The extremely talented and graceful Rosie Bristed is the brains behind Arrowtown Botanical, an Arrowtown based botanical studio. Over the past two years, Rosie has organically grown her business from creating bespoke floral arrangements for weddings and events to recently opening a beautiful, light-filled shop and studio space. Rosie’s new space showcases a charming array of plants and also doubles as an art gallery that hosts rotating exhibitions of contemporary botanical artists. The exhibitions have begun for this year and if you are around Queenstown or Wanaka I highly recommend making a visit to this inspiring space.

Rosie has a magical ability to bring the best out of plants, and her floral work stands out as completely original. Rosie’s gentle nature shines through her work and her genuine passion for flowers is evident in her careful discussion with each of her clients to ensure the right flowers are selected for them.

One of the most impressive elements of Rosie’s work is that right from the beginning, Rosie has integrated sustainable practices into her business strategy, including working hard to minimize waste and choose local suppliers. Rosie’s success is really inspiring for me with Sunday Projects because it proves that you don’t need to compromise on your principles in order to achieve your creative vision.

As you will see in the photos below, Rosie is absolutely gorgeous. She was kind enough to let me take some photos of her at work in the Billie dress in her lovely studio. I am proud to call this imaginative and innovative businesswoman my friend and I hope you enjoy learning more about her passions and how she got to where she is in the Journal post below.

What motivated you to transform Arrowtown Botanical from an idea into a business? What then promoted the push to move into a physical space?
I was so excited at the thought of choosing exactly how my days were spent that starting my own business seemed like a great choice. Working with flowers to create something specific to each occasion and space and personality is so special. I’m so lucky! Moving into a physical space was more of a necessity – my room was a jungle of 40+ indoor plants, spilled soil and buckets of fresh flowers, creeping into the living room I share with my friends… Moving rather than curbing my collection was preferential and I was lucky enough to find a special little loft that suits my needs beautifully, and hopefully allows me to grow my business!

Combining plants with an art gallery is a great idea and is something I haven’t seen before. What are some connections between the plant and the art worlds? How do you see the two facets of your studio enhancing one another?
I think people like plants around for a number of reasons – they’re calming, they’re fresh, they brighten up a space. Art is similar – it evokes an emotion in the owner or viewer, a big work creates a strong presence in a room. Plants and art can be comforting, striking, reassuring – in my opinion they complete a room. They’re both also large parts of interior design, and I felt they’d be a good fit together. I want people to come into my studio and feel happy that they’ve found it, stumbled across it, my little styled lofty paradise in the heart of busy Arrowtown.

The path you have chosen is not necessarily an easy one, and I am sure there were a number of challenges along the way. What do you wish you knew when you began your business journey? Any words of wisdom for people just starting out on their own ventures?
The advice you hear everywhere about making mistakes is crucial. But mainly just giving ideas a whirl and seeing what happens. The more energy I put into the business and the back end of it, the more I’m inspired to try new things. Constantly rearranging the plants and the layout of my studio helps me to dream up new styles and keep the space fun and evolving. I wish I had known that things like branding don’t need to come first or necessarily cost a lot, it’s the quality of your service/product that you’re remembered for initially.

Your work is always very original you are constantly coming up with new designs. Who or what inspires you creatively?
I love outdoor architecture, overgrown gardens and dramatic seasons. I’m fascinated by Ikebana (Japanese floral art) but hopelessly bad at it. I love simple designs done well, or one variety of flower en masse. I prefer foliage heavy arrangements, because it mimics nature to me, and there’s always something beautifully cooling about a big arrangement of leafy greens on a warm day.

It is really impressive to see how you have integrated responsible environmental practices into your business, such as being one of the few foam free florists in New Zealand. Is there a lot of waste in conventional florist practices? How else does sustainability influence your business?

There is an unbelievable, heart-breaking amount of waste in conventional florist practices. Enormous sums of money are spent on flowers that are going to be used for one day then thrown in the bin. Flowers are also imported from abroad (and exported) all over NZ. I never order these unless specifically requested by a bride. Aside from the obvious travel miles, what really upsets me is that they are full to the brim of pesticides. There is no amount of beauty in a flower that can justify this level of toxicity to me.

You never seem flustered but I can imagine with your work you are often involved in quite high pressure situations such as weddings and special events. How do you maintain a level of calm and balance in your life?
I think I am quite a calm person, and getting stressed out only impacts my work and the people around me. I am lucky enough to live at the base of many beautiful walking tracks, and even a small amount of time in the hills each day makes me feel positively wonderful.

What have you learned about the environment through working so closely with flowers and plants?
That each variety of plant or flower is an absolute marvel; that they all have their own needs and requirements, much like humans or animals; some of them respond to touch, others face their heads towards the sunlight; but mostly, that the botanical world doesn’t need us or our intervention to thrive.

How do you balance the creativity of your craft with the financial realities of owning a business?
I forage for a lot of greenery, buy flowers from growers in the Wakatipu basin, propagate some of my own plants and grow some of my own flowers. These are all things that are time consuming, but necessary to supplement costs in the early phases for Arrowtown Botanical. To be honest, managing cost versus creative is something I’m constantly tweaking.

What has being a florist taught you about people?
It completely fascinates me the way that people (women in particular) are drawn to flowers. Also, that people are endlessly kind and caring and are always cheered up by fresh flowers or healthy plants, and, that every person I meet is absolutely just as fascinated by the wonders of plants and flowers as I. It’s just so special when customers come back to tell me about the new leaf their plant has grown.

How did you originally become interested in plants? What advice do you have for people who are looking to build a career that they are passionate about?
I like bringing green or florals into an otherwise sterile environment. It’s the first thing I think of when I go to places that don’t seem quite finished – I think about where a plant might go and what it would be. My advice re pursuing your career: just start. Collate your information on a webpage, make some business cards and tell everyone what you’re up to. It’s about getting the ball rolling, and from there it grows.

What is an emotion or quality that you think is underrated in people and why?
Silence. We feel pressure to constantly talk and fill the space with chatter, but it’s so nice being around people who are comfortable to just sit and be. I’m constantly surprised by my boyfriend – I’ve never met anyone more calm and pleasant to be around, and I’m always amazed by the little things he picks up from observing and listening.

It is going to be very exciting to see this project grow over the next few years as Rosie elegantly adds new layers to her shop and studio. You can keep up to date with Arrowtown Botanical, including upcoming exhibitions in the gallery, through the Arrowtown Botanical website or you can follow the Studio Instagram. Rosie wears our Billie dress in the oat, ice blue and blush, which you can find in our shop here.