About Thrive Flowers & Events
Alyssa
Transfers emotion through flowers
I grew up part time with my entrepreneur father on an Alpaca & Sheep farm in the Yarra Valley and also in the suburbs with my creative mother. Dad was a forward thinker and Mum taught me I could make anything a reality, she also steered me down the creative path.
I always put on parties and loved to organise everyone – fast forward to future me and here I am – a flower-preneur, event stylist, creative director and a floristry teacher with a love for nature and a need for animals and all things eco.
My path was set out for me from an early stage, before I knew it I was a junior florist. It’s fair to say I got lost along the way but I’ve had fantastic mentors and coaches, seriously – thank god for them!
I’ve been in the floral industry since 1997, I think I look younger than that right?! I gained experience managing shops & freelancing all over Melbourne, I grew into a versatile, modern and contemporary floral designer.
In 2005 I started a wedding business working from my home, becoming one of the 1st florists not to have a bricks and mortar shop, later growing it into a wedding & events business and finding Thrive’s new home, a studio space in the up and coming designer warehouse district of Collingwood. I now realise I was a forward thinker.
I didn’t love flowers when I was younger, I loved nature. My passion for sticks, stones, bark, pods and anything dried and fallen has finally become trendy. I just loved riding my horse through the forest and foraging for nature as I went, I was always curious but back then I didn’t know how to capture it’s essence – now I know how to create incredible pieces of art for you all to enjoy.
Little did I know one of my earlier mentors had big plans for me later in life, in 2014 I began teaching for Bloom College and I now have the opportunity to train our future florists and improve our industry. How awesome is that!
At Thrive I oversee the day to day floral work but I take great pleasure in conceiving and creating the wedding and event designs.
I’m serious when I need to be, but usually you will find me doing anything for a laugh.
I love hearing your ideas and transferring your emotion through the floral designs I create.
Some people even call me the Flower whisperer