COVID, Constance and Curly Twigs
Caroline Marshall-Foster discovers how Shane Connolly survived a pandemic
I’ve been bumping into Shane Connolly at events for years but never actually interviewed him. For no other reason than timings never seemed to work. But when The Garden Museum hosted the British Flowers Week showcase earlier this summer and at the same time opened the amazing tribute to Constance Spry Shane has curated it was too good an opportunity to miss.
Which is why, on a sunny afternoon, I found myself taking tea in the courtyard gardens and talking to the man who has a huge Insta following, is a renowned designer – he did the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton and is ‘By Appointment’ to both HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales - and is a passionate advocate of sustainable floristry. Not bad for a man who didn’t plan to be a florist and, if he hadn’t overslept one morning, might never have set up his own business!
“Who has inspired me the most? I would have to say Constance Spry. Not that I ever met her, she died before I was born, but my first boss, Michael Goulding, said I should read her books and I just connected. Because you did have to read them - they weren’t full of pictures to interrupt the flow - but that actually made them even more inspiring.
Reading text forced me to use my imagination and interpret in my head what she was saying and then put my own stamp on it rather than copying a picture. I admired the fact she had made a mid-life career change, she had lived in Ireland and referenced it often which I could relate to, she was obviously an artist and she believed in using flowers and foliage’s from the garden.”
Above: Constance in her garden at Winkfield Place ... home to her and the famous school
But then, for Shane, who grew up in Northern Ireland, gardens are the route to all design. Indeed, if he had had his way, he would have been a gardener except that, for a well brought up chap, it wouldn’t have been allowed so he read Psychology.
A study year in London and an introduction from a friend of a friend saw him meet Michael Goulding, Writtle College and Constance Spry trained, who had established himself as Floral Decorator to the rich, famous, and Royal. Shane thought it sounded fascinating and offered to help. Six months of helping build and break down big installations he was smit and decided that floristry was where he wanted to be.
Through Michael he got a job with Pulbrook & Gould, then and now one of London’s most prestigious florists and where other alumni including Simon Lycett, Jo Malone and Kenneth Turner learnt their craft. There Shane thrived and absorbed their Constance Spry ethos of seasonal, British flowers. “I’m not sure they could believe it … a strong, very tall and enthusiastic chap who wanted to learn everything. It was not only a very pure Constance Spry experience but one that has stayed with me throughout my career.”
Above: Throughout her career Constance saw teaching as part of her role ... not just in the classroom but on vinyl as well!
A career that took off when he began to be offered private commissions. However, it quickly became clear that working full time in a shop and doing evening functions wasn’t going to work …. not least because he was running himself ragged. “I may have been young and strong, but the hours began to take their toll. Having taken a day’s leave for some catch up sleep, I didn’t hear the alarm and nearly missed an event! I knew something had to give so I made the decision to go full time self-employed.”
Not that it’s been easy or paved with gold even though he may have had some seriously blue-chip clients. “Yes, doing the wedding of The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowls in 2005 and the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton back in 2011 were amazing opportunities and I have had many other unique commissions, but you don’t do floristry to get rich. I started on my kitchen table …. moving into the dining room and then a garage which was so tiny I had to use the van for extra storage space. I didn’t get a decent studio until 2013, until then I made do and grafted to keep costs down.”
He’s also been equally focussed when it comes to sustainability and seasonality and is probably one of the most fervent advocates for all things eco. Having heard him speak over the last few years, whilst still fiercely evangelical, he realises that being judgemental can put people off so his style is now more helping and encouraging; he even admits to buying the odd imported flower if absolutely necessary. But as a rule – indeed heartfelt belief - he will always advocate a natural approach and foam is a complete no-no in his book.
“I haven’t used foam since 2012 and have managed perfectly well even on the biggest installations (‘twiggery pokery in an old bucket’ was one way he describes it on his social media posts!) and to be honest if I had to use roses, hydrangea, and orchids all the time I’d rather work in MacDonald’s!
Because for Shane flowers and foliage are a way of bringing nature and seasons into a room and why he wishes more florists would look at gardens and show customers how they can reflect a season naturally. “For example, instead of a dome of white roses why not suggest white anemones, jasmine and lichen for a winter wedding … all florists need to show other styles and educate customers.”
It’s also why he has done so many videos on the Covent Garden Market channels. “I urge seasonality, but I know also that some florists simply don't know what is around and so avoid the unusual as they don't know how to use it. Walking through the market and showing viewers what is available hopefully helps.”
But whilst he uses social media, he admits to a bit of a love hate relationship with it. “Instagram is an important channel and there are many, many young florists I admire greatly. But it seems to me that if you can take a good picture, people think you are a florist when more often than not a good picture is more about the styling than the floristry. I find it really frustrating because it’s not based on reality and gives a false perspective.”
And he wishes more florists would get out there and see different things. “I was disappointed at how few florists engaged with the British Flowers Week and the fact more students weren’t encouraged to visit either the installations or take part in the many online sessions the Garden Museum have put on.”
Indeed, when I ask him what advice he’d give a florist, it is blunt. “Be prepared for sacrifice, be more daring, push the boundaries, find ways of getting more stimuli than a Dutch van or online wholesaler (here he totally pushes the idea of visiting New Covent Garden Market on a regular basis to see, touch and smell the flowers) learn how to wire (Shane reckons not knowing how to wire flowers is like a cook not knowing how to bake a cake) and see floristry as an art rather than just focussing on the grunt end.” Grunt may pay bills, but he firmly believes there is a market for the other type of floristry if florists are prepared to show it.
Obviously, we talk about Covid and the impact it had on his business which is so wedding and event led. “It was dreadful. We got no grants or support from the Government, but a few private clients saved us from going over the edge. The months of no work were relentless, but I had a garden and a greenhouse which basically kept me sane, and I realised I liked my wife a lot! If I hadn’t had those three elements in my life it could have been very different.”
And of course, there was Constance … the woman who had started his love affair with flowers and who he was paying tribute to long before a global pandemic hit. Having been commissioned to curate a special tribute at the Garden Museum to the tour de force of floristry, putting the exhibition together during Covid may have been tricker but it was another salvation.
“There is no other Museum in the UK that elevates flowers, and their use in flower design, to an art form. When Christopher Woodward, the Museum Director invited me to curate the Constance Spry exhibition I was thrilled. It was a challenge, but it has also been an inspiration to talk with people who worked and trained with her, work with collectors who have loaned their possessions and be allowed to explore the RHS Spry archive and show items for the first time.
The fact that the exhibition has morphed into both online presentations that have been watched the world over and now even has its own book is amazing. A real tribute to a woman who basically discovered a new art form and established a business empire, at a time when women were not encouraged to be achievers; a woman who understood the importance of education; and a woman who appreciated the beauty of nature and how it enhanced life.”
Now that weddings and events are allowed a degree of normality returns for Shane and his business. However, he will see the Constancy Spry exhibition through to its end on September 26th knowing that the woman who set him on his own path will have been truly recognised for the influence she has had on so many other florists around the world. Not a bad legacy for a man who never planned to be a florist!
