My Mulberry Interview

Willow Crossley is a British designer, writer and floral artist whose meadow-relaxed flower arrangements have decorated our showroom for summer events.  She invited us to her house in Oxfordshire to see her work and hear about her new book Inspire.

How did you get into floristry and was it something you always intended to do?

I’ve always adored flowers for as long as I can remember; I grew up in Wales where my mother, Kate, was a serious gardener and the house was always full of flowers. I had a eureka moment though writing my second book, Inspire, a couple of years ago. Career wise, I was spreading myself very thinly doing a bit of everything- styling, fashion, personal shopping, writing etc and it was all a bit, bitty. I then starting working on the ‘Flora’ chapter and something just clicked. It made me so happy. So calm and just like it was meant to be. So I stopped everything else and focused on the flowers. And I haven’t looked back since really.

What did you do before flowers?

Mostly fashion. I went to the London School of Fashion and did a degree in Fashion Promotion – basically styling and journalism. I then worked on a few magazines in the fashion and beauty departments but never really got very far. And then I followed my boyfriend Charlie, now husband, to a vineyard in the South of France. I set up my blog, Willow Rose Boutique there and my first book, The Art of Handmade Living sprung from that.

You’ve written two books, one on handmade living and one on nature. How can we, as a commercial, excess-loving society, do more to embrace the handmade and the natural?

Put down the technology. I think the more time you spend outside surrounded by nature, the more you learn how good it can make you feel. We’re all so used to being glued to our phones and laptops every waking second that we need to almost schedule in time to shut it all down and get outside. Or even if it’s not going outside, take time to do something creative – be it sewing or knitting, writing, making jewellery, anything – it’s extraordinary how calming and stress relieving it can be.

How do you live with nature? 

Every surface of our home is covered with some sort of natural creation. Be it flowers, plants, shells, feathers – the boys cant walk past a feather without presenting it to me like they’ve won the lottery – twigs, leaves – we have a Clematis plant weaving it’s way into our bedroom from outside as we speak. I’m trying to train it to weave its way around all the frames on the walls. I basically like to bring the outside, inside at any given opportunity. And most of my days are spent outside, rain or shine.

You live in Oxfordshire; did you make a conscious effort to be away from London and city life? 

No, not at all. I love London. When I was little, growing up in the country, all I wanted was to be stomping up and down a pavement surrounded by skyscrapers and shops. We moved here purely because we found our dream house and we knew one day we were going to move. We also found out we were having another baby, another boy and therefore our little cottage in London was going to have to go anyway. Saying that though, having been here for a few years now the idea of living in London again slightly fills me with dread.

You have three boys. What do they love most about living in the countryside? 

The space. They’re like small, explosive energy balls and need to run around 24/7. They’re at the stage too where everything becomes an imaginary weapon – everything they touch gets turned into a sword/gun/shield and I’m always made to be the ‘baddie’. So there’s a lot of walks, park life and hanging out in the garden, purely so the house isn’t smashed to smithereens.

We’ve been conditioned to believe in the romance of flowers, and their potency as a beautiful gift. What do you think it is about flowers that make us so delighted? 

Their simple beauty. The fact that they’re living things. How they change in front of your eyes I think is just so magical. 

What are your favourite flowers to work with? 

Lilac in the winter, foxgloves and peonies in the summer and dahlias a bit later on. And then berries in the autumn.

What are your favourite flowers to receive? 

Something deliciously scented makes me really happy. Narcissi from the Isles of Scilly are heaven sent in the winter but I think if I really had to choose, English grown garden roses would be my top choice. 

What is next for you? How would you like your business to grow? 

I’m writing a new book, all about flowers which will be out in September 2016. My business is slowly growing and I’m being asked to do more and more events which I cant do alone any more. So I’m looking for assistants as we speak and then later down the line I’d love to have a big team, maybe a shop where we’d work from and be able to do much bigger scale jobs… and then there’s also a flower box subscription somewhere in the pipeline. I love to dream!

