What's in a Name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.

ROMEO & JULIET ACT II SCENE 2

Once Upon a Time

Whilst running their own contemporary-chic florist's shop in historic Bury St Edmunds, Liz and Claire Cowling found themselves setting trends in the floristry world. Both proved themselves as skilled floral designers with unique and in-demand talents. From modest beginnings, they soon found themselves invited to having work showcased in international publications and at world-standard shows, achieving several notable awards on the way including the coveted RHS Chelsea Gold Medals.

A Growing Reputation

Following a successful period editing the Society of Floristry's own magazine, Liz Cowling found a natural passion for writing about floristry. Claire's rapidly growing reputation as an up-and-coming leading light in the world of floral design let her contribute to their first book together, "Straight from the Heart: Bridal Floristry for the 21st Century", which was an instant success and is now nearly impossible to come by. Consequently, Liz and Claire refreshed the book and a second edition was compiled, which is currently still available (though copies are becoming limited).

Following the success of the Wedding book, Liz and Claire identified a need for emotive and stylish funerals designs - that were still practical and saleable for florists to be able to re-create, so prepared their second book in the series, "Straight from the Heart: Sympathy for the 21st Century".  This is also now sold out and an all-new book, "Straight from the Heart: Sympathy Collection"  was prepared which you can buy now!.

The series was - and still is - hugely popular with leading professional florists to aspiring students. The key advantage of the books was that they can be readily used to inspire both the florist and the customer alike whilst remaining informative and educational. They really are a perfect selling tool.

Meanwhile, Claire became increasingly renowned for her contemporary and chic wedding work. She is the only UK florist to be featured (and with a signature collection) in all four "Fusion Flowers Wedding Magazines". She is also the only UK floral designer to have work selected for all three "International Annual of Floral Art" publications from one of the industries main floral publishers in Belgium.

During this time, Liz and Claire wrote and published "Wedding Bouquets for Spring", another hugely successful book for florists, students and enthusiasts. This title remains in print today and gives a wonderful array of wedding bouquets from simple hand-tieds to those with more technical frameworks and intricate detailed flowing designs.

Books, Magazines and Sundries

Whilst publishing and distributing their own books, Liz and Claire sourced hard-to-find books on related floristry subjects fro their customers. Their knowledge of books and periodicals became extensive and they gained a reputation for being passionate and helpful in their field. Thrive Floristry thus became one of the UK's most important bases for the floristry industry.

The Future of Thrive

Claire now oversees and manages Thrive Floristry from its base in rural Suffolk. She continues to enhance her portfolio with both corporate and private clients. You can visit Claire's own website for more details of her personal work.

Thrive Floristry's website has been fully updated for December 2009 and will continue to evolve to bring you the latest news and information from Thrive. We've also added a page on Facebook so that you can stay in touch...

IMPORTANT WEBSITE LINKS:
THRIVE FLORISTRY PUBLICATIONS   |   OTHER BOOKS   |   CLAIRE COWLING'S WEBSITE