ARTICLE

DOWN UNDER art ists

Australia and New Zealand

NIKKI TIBBLES INTERVIEW

By Trish Hoskin

Hello again everyone, this month I decided to look for some beautiful forms of art that are a little different from what we all do, but amazing creativity none the less.

Having been to London 9 times, I do have an affinity with it (do you think!!) and have always read heaps of articles, looked at various YouTube sites and subscribed to heaps of newsletters etc., where I came across the stunning work of Nikki Tibbles. I absolutely love flowers as most of us do and her work just resonated with me and thought it would be interesting for all of us.

So, I decided to ask Nikki if she would be kind enough share some of her insights for us.

Nikki all of your floral designs are absolutely a work of art - and I love your Company Name - how did that come about?

When I was setting up my floral business many years ago everyone use to read magazines. I sat and pulled out images and words I loved and I kept coming back to the movie Wild at Heart. I tore out lots of images of typography. I loved the Wild at Heart tattoo of a heart with a dagger and flowers. I kept coming back to that image and knew that was what I should name my business.

Looking at your work both on your site and on Instagram, I would have to say you are certainly not the average Florist - where did you get your amazing sense of artistry to produce floral masterpieces?

I just like masses of colour and pattern and stripes and spots and all different patterns that are never meant to go together. I like layers of print on print on print and I love generosity of spirit which is why everything has such scale.

Some of your wedding arrangements are just stunning - how long would it take to put together one of these displays and what preparation is required beforehand?

It very much depends on the size and scale of the event but we take great care putting our flowers together, choosing our flowers and making sure we have the best quality, each piece is unique and exciting.

Some brides come to us with ideas from magazines, Instagram, Pinterest etc., and know exactly what they want. Others have no idea so we lead on the creative process.

Your works are truly artistic and for most of our group who work with photos or designer products to create our own kind of digital artistry that lasts as long as we would like I guess, do you feel sad that your creations have a limited lifespan?

No I love the fact that flowers grow, we use them they fade and die. My job suits me perfectly as I have a short attention span. That’s why I have remained so passionate and excited about the work I produce for the last 20 years.

Do your ideas depend on what is available in the flower markets etc., or do you have an idea and then work out how you can bring it together with what you can get?

I think we know what’s around at that time of year but obviously, all the time new flowers are developed and introduced. I always look to nature for inspiration – in hedgerows / woods / the countryside and look to add something that gives it more individuality.

I can see on your website that weddings have been hosted in Europe, does that mean you get to travel to do the arrangements and I assume you have some great contacts in specific places to be able to source the right flowers at the right time?

All our flowers come from Holland and Great Britain. We try to buy British when we can. Otherwise all our flowers come from Holland and are shipped to wherever we are working.

How has Covid-19 Pandemic affected your business - have you found people are buying more flowers to cheer themselves up?

We as an industry have been one of the hardest hit in hospitality as all events have been cancelled since March. Obviously, events make up the major part of our business.

So, it’s given us the opportunity to work on our online offering and develop that to bring out new products online including Wild at Heart Bride and Wild at Heart Home and look where we need to develop our brand moving forward which will include an all immersive fabulous new store.

People are still buying flowers and sending flowers to loved ones who they can’t see.