Florist Special With Julia Rose

Julia Rose, (yes that's her last name), also known as @flowersbyjuliarose on Instagram, is a renowned and very experienced floral designer and professional. With a specialization in Floral Couture and interactive and enticing art installations, she has carved a niche for herself in the world of artistic floristry. Many seek Julia's expertise through her workshops and others find loads of inspiration in what she does and contributes to the flower industry. In this week's florist special, Julia Rose joined for a flowery talk about herself and her creative work.

Meet the Creator of Flowers by Julia Rose

Julia Rose is a florist based in Australia and is the owner of the business 'Flowers by Julia Rose'. Her passion for flowers started at a young age when she would help her grandmother tend to their garden.

She shares:

"My love of flowers stems from spending hours amongst the blooms and herbs in my grandmother’s garden as a little girl. Playing inside cavernous branches of the magnificent hydrangea, picking one of my Grandfather’s prized roses to carry around with me all day to enjoy its sweet perfume…. relocating snails out of the garden and worms into the garden."

After a few years, she went on to study floristry and gained experience working for different florists before starting her own business. If you're eager to know more about her fantastic works of floral art, tune into this interview where she'll share more of her life in detail.

Q: What type of floral design do you specialize in and why did you choose this type?

Julia:

"I specialize in Floral Couture, Immersive, and Installation Art. I create my work with passion purely for the sake of my own joy and of course, I bring to life floral installations and floral art purely for the sake of bringing others joy as well. I love evoking emotions through the imagery of my designs, giving people moments, and creating memories that will last a lifetime, through my art.

Why you may ask? I became very ill with a rare condition called chemical hypersensitivity. It’s when you become allergic to the modern world. I was allergic to everything: perfume, car fumes, moisturizers, hairspray – everything that everyone used every day, including all kinds of chemicals in food. It got to the point that it became impossible to live a normal adult life anymore.  All of a sudden, life had become so fragile, and being a real adult didn’t seem to matter."

"Creating and nature made me happy, so that’s what I did. I created for the pure sake of creation. I didn’t care what anyone else’s opinion of me was. As long as I was happy, that was all that mattered. I did not design sticking to traditional floristry rules. Even though I knew all the rules, I implemented them in my own fashion. I combined my love of art and theatre into the pieces, intertwining costume, fashion, theatre, and arts.

Flowers were my medium, but I was using them to create fashion and even three-dimensional paintings if you will. I was playing with texture, color, and movement, using my floristry skills along with my art skills that I had built up during my life experiences."

Q: Who inspires you to create such marvelous floral designs? 

Julia: 

"I would have to say Mother Nature is my number one inspiration, as really who does it better nature wise. However, design wise I do love some theatrics! I create with emotion, inspired by an amalgamation of the Arts' Theater fashion, and Music."

Q: Why do you like working with flowers? What feelings do they give you?

Julia:

"I love that they are momentary, because of this every piece is unique and special. Never to be repeated. That piece, that sensory experience, the visual, the scent, the moment belongs to those who saw it and enjoyed it. I adore how each flower has its own unique story, from a fat garden rose with its massed ruffled petals and sweet scent, the art of an orchid, through to the lineal and hard structure of a heliconia. I start with a feeling, an emotion I want to express, then I choose my set, my model, the color of her skin, and the line of her jaw, they are all part of the art.

Or with a location, an audience, what is it I want to say? Then I take inspiration from the surroundings. Do I want to create something contradictory to it? Do I want to be in harmony with it? I enjoy conceptualizing art, utilizing fresh flowers as my medium. The challenge of creating with a fresh and living medium inspires and motivates me."

A Typical Day for Julia Rose Working With Flowers

As a floral artist renowned not only in Australia but worldwide for all the majestic works of floral art she creates, Julia Rose has a lot going on in her day-to-day. In this week's special, she shares more about these details and her personal life.

Q: What does a typical day look like for you at Julia Rose Flowers?

Julia:

"There are a few types of 'typical days' for me, depending on whether I am on location at a big event, attending a media launch, or at home on the farm managing office work for upcoming events. On the farm, I rise with the sun to let out, feed, walk, and spend time with my animals until the dew lifts. Then, I head to the office and work all day, sometimes all night, depending on the project. On other days, I am outside creating large structures for upcoming gigs and designing bases of couture, enjoying the process outdoors with trestle tables set up in the yard while my animals visit throughout the day."

