Once Alex Lovich fell in love with flowers, she never looked back.
Alex Lovich, the creative and business mind behind Auckland’s Wonder Florals, trained at McQueens Floral School in London and is the first to admit she “lives and breathes flowers”.
So it was only natural that we would catch up with Alex during the recent New Zealand Flowers Week (which ran from 11–17 November), a celebration of local florists and NZ-grown flowers, to chat about all things floristry — from how she got into the business of flowers to which in-season flowers she’d suggest we all be purchasing right now.
Read on to find out more about Alex and her day-to-day life running Wonder Florals.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and what led you to be where you are now?
I left school and did a hairdressing apprenticeship where I learnt that I loved to make people feel good and make things look nice. On the weekends I helped my sister (who runs Wonder Events) on weddings and saw first-hand the impact flowers had on a space. I instantly wanted to learn more so flew to London where I studied floristry. I now own Wonder Florals and I’m super passionate about flowers.
What does an ordinary day look like for you?
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I’m up early. The morning starts at the flower markets buying fresh flowers. I’m pretty much straight back in the studio with a coffee by 9am where no two days ever really end up the same. But predominantly I’m making online orders and delivering corporate arrangements or blooms for the home.
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What do you love most about your job?
The freedom to be creative. Every day or every job, comes with a different brief, budget and season – and that’s both scary and inspiring in equal measure. But I love constantly creating new things and I feel very grateful to be able to work with a medium I am passionate about, daily.
Tell us about your space.
My space is a alcove amongst a large warehouse, in the CBD. It’s super practical where I can park alongside and unload and load up my van but it’s full of vases, pots and of course, flowers.
What are your favourite projects?
Such a hard one. Obviously creating a ‘wow factor’ in an installation is always a great achievement and something to feel proud about, but equally knowing a beautiful bouquet is on its way and has the potential to brighten someone’s day. I love those smaller projects just as much.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Good manners always. And the harder you work, the luckier you get.
How would you describe your style?
My personal style is simple and uncluttered. Our florals are modern, contemporary and always high quality.
How do you relax away from work?
I come from a really close family and I’m a bit of a nester. You’ll find me at home or hanging out with my nieces and nephews, which puts everything into perspective at the end of a long day.
What’s next for Wonder Florals? Anything exciting in the pipeline?
Our latest shape in our iconic Rose Box has arrived this week – a gorgeous large round acrylic box – and our festive wreaths are also out for Christmas. Next year we are really excited about some new products and services to launch mid-year.
It was recently NZ Flowers Week, which is as good excuse as any for us to indulge in some blooms. What are your tips for buying in-season flowers right now?
It goes without saying it’s the renowned peony season at the moment. Such an easy beautiful bloom to make any vase or arrangement look impressive and they’re only around for such a short time!
What’s your best tip for flower arranging at home?
I love a single variety of blooms on mass. They look impressive and full and so easy to put together.
