Established only six years ago, you could be forgiven for thinking Fig and Bloom have been around forever. Specialising in stunning contemporary design and servicing three locations across Melbourne, Sydney, and now Brisbane – we wanted to sit down and chat all things flowers and business with founder and owner – Kellie Brown.
This is what we found out.
The FQ: Tell us how Fig and Bloom came to be and what you’re all about!
Fig & Bloom was born (conceptually) during St Kilda Festival 2015. It was a hazy and boozy summer day and I had just been made redundant from my role in the fashion industry, which took quite a toll on me at the time, as I didn’t have any clear plans of my next career move. The photo of us practicing yoga with random revellers in the park provides some insight into our head space on the day!
Along with friends, my partner Dan encouraged me to start something up rather than going back to the corporate / fashion world. Following this, we landed a story in the news “from concept to customer in 2 weeks” which was how long it took us to launch the first website and find our first customers – that’s right, two weeks after St Kilda Fest, we were in business!
Following this, I trained and honed the floristry side of the craft at FlowerSchool New York under the guidance of leading international floral designer Shane Connelly (principal florist to Queen Elizabeth). After falling in love with the New York flower scene and its bold, modern designs, I brought everything I learnt to Australia to build Fig & Bloom into what it is today.
In just six short years, we have built Fig & Bloom into a leading flower boutique, specialising in high-end, contemporary floral designs.
While we are growing as a business and a team, it’s always been important for us that the team is dedicated and shares our passion for doing flowers differently and because of this, we quickly gained the prestigious title of Melbourne’s only five-star florist and are on track to replicate this in Sydney and Brisbane.
Since inception, we have expanded along the east coast and now employ over 48 team members with two physical stores in Melbourne and Sydney and one studio in Brisbane, delivering to over 900+ locations in Sydney, Melbourne and more recently, Brisbane.
The FQ: Such an achievement for such a small amount of time! So, tell us, what does a day in the life look like at Fig and Bloom for you and the team?
In the floral design industry, you can’t be afraid of a little (or a lot) of elbow grease! Our industry is as physical as it is creative. It’s not a desk job and there are no digital products here – it’s all real products of nature, which we transform with skilled hands.
It seems cliché, but we have made a mantra from the advice of hiring slowly. As a business, we depend on talented creative people — we hire people for cultural fit and mindset first, then train/coach/mentor to level-up their technical skills. This has helped to make every day in the Fig & Bloom store a place of big dreams, ongoing growth, excellence, and enjoyment – which translates into our customer experience and arrangements.
The FQ: Elbow grease is right!! Do you have a favourite part about what you do?
The most rewarding thing about what I do is creating career path opportunities for creatives. Before we created Fig & Bloom, ambitious florists often aspired to one day be owning their own corner shop. But now many junior florists who join us see an opportunity to expand their creativity, work from interstate, contribute to marketing and creative projects, and work with high profile brands (Facebook, Ferrari, Lexus, Swarovski, Flemington Racecourse, Loreal, Sheike, and many more) and some of the biggest names in show business (Elton John, The Block, Shameless Media, and many more). Being able to give back and help other people achieve their dreams in the industry has been the most rewarding part of what I do.
The FQ: We love a supportive, nurturing boss, that’s awesome! Is there anything you would change about the flower world?
Wastage is what I would change—there are a lot of unnecessary soft plastics in this industry. We now collect most of our flowers directly from the farm, so they come in buckets with no elastic bands or plastic sleeves. It seems like a small thing but if you had seen the size of our plastic waste recycling each week before we made this change, it was insane.
The FQ: We love to see practical changes that leads to sustainable practices. To finish up, where do you see yourself and Fig and Bloom in 5 years?
Within the next five years, we hope to see Fig & Bloom expand its delivery radius even further to offer fresh same-day flowers to 80% of Australian addresses. By then, we will have also launched our educational programs and built a loyal membership amongst the Fig & Bloom Community.
This year we designed and launched our very own range of designer vases and added gifts such as watering cans, candles, champagne glasses, etc. Over the next couple of years, we are looking to take this aspect even further!
Ultimately, in five years Fig & Bloom will be known and recognised as “the fashionable way to connect and nurture relationships that matter most” (our vision).
As you can see, Kellie and partner Dan, have built a truly inspiring business. From expanding over three states to growing their offerings to gifts, vases and even workshops, yet still maintaining a strong focus on team morale and development. It’s everything we love to see in the industry. Combined with their efforts to reduce waste and big ambitions for the future, we genuinely love to see a passionate and supportive team creating stunning work for customers.
You can find Kellie and the team at:
Website: www.figandbloom.com.au
Contact number:
03 8899 6972 – Melbourne
02 8880 9441 – Sydney
07 31300335 – Brisbane
Email: service@figandbloom.com.au
For PR opportunities: Adrienne at The Red Republic
The FQ.
