There is no denying the rebirth of dried flowers is so on trend right now, seeing them on interior blogs and magazines, homeware stores and creeping into wedding designs.
Strangely enough, dried flowers is where my floral journey first started back in the 80s. Spending my pocket money on willow wreaths and bunches of Helichrysum (strawflower).
I would spend hours designing little wreaths, weaving and wiring flowers. I can't actually remember what I ever did with the end product, if I gave them as gifts but this was certainly the start of my love of florals, be it dried or fresh and its certainly where my love of a wreath came from.
I love a good wreath, dried or fresh. I find making them really relaxing and love the variety of colours and textures that are now available to work with. This is one of the reasons I created the DIY kits at the end of last year, so you could all have a go at creating your own designs and hopefully find it as relaxing as I do.
I tend to create my designs based on varying textures using fluffy pampas (again another love from the 80s), bunny tails and then the tiny details from seed heads, grasses and flowers.
I had been planning a dried floral collection a few years ago after doing a workshop with another florist who incorporated dried flowers into our designs. However, the wedding work has always been my business focus so time ran away from me and the collection was put on hold.
Finally at the beginning of last year the collection was ready to release to the public.
I wanted to create something that didn't just get plonked in a vase initially and something that had care and thought put into it. So the dried wreath collection was launched Spring 2020.
A collection of full and half moon wreaths in purples, pinks and neutrals plus a 'country' style one that was designed using dried materials from a local flower farmer. The Country one has been by far the most popular with weekly orders still going out almost a year later.
With a personal love for scandi design I think I will always favour the neutral tones.
The choice of dried flowers is never-ending and with a much longer life span than fresh flowers they're a gift worth giving. Look after them correctly and they should last well over 3 or 4 years. Having said that, I have a dried hydrangea wreath in my house that's 10 years old. All our dried florals come with care instructions to allow you to get the absolute best out of your purchase.
I will be releasing a new collection of dried flowers including variety bunches, new wreaths, more DIY kits and bridal flowers.
Head to our webshop www.emmahewlett.co.uk/shop or follow @emmfloral on Instagram to keep you up to date.