Typical Day on Set with Floral Couture

"I start with an early rise, loading my car with all the floral and fashion creations I've designed before arriving on location. I liaise with other creatives, discussing the 'Vision.' When the model arrives, hair and makeup begin, and the design evolves directly on her, using her as the canvas. We then position her in the perfect location, aligning the couture, backdrop, light, and body language to convey the desired emotion."

"Our workday is long, filled with laughter and dedication, often extending far beyond our initial plans because we love what we do. If the model is set for a red carpet, runway, or media event, we head to that location to dazzle and delight the audience. Together, we engage with the crowd, offering a sensory experience through vision, scent, and art, capturing countless photos."

Typical Day on Set When Creating Installation Art Pieces

"I usually rise much too early, often after going to bed far too late. This cycle continues until the project is complete, sometimes lasting weeks or even months. Despite the lack of sleep, I love every moment of it. My days are spent assembling the pieces of the puzzle, from lighting and sound engineering to set design, ordering and coordinating flowers and floral accessories, and managing models, photographers, makeup artists, videographers, and other artists.

I devote months to bringing a project to life, and suddenly, it's game time as the final days arrive. We place all the fresh flowers into the pieces, working tirelessly day and night. My 'floral army' and I breathe life into the vision, creating with joy despite our exhaustion. Once the installation is complete, it opens to the public, who love it. I capture and share the entire process, inspiring those watching from home. This is why I thrive on the madness of large-scale installations; it brings immense joy to both the designers and the public."

 

Q: What are the most important elements/components in floral design?

Julia:

"Although I am a certified trainer and educator, to me, the essence lies in my love for color and texture. My ultimate goal is to paint the piece with light, capturing it in an image. I seek a color palette that expresses the desired emotion to the viewer, making texture essential for creating depth and movement in my designs. A dramatic, heavy texture provides places for light to hide, adding the theatrics that bring me joy. This texture doesn't have to imply wild movement; it could also be a repeated linear design for a dramatic impact."

Julia Rose Has Her Own Book Titled 'Color My World'

Julia Rose fell in love with creativity and art early in her life and throughout formative years of exploration of herself. She’s always loved to paint, weave, carve, and sculpt, but flowers became her medium of choice. 'Color My World', Julia's book captures her singular approach to floral design – both in bold images and sweetly told tales – and mixes it with a dash here and there of the colorful, creative life she’s lived thus far.

Q: Please tell us a bit more about your book. What is your favorite part about it? 

Julia:

"Can I be so cheeky to pop the blurb below? Asking me, as the artist, what my favorite part is leaves me thrilled and overwhelmed by it all. I'm humbled that someone approached me to write a book about my work—a company that writes books on Masters around the world! It is truly magnificent, and I believe they can express what the book contains more eloquently and without bias."

Travel with this colorful creative from her early stomping grounds in Newcastle to worldwide fashion runways, red carpets, and festivals and back to her bucolic farm in Australia, where she finds the inspiration to fuel her floral magic. With every turn of the page, you'll be transported into Julia's artistic sanctuary, where flowers are turned into paint, fabric, and inspiration. Julia shares her intimate creative journey, from conceiving detailed floral pieces within her mind's eye to translating her visions into reality.

Additionally, as you read her book, you'll uncover the process that brings her art to life. She puts together her emotions, moods, and concepts to guide her artistic endeavors. Head to Julia Roses' website to learn more about her book (and to get yourself one!).

Ultimately, Creating Is Julia Rose’s Heart and Motto

When Julia is happy, she creates; when she's sad, she creates. For Julia, being creative helps heal everything in her life. She gives it all up to do what she loves and it fills her heart with pure joy to see how much people love what she does even more now, as it comes from a place that is real and pure.

For that, she gives advice to everyone out there looking to become floral designers and artists:

"Learn all the rules, so you can break them like a pro. Once you have the rules down, follow your heart. Your people will find you. Those who love what you do will naturally be drawn to you. If you create what brings you happiness, what falls from you naturally, you can never fail. As your pieces will always be perfectly you."

If you're ready to see more of her life and art, make sure to explore the floral world of Julia Rose.