Sage Flowers: With Roots In Peckham, Streetwear and the Club Scene, This Team of Female Florists Are Ready For Their Most Curious Debut
A florist who cites one of her major influences as the London clubbing scene? Only at Most Curious!
Time to welcome Sage Flowers to Most Curious! I sat down with Iona just days after Storm Eunice kept us from chatting with co-owner, Romy, as well. Romy’s just taken maternity leave and Iona is soon to follow! It’ll be the first baby for Romy, Iona’s second, but Sage Flowers came first. They know they’re leaving their shared baby in the best possible hands—they’ve assembled a wonderful team of female florists who love to create, plan and eat cake together.
Sage Flowers, a Peckham-based floral studio, has been going strong since 2018. Often it’s your friends who play matchmaker to couple you up, but it was Iona and Romy’s partners at the time who struck a match between this pair. They bumped into each other while out clubbing and their boyfriends had the genius idea to keep the party going—Iona had already left a long career in restaurant management to pursue floristry and was working in a flower shop. Romy was ready to stop and smell the roses, so to speak, after working in healthcare.
“We’re called Sage because it’s one of Jung’s Twelve Archetypes. The archetype of the Sage is someone who spreads wisdom and knowledge and we wanted to do that around flowers,” says Iona. “It can seem a bit wanky,” she acknowledges and we both break down into giggles. Wanky, or not, Sage Flowers is the product of that fantastic sensibility—the desire to educate while also providing the world with something beautiful.
Almost entirely self-taught after the initial placement in the flower shop, Iona knew she wanted to work with her hands. Her previous life in hospitality had made her into a fantastic project manager, prepared to manage the expectations of clientele and staff. They were both after a more sustainable and healthier career path, but it was a steep learning curve for the pair. I think it’s safe to say that after nearly half a decade they’ve found their footing; their work simply speaks for itself.
“We are lucky enough to work with some amazing clients,” Iona says with a smile. Citing the London streetwear scene as a major influence in Sage Flowers, she feels privileged to have worked in events around fashion, as well as music—their next greatest inspiration. “Our area too—Peckham. Sage was born in Peckham. South East London is such an inspiration—so many sights and sounds and colors,” she says. Both Romy and Iona share a love of their club-infused, fashion-led, musically-enriched youths in London’s subculture scene. The culture of Sage Flowers is evolving as they grow, but always keeping its roots firmly grounded in the scene. “We’re really tying to push our brand nationally and internationally,” Iona shares. They have so many planned collaborations for this summer, along with a season of fantastic weddings. They’re looking for a new space to fill with flowers, music, cake and the Sage crew. We imagine the fantastic, food-centric collabs that could come from setting one large, long table with flowers and a feast for all their friends in this as-of-yet undiscovered space.
“Sage started with just Romy and I; it was Romy and I for a couple years. We started hiring after a couple of years: a head florist, three to four florists and two operations people,” Iona shares before shaking her head. “So much of floristry is not floristry,” she confides, before detailing the logistics members of her team carry out seamlessly. “Our jobs bleed together and we all help each other out,” she says of the Sage team. “…It’s just lovely to have seven girls in an office together every day, talking and watching ideas come together and eating cake!” I ask if they have any particular favorites. “We love Lilly Vanilla, NEZ MadebyNez, [but] more often than not we’re around ASDA, you know, lots of mini eggs and rolls.”
Yum. Save me a slice, Sage Flowers family!