Willow Crossley

Country & Town House October Issue

Thank you Alice B-B and Country & Town House Magazine for the lovely write up in this month's issue!

Willow Crossley dreams of owning a florist’s shop, but for now the author and interior decorator has her hands full, says Alice B-B.

With two children and another on the way, a house in the Cotswolds and her second bookInspire: The Art of Living with Nature published last spring, it would appear that at the age of 31, ethereal beauty Willow Crossley has fulfilled her dreams. But it seems that the minute Willow’s dreams become a reality, a new idea pops up. It’s what keeps the creativity in motion. And the latest dream is… but first, let’s rewind.

Growing up in Wales with her Vogue  writer, author, painter and all-round creative mother Kate Corbett-Winder, Willow longed for London. ‘I wanted to feel the pavement beneath my feet,’ she explains. So, aged 18, she moved to The Smoke and began a three-year degree in fashion journalism at The London College of Fashion. Just a year into the course, lightning struck when she met her future husband: Charlie Crossley, model and manager of Fulham Road’s famous The Goat in Boots pub and subsequently owner and manager of the Hollywood Arms pub in Chelsea. ‘A couple of years into our relationship, Charlie sold the pub and moved to South of France,’ says Willow. ‘His father has a vineyard outside Cogolin and Charlie’s always dreamed of opening a beach restaurant in St Tropez.’ So Willow went too.

‘I dropped everthing,’ says Crossley. ‘My internship in the beauty department at Tatler magazine had ended so I upped sticks and followed him.’ While Charlie was tending the vineyards and making wine, Willow began to occupy herself by trawling local flea-markets and vintage fairs, making baskets with vintage pompoms and selling them to the beach shops, while also having endless friends to stay. Willow began blogging about her experiences. And that’s when the writer’s lottery-win happened. ‘An agent saw my blog, got in touch and told me that she thought it could make a book.’

Just a year later, Willow’s first book The Art of Handmade Living was published. And the publishers immediately signed her up for a second book. But, like a ripe brie, the French fantasy had begun to go off. ‘By then, Charlie and I were married and had our first child Wolf,’ says Willow. ‘I was just 25, with a tiny baby and no friends or family out there… I really began to struggle.’ This coincided with Charlie’s beach-restaurant reverie turning to dust, when he realised that beachfront property is tied up by old mafia-style St Tropez families. He was going to need a cool £20m to get his idea off the ground.

So the young family packed up their knapsacks and headed back to Blighty. ‘It was heaven coming back to London and to our house in Chelsea,’ says Willow, ‘but Charlie was climbing the walls – we’d gone from huge fields and mountains in France to a little house in London.’ So with a second baby on the way, they had the ‘shall we move to the country?’ chat. ‘We went out for dinner and made the decision to stay in London for another year,’ laughs Willow. ‘That night Charlie came up to bed with his laptop and said, “Look at this house!”’

The very next morning, they got on the train to Woodstock and it was love at first sight. Two weeks later their offer on the Cotswold cottage had been accepted. Willow worked her magic on the tired interior, bringing the outside in with jungly Sanderson wallpaper and hand-painted florals in the bathroom. Much of the house has been used as the backdrop for the alluringly creative photography in her latest book Inspire. It’s a charming, encouraging, enticing book about using flowers, beachcombed bounty and foraged finds for decorating the home and lifting the spirits. ‘Literally nothing makes me happier than flowers,’ says Willow. ‘If ever I’m feeling a bit shit, I’ll go for a walk with my secateurs, pick things and arrange them when I get home. Immediately I feel better.’

