Meet the creative duo behind the beautiful florals you’ve been seeing in our Mother's Day campaign. We enlisted the help of our friends Michele and Ainsley, the creative Mother Daughter duo from Floral Centric. From their Mt Eden studio they create florals for weddings, extra special events, photoshoots and editorial.

Upon entering their studio, you’re met with a wall of books, plants, candles, cushions, prints and a myriad of vessels and plinths waiting to be adorned with florals at the next event.

Their take on floristry has a contemporary flare, combining their beautiful florals with hand made ceramic vases and unique vessels, (made by Michele’s husband…it really is a family business) it’s unsurprising their work has been featured in the likes of British vogue.

It felt only right to ask this talented team to create the dreamy backdrop for our Mother’s Day campaign.

P.S. If  you want the chance to win a Mother’s Day bouquet and a Saben bag for the mother figure in your life, head on over to the Floral Centric Instagram to get in the draw. You can also order flowers for Mother's Day from their studio here.

Tell us a little bit about yourselves and what led you to the women you are today?

M: I’m a mum of 3, wife, daughter, sister and flower lover!! Pretty much my family and the flowers have shaped the way I am today.

A: I’m one half of Floralcentric and obviously also a flower lover! Before my flower journey began I had been working in admin for many years but I knew that I needed a more creative pathway in my life. My overseas experience helped me to realise this and is where I found my love for flowers! My friends and family are so supportive of Floralcentric so they have also contributed to who I am today.

How did you both get into the flower game?

M: I was a young Mum and wanted to get into a new career. Once I found a floristry course in Tauranga, the thought of living at the beach for a year and learning the trade was so tempting that we packed our selves up and headed south.
My first job was as a retail florist in Mt Eden, I ended up buying into the business and stayed for 18 years, that’s a lot of bunches!! I got tired of retail so when I sold up I started working on weddings and here we are.

A: I use to help out Mum in her flower shop when I was much younger cleaning buckets and sweeping the floors! My flower journey properly began when I moved to London in 2018. I had no idea what I wanted to do and Mum encouraged me to try floristry over there. I contacted some of my favourite florists and before I knew it I was working for some incredible people!

Now you’re your own bosses, when and how did Floralcentric begin?

We started Floralcentric it the middle of the first Covid lockdown. Ainsley had just returned from London and full of fresh ideas and we thought it was a good time to bring some new energy to the floristry game. With weddings in limbo we turned our focus on making fun bunches that were a bit different to what everyone else was doing at the time. People loved it and the rest is history.

What does a regular day look like for you?

Honestly it changes every single day!! During this wedding season we were travelling a lot so it would usually start with one of us at the flower market then heading back to the studio to pack the van (we have become very good at this as usually it seems like a game of tetris) and then heading off on our next adventure. Planning weddings and events can be really time consuming so there also always seems to be endless admin and endless cleaning.

Sometimes we learn more from our mistakes, than our wins – what’s one of your biggest learning curves running a business?

Having worked in the industry for many years (Michele) I’ve learnt that the mistakes are definitely there for a reason.. they make you work smarter, more efficiently and help you become more of problem solver.

You may be an expert in your field but with flowers you learn something new every time. For me it’s really important to go with

flow, there is only so much planning you can do. We work with an organic product we need to be a little organic too.

You’ve worked on some incredible weddings and events in your time, what are some of the highlights for you?

M: Every new season is a highlight for me. Because we like to keep our weddings unique and individual we always design with the new in mind, and that’s exciting as it becomes more of a challenge to create something that hasn’t been done before.

A: This past wedding season has been the biggest yet and we have worked on some pretty incredible jobs in some beautiful locations! But the jobs I can never forget was when I was in London we used to work on some huge events ranging from hotels to private members clubs. They like to go big over there so creating 22 foot Christmas trees and covering the whole facade of a building was a normal day at the office!

 How is it working with family? Any issues working alongside your mother/ daughter?

M: I love working with Ainsley, she is the best florist!! She’s also so organised and does all the web stuff because really, why teach an old dog new tricks!!

A: We actually tend to work pretty well together! Our style and vision is very similar so we never have an issue with what we want the outcome of a wedding to look like. Mum has taught me everything I need to know about floristry so I’m just learning from the best.

Everyone knows Valentine’s Day is a busy day for florists but Mother’s Day is also a beast of a day with people sending blooms to their beautiful mums. Can people order beautiful bouquets for the Mother or ‘Other’ in their life? What’s the best way for people to order your flowers?

We are doing a limited number of Mother’s Day bouquets this year as we’ve still got a few events and weddings to work through. We are offering a couple of options and promise you the loveliest blooms for your special one. You can head to our website to pre order.

Saben style, what bag are you crushing on at the moment and what’s next on your wish list?

We both LOVE the Coco Mini! Especially in the brownstone! 

Follow along to see the latest Floral creations @floralcentric and to order flowers for Mother's Day visit their digital flower home here.

Ainsley wears new season hue, Brownstone in classic style Coco. Michele wears Tilly Crossbody in Evergreen.  

Spoil them with Saben this Mother's Day - Shop Saben New Arrivals.