ABOUT US
INSPIRED FLORISTS, CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH NATURE
We are a multi-award winning team of florists that simply love utilising our talents to connect people with nature. Our enthusiastic and creative team is passionate about transforming spaces and bringing your ideas to life. Since 2005, Thrive Flowers has been designing floral arrangements for Cafes, Corporate Spaces, Events and Weddings. Our online store was created in 2020 to bring beauty to people’s homes. We are ideas people. We are creatives. We do things differently, injecting passion and wow-factor into every flower arrangement in an effort to inspire you.
ALYSSA [Founder & Director]
Thrive’s Entrepreneur, Head florist, Event Stylist, Creative Director, Floristry Teacher and Mentor; Alyssa brings inspiration, boundless creativity and a love for nature and all things eco to all aspects of the business.
Working as a florist since 1997, initially freelancing in retail across Melbourne; diverse experience in her early career helped Alyssa grow into the versatile, modern and contemporary floral designer she is today.
In 2005, Alyssa started her first business, working from home and specialising in flowers for weddings. Her successful start-up eventually outgrew her home, expanded into events and retail, and opened a space in Collingwood in 2012 as Thrive Flowers. 10 years later there was the need to expand once more, opening a secondary warehouse location in Moorabbin.
After teaching floristry at Bloom College since 2014, Alyssa opened Thrive Flower School in 2022 focusing on sustainable industry education and in 2023 the Collingwood location received a makeover so that it could be hired out on weekends as a stunning Wedding Venue.
Always considering her environmental impact and seeking creative challenges, Alyssa loves weddings and events, an innovative brief and inspiring the future talent of our industry.
Fave Flowers: Cymbidium Orchids, Queen Anne’s Lace and Andromeda.
Hobbies: Travelling, Dancing and Creating Arty farty.
brianNa [LEAD FLORIST & WAREHOUSE MANAGER]
A true creative, Brianna is the forever bubbly and passionate presence within the Thrive studio. She hit the ground running in the industry, commencing work during her studies with Bloom College in 2020 while being taught/ mentored by Alyssa.
Working for an online retail company she learnt a lot about the industry and also learnt that her passion lay in Wedding and Event Floristry. She freelanced as a Wedding Florist before becoming a permanent fixture with the Thrive team in 2021.
Brianna loves nothing more than working in weddings, meeting the couples and bringing their vision to life. Having previously studied design, photography and film and working in hospitality, Floristry is the perfect amalgamation of her love for nature, her diverse creative skill set and passion for working with people.
Fave Flowers: Tulips, Hellebores and Jonquil Erlicheer.
Hobbies: Design, 35mm Photography, Pottery and her Puppy Delilah.
brodie [office manager]
Our resident ‘Jack of all trades’… Brodie, was a florist once upon a time, but now thrives (pun intended) on being the behind the scenes gal in the office. She loves nothing more than a good task list, problem to solve and something to design.
Brodie is also a creative behind a lens and not only takes all the images for our marketing, but also for Thrive Flower School students. In her own time she is a passionate macro floral photographer.
Having previously worked with Bloom College, Brodie has almost 10 years experience associated with the school. She loves getting to know students and witnessing their journey throughout their studies. Equally also having worked as a wedding photographer in a past life, Brodie loves seeing the Wedding and Event briefs come in and watching them be brought to life.
Fave Flowers: Dahlias, Poppies and Tulips.
Hobbies: Gardening, Graphic Design and Macro Photography.
luke [co-owner & floral mechanic]
Luke is our in-house tradesman and floral mechanic specialist, as well as the go-to handy tradesman for our warehouse and Beneath The Ferns venue for hire.
He’s the essential link between the team’s creative installation endeavours and their fruition, designing and constructing the behind-the-scenes architecture that transforms our grand floral visions into reality. Whether it’s fabricating custom structures, ensuring sturdy mechanics for large-scale displays, or troubleshooting on the fly, Luke is the key to bringing innovation and practicality together.
Having worked in the building industry for over 20 years, Luke is highly knowledgeable in all aspects of Occupational Health & Safety. His experience ensures that our ambitious installations are not only structurally sound but also meet the highest safety standards, allowing the team to push creative boundaries with confidence.
Fave Flowers: Orchids and Tulips.
Hobbies: Vintage car restoration, practicing reiki and camping.
JUANITA [FLORIST & DIRECTOR OF LOGISTICS]
Juanita, is the ever organised one amongst the often chaos of creatives at Thrive – she’s our studio glue and resident nurturer. After relocating her family from NSW in 2020, Juanita decided the time was finally right to study floristry. Having previously worked in Child Care and enjoying the visual merchandising and natural elements of managing a Tea Store, she knew she needed a creative outlet and floristry was it.
Alyssa just happened to be Juanita’s teacher and mentor at Bloom College and a work experience opportunity led her to her now full time fixture at Thrive Flowers.
Always considering the sustainable angle to all tasks, she loves to work seasonally and with locally grown flowers. Juanita is proud to hold a behind the scenes role in helping others make memories and being a part of peoples stories in some small way; whether that’s expressing congratulations, sympathy, love or on a bigger scale, on their wedding day.
Fave Flowers: Cannot possibly pick a favourite, loves them all equally (just like her 3 daughters).
Hobbies: Exploring new places with her family – whether that’s a spot to shop, an amazing restaurant or outdoors activity.
cass [FLORIST]
A lover of all things nature… sustainability and nurturing, Cass took a gap year from studying nursing and ended up with a Career in Floristry.
She studied Floristry throughout 2021 while simultaneously doing work experience with Thrive Flowers (who she Insta stalked and decided was her dream workplace). In 2022 she joined the team permanently and was able to combine her creative eye with her passion for nature and funnel it into her dream job.
Cass loves the diversity that comes with event floristry – differing briefs every day and experiencing/ exploring new locations. She also doesn’t take for granted what an honour it is to be a part of and contribute to someone’s wedding day.
Fave Flowers: Delphinium and Hellebores.
Hobbies: Hiking, Camping and exploring new places (especially National Parks).
