Floral artist finds inspiration in forests
The bright, intense colours she sees along Waterloo Region trails thrill Kailey Davy
KITCHENER — Kailey Davy might not know the name of the bushes or trees she finds along trails, but she knows that the shape, colour and texture are exactly what is needed to enhance a floral arrangement.
“When I’m hiking, I see things,” said Davy, a floral designer who works out of a private space, Juniper Floral, near Belmont Village in Kitchener.
She will be a guest artist at the Globe Studios 2018 Open House and Art Show on Friday evening.
As a teenager, Davy learned to appreciate what could be done with flowers and plants from her artistic grandmother.
“She taught me to press flowers to create art and cards,” she said. “I always just loved flowers.”
That early work with her grandmother was mostly for fun, but soon Davy started seeing possibilities for her art.
She also learned there wasn’t a college program to learn floral design. So she had to be creative, and she started by pestering floral shops to hire her as an assistant. One finally offered her a job and she began learning.
Davy also completed a couple of floral design courses and a retail management program from Ryerson University. Then she travelled to Portland, Ore., to learn from a florist she found on Instagram whose work she admired.
About four years ago, she was finally prepared to work as a florist and she started building a clientele. Starting this month, Davy will be offering workshops.
“I figure I’m at the perfect age: All my friends are getting married,” said the 27-year-old, laughing. “It’s an opportunity to capitalize on this.”
Davy said weddings are moving away from the creams and ivories of the past and toward brighter, more intense colours. There is lots of room for creativity, she said.
“I’m inspired by nature and Japanese Ikebana. More minimalist with nods to avant-garde style, a little elegant and romantic.”
For the Globe Studios show, Davy is partnering with a new collective of potters, a group that includes Becky DeLeo, who came up with their funky name, “A Mess of Potters.” “There are seven of us, all professional, highend potters,” said DeLeo, who works out of Globe Studio.
DeLeo said the name popped into her head when she started thinking about funny names for groups of animals, such as a gaggle of geese. The words “mess” and “potters” seemed a natural fit.
All seven potters in the Mess are friends and decided to work as a collective to support each other and share some of the labour needed to set up shows.
They will be exhibiting works at the Globe Studios event, more than 200 pieces in all, ranging in price from $30 to $500.
The thing about pottery, said DeLeo, is “it’s so functional and you can express yourself creatively, and there is a human quality to it.”
All the potters have made vases for the show.
Davy will be working with the seven potters, creating floral arrangements on the spot for buyers who purchase a vase. Or she’ll simply do a floral bouquet.
And chances are, set in between those plump flowers will be branches just starting to sprout leaves, harvested from a Waterloo Region trail.