My Grandma Jean loved to pick and press wildflowers, often displaying her floral finds in small gold and silver frames dotted around her house. My Nan was the only person I knew who pressed flowers. Her flower frames reminded me of our nature walks with her as kids, wandering through forest floors blanketed by bluebells and snowdrops in the beautiful countryside of Surrey, England - where I grew up.

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Sadly, Nan passed away on New Years Day 2023, aged 99, with close family by her side. Not wanting her vast array of sentimental funeral flowers to simply go to waste, I arranged the flowers into small bouquets to display around my parent's house but felt sad that we would eventually throw away such beautiful, sentimental flowers. It was then that I decided I would like to press and transport some of these flowers back to my new home in Whistler, BC and create a flower frame in her memory.

 

I borrowed some old books from my parent's and tried my hand at pressing flowers between the pages for the very first time, packing them carefully in my suitcase to bring back to Canada with me. The pressing was a success and once the flowers were dried, I created my very first flower frame with the pressed flowers. I completely fell in love with the flower pressing process and eventually gifted the frame to my Mom on her birthday.

 

My Nan would have celebrated her 100th birthday in June 2023 and continuing her flower pressing passion by launching Flora & Frame exactly one century after she was born feels like pure serendipity. I love the feeling of keeping her memory alive in my day-to-day work and hope she's proud of my flower-filled endeavours. She often visits in my dreams, which I love.

 

Surrounded by the breathtaking landscapes of Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton BC, I have the absolute privilege of helping newlyweds preserve a piece of their love story forever. Each unique bridal bouquet holds beloved memories and emotions that deserve to last way beyond the wedding day itself. By transforming wedding bouquets into timeless framed keepsakes, I'm able to create everlasting stories that can be treasured forever and passed down for generations.

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Below is a photo of my lovely Nan (always smiling) from 2010 alongside the very first flower frame I made, with her celebration of life flowers.