“I HAVE terrible hands - my nails always have dirt under them, and they’re always cut. My partner says I have mechanic’s hands!”
Meet Laura Jessop-Smith, 25-year-old floristry business owner and South Windsor resident, who is working hard to “bring a little bit of the city into the Hawkesbury”.
“I have lived in the Hawkesbury my entire life and feel as though this town has so much potential that has never really been taken advantage of,” she told the Gazette.
Ms Jessop-Smith is the chief creative at Haus 101 flower studio, based in the old cinema on George Street, Windsor.
Her hands represent every florist’s bugbear: they spend most days in and out of water, getting stabbed by thorns, stained by dirt and seeped in plant sap.
Ms Jessop-Smith begins every second working day at a spritely 3am. Clearly, the life of a florist is not all roses.
Styling Windsor
Ms Jessop-Smith grew up in the Hawkesbury, went to school here, and was adamant that she would open her business on her home turf.
“I had a lot of recommendations to not place my store in Windsor. A lot of stores are closing down because people are shopping elsewhere and not locally, but I wanted to change that,” she said.
“I wanted to bring something nice into Windsor because there is no reason Windsor can’t be a boutique town like Berrima, Kiama and Berry - because we do have that appeal and it is beautiful out here.”
Haus 101 has been operating in its current location - down the Riverview end of George Street - since August.
The shop shares a stretch of road with a group of other, relatively new, businesses, all with a ‘trendy’ or ‘style-orientated’ bent.
According to Ms Jessop-Smith, the owners of these stores all want to bring something “new” to Windsor.
“It’s a really great position I am in, with Pony Haircutters next door, and George St Loft, Urban Laser Studio and Lush Beauty Parlour,” she said.
“We’re all a bit of a family and we all bounce off each other. There’s a reason we’re here, and we want local people to have the opportunity to drive five minutes down the road and get a great service.”
Flower trade
Ms Jessop-Smith has a background in interior design. She completed a Certificate III in floristry and began creating arrangements for family and friends in her spare time.
She drives her van to Flemington Flower Markets every second morning, arriving early to get a good parking spot before the markets open.
“I speak to the growers and see what’s good. Most of the growers come from Dural and Glenorie, but a lot of them get things imported as well,” she said.
“They share things around and they will help you find something. But they all specialise in their certain things and I’ve built up a good relationship with a lot of them now.
“I’ll shop around for a certain arrangement and also for the shop, which needs to be stocked with a variety of different species and also colours.”
Customers are likely to see delphinium, hydrangeas and lavender in the store around this time of year, and we’re also coming into the season for hyacinth, jasmine, and natives like kangaroo paw, king proteas, and tea tree.
Ms Jessop-Smith said her personal style is ‘back to basics’, with lots of natural-looking and free-forming arrangements.
“I like flowers that have a very ‘wild grown’ appeal, like cosmos and veronica - things that are quite whimsical and add a soft touch to arrangements, which is the style I like to have in the shop and they’re not overly-priced,” she said.
Her secret weapon? A pair of secateurs - including while she’s on the road.
“If I see something amazing I can cut a piece and take it into the markets and ask what it is, when it’s in season, how long it will last for. Having a pair of secateurs handy is always a good thing!” she said.