Which leads on to the next dream… ‘I’d love to have a florist’s shop, with a gallery, coffee shop, and sell some homewares and clothes… like Petersham Nurseries. And Charlie would run the restaurant.’ But having had a spate of crafting at summer festivals, including floral headpiece workshops at Wilderness and tribal pebble painting at Port Eliot, wedding floristry jobs, anInspire residency at Anthropologie and interiors ‘dressing’ work, her green-hands are pretty full. Oh, and add to that a third book and third baby in the pipeline – she has plenty to be getting on with. But in Willow’s world there’s always room for one more dream.

Inspire by Willow Crossley, published by Cico Books (£16.99) with photos © Emma Mitchell 

Blackberry Arranging

I was very tempted to give myself another whole year to finish my latest book, Inspire.  The only reason being that it would have meant my all time favourite wild rubus (blackberries)- could've been included.

I didn't - and now every time I pass a blackberry bush I kick myself wishing my timing had been better.  I went to the flower market at Nine Elms this week and the first thing I fell upon was an enormous blue bucket, bursting with blackberry stems.  

I think there's something so magical about these shiny, jewel like berries.  I adore them in arrangements and they're pretty hardcore and long lasting too so are great in bouquets too - just remember to remove the spikes on the stems beforehand.

Buckets full at Covent Garden on Monday

 Classical urn arrangement

Dahlias and berries

Tomatoes, berries, beans and apples

Heavenly scented rose, sage and berries from the Real Flower Company

My hedgerow pickings before they turn into actual berries

Love this one

Proper blackberry vision from Franse vaas met bramen

Inspire in YOU magazine

Need decorating inspiration for a spring party? Then step outside…

HYDRANGEA GARLAND

Hydrangeas are big, beautiful and perfect for creating dramatic garlands. This one can be made with fresh or dried blooms.

This hydrangea garland can be made with fresh or dried blooms

YOU WILL NEED

• green ribbon or string
• copper beech leaves (Fagus sylvatica ‘Atropunicea’)
• oak leaves (Quercus)
• strong florist’s wire
• hydrangea stems
• rhododendron stems
• sprigs of rosemary, preferably in flower
• secateurs
• scissors

HOW TO

1 Measure how long you want the garland to be with some ribbon or string, and add an extra 20cm on each end for hanging loops. Arrange the beech and oak leaves along the ribbon or string.

2 Hold the florist’s wire tightly and, starting at one end, carefully wrap it up and around the foliage and ribbon or string to bind them together. Secure the wire at the other end.

3 Feed in the hydrangeas, rhododendrons and rosemary along the garland wherever you want them. Depending on where the finished piece is to be displayed, it may be easier to add the flowers when the garland is in situ. This way, it’s less likely to come adrift when you carry it into position.

 

PERSONALISED PEBBLES

Small, perfectly formed pebbles, smoothed and buffed by the sea, make original name places on a party table.

These pebbles can be used as a unique take on table place setting

YOU WILL NEED

• pebbles
• gold-leaf paint and paintbrush, available from art shops (optional)
• rub-on letter transfers, available from art shops
• coin

HOW TO

1 If you wish, coat some of the pebbles with gold-leaf paint and leave to dry.

2 Take each pebble and, using a coin, rub on the letters to spell out your guests’ names.

 

FLORAL ICE CUBES

You won’t believe how simple these are to make – but your guests will think that you’ve spent hours doing elaborate things with tweezers and tiny petals.

These look elaborate but are so simple to make

YOU WILL NEED

• filtered water
• ice-cube tray
• edible flowers, such as violets, geraniums, jasmine, pansies (Viola), marigold (Calendula officinalis), cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) and carnations (Dianthus)
• scissors
• tweezers

HOW TO

1 Bring some filtered water to the boil and leave it to cool – this stops bubbles from forming and keeps the ice clear.

2 Pour the cooled water into the ice-cube tray, filling each square by a third, then place in the freezer and leave to freeze.

3 Select the petals you want to use.

4 Remove the ice-cube tray from the freezer and lay the petals on top of the ice cubes. Top with water and return to the freezer until the cubes are completely frozen.

