springtime. When everything dies down, and there’s not much to look at in the garden. I feel like that’s something that I’ve had to learn , the necessity of stillness and waiting and listening. That season is 100% necessary for everything else that looks exciting. It’s about learning the balance, it’s important as an artist. Learning to take the time. It’s not always what I want to choose. But what comes afterwards is phenomenal, and the quiet season has prepared me for it. 

What made you focus on education?

I love that part of floristry, it’s what got me into the field for sure. I had a good teacher. I discovered that I liked to teach, I think I like to teach as much as anything. I think it’s just like any other artform, it feels fulfilling to pass on anything I’ve gained over the last 35 years. I feel like I want to give it away. And I can teach in the winter, so that’s great. 

What specific sustainable practices do you use in your daily work as a floral designer? 

I’ve gone back and forth in using flowers from other places, sometimes it’s necessary. But for the most part I use local flowers. Using flowers or weeds from my yard to design. I feel like the closer you can get to home, the better for the environment. For me, the local and sustainable flowers trend makes sense because it’s what nature requires. Nature is dying without sustainability, so we aren’t going to have an art form if we don’t take care of it! Flowers and sustainability go hand in hand. I know that it hasn’t, and it doesn’t. But it would make sense that this would be the trend. To me, you can’t go out into nature and think, I want to pollute this place. It feels contradictory to me. When I was focused online, 4 years ago, I was noticing that there was a lot of conversation about flower foam and chicken wire. There was a lot of judgement and finger pointing. My heart was like, okay there is room for all of us to shift to more sustainable practices, we can look at what we are doing and recognise, oh wow, all these flowers are coming in plastic, so I can call my wholesaler and see what we can do about that. There are lots of different ways to talk about this. We do have a voice, we can talk to the people who are producing the stuff. I’m glad the conversation is happening, it's necessary. 

When people enjoy your floral designs, what message or emotion do you hope they take away? 

I think if people can experience joy in my flowers, that always feels really good. I like to think that flowers can change an environment. My goal is for someone to experience joy when they encounter my flowers. It’s amazing what they can do to people.