 

GEMSTONE NAPKIN RINGS

Make your own napkin rings with bright and beautiful slices of agate and quartz.

Your guests will never believe you've made these yourself

YOU WILL NEED

• newspaper
• slices of agate or other types of quartz or mineral (try charliesrockshop.com)
• superglue
• glass napkin rings (try John Lewis, £10 for four, johnlewis.com)

HOW TO

1 Place the newspaper on a work surface.

2 Arrange the slices of agate presentation-side- down on the newspaper.

3 Apply blobs of glue to the napkin rings and stick them to the agate slices. Leave to dry for 24 hours.

 

APPLE AND BLOSSOM DISPLAY

It has a short lifespan, but nothing says spring like blossom.

This gorgeous display can also be done without the apple slices

YOU WILL NEED

• 10 apples
• 1 lemon
• 5 long blossom stems – for a longer lasting display choose stems that aren’t quite in bloom
• 2 tall glass vases, one that will sit inside the other, leaving a 2cm gap between them
• sharp knife
• large bowl, for soaking the apples
• garden clippers
• secateurs

HOW TO

1 Cut the apples in half horizontally so that you reveal the star-shaped cores.

2 Put all the apples in a bowl of cold water and squeeze in the juice of the lemon – this will help prevent them browning. Soak for 10 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, arrange the blossom in the small vase and fill it with water.

4 Place the vase that contains the blossom inside the larger vase.

5 Cut the apples into 2cm slices, then slot them into the gap between the two vases. The apples will look good for a few hours, making this perfect for a party. Once they are too brown for your liking, simply lift the vase of blossom out and enjoy it on its own, apple free.

 

DAISY WREATH

This grown-up take on a daisy chain makes a cute wall decoration. 

Simple but chic and classic

YOU WILL NEED

• 
  florist’s foam wreath, about 30cm in diameter
• sprigs of buckthorn (Rhamnus)
• rosemary
• armful of Anthemis punctata (subsp Cupaniana) daisies
• secateurs
• strong green string
• scissors

HOW TO

1 Soak the florist’s foam according to the instructions, then let it drain for a few minutes so that it’s not too saturated and dripping all over the place.

2 Cut the buckthorn and rosemary sprigs at an angle with the secateurs so they can be fed easily into the foam.

3 Cut a length, about 50cm, of green string and tie it around the top of the wreath to make a hanging loop.

4 Working on a flat surface, lay out the foliage and fill the wreath on the front and sides with sprigs of greenery.

5 When you have an even covering of foliage, start filling in with the daisies. For a natural look, vary their lengths. Snip off or tuck in any wayward trailing stems when the wreath is hanging.

 

EXPERIMENTAL HELLEBORES

Assembling a ‘scientific’ display with grouped single stems creates impact.

Experimental hellebores

YOU WILL NEED

• purple hellebores
• boiling water
• old science beakers and flasks
• old green medicine bottles
• secateurs

HOW TO

1 Cut the stems on the diagonal with secateurs.

2 Plunge the ends into 6cm of boiling water for about ten seconds, to prolong their life.

3 Put the hellebores into containers with cold water, removing any leaves that would be under water.

4 Keep in a cool room and change the water every couple of days.

 

COW PARSLEY

A huge bunch of Queen Anne’s lace will look ravishing on its own in a vase but it is just as beautiful paired with lilac, as shown here, which flowers at the same time. Late-flowering white narcissi, tulips and alliums also make beautiful companions. Meanwhile, old glass vases filled with shorter individual stems highlight their frothy, relaxed nature to perfection.

Cow parsley

TIP If you dip the stems in boiling water, then plunge them into cold water up to their necks for 10 minutes, Queen Anne’s lace can last a surprisingly long time.

This is an edited extract from Inspire: The Art of Living With Nature by Willow Crossley.

Inspire is available now at Anthropologie, click here to buy.

Camilla Akrans

Photography by one of my faves Camilla Akrans