Meet the FLORIST: ROSIE BROWNING

July 2024

Hello flower lovers!

This chilly July we meet Rosie Browning, a Sydney-based floral designer with a passion for conserving and preserving flora. Rosie is the owner of Know the Rose and specialises in drying and arranging long-lasting flowers, which she achieves with her own chemical-free, all-natural process. The results speak for themselves: gorgeous blooms arranged in long-lasting wreaths, posies, bouquets and installations that hold their form and colour for years.

I’ve seen and loved Rosie’s work at several design markets, but it was not until a particular Makers and Shakers event in Sydney that we truly got to know each other – after being stall neighbours for two fun days, we quickly became florally friends!

Rosie studied design some years ago. While still fresh out of university, she quickly found work as a graphic designer in a fast-paced fashion company. Later, when Covid hit, her work hours were reduced giving Rosie the unexpected opportunity to be creative again just for the pleasure of it – but this time she began using flowers as her design medium.

I love Rosie’s sense of style and her ability to put beautiful natural colours together. I also love that her work is sustainable, and the dried flowers she uses makes her work long lasting. But I think what really appealed to me when I first started seeing her market stalls is the way she presented her work: I was immediately drawn to her sophisticated and elegant aesthetic. She displays her work with a selection of fantastic antique finds in warm earthy hues that complement her arrangements perfectly. This elegance carries over to her branding and social media, especially her Instagram page. Her images are just magical and capture so well the way her floral artistry can be incorporated into the home. Her style really speaks to me, so I was thrilled when Rosie agreed to be one of Typoflora’s twelve featured florists for this year.

Although Know the Rose is currently on pause, Rosie is still continuing her floral journey – and I can hardly wait to see where her new floral adventures will take her!

Our flower for July is Rosie’s favourite: the daisy. Here’s what Rosie had to say when I interviewed her for our 2024 Planner.

1/ Can you tell us a bit about your everyday work life?

My day is a mix of business admin, managing orders, accounting, marketing and everything in between. Sometimes I’ll be working on bigger projects such as preparing for a market, making custom orders or creating installations.

2/ What are some of your favourite flowers that inspire you? Why?

I’ve always loved daisies! They are simple, beautiful and diverse; you’ll see them in a lot of my pieces. As a child, I even named my cat Daisy. I’ve always adored them; they hold a sense of nostalgia and whimsy for me. 

3/ Do you have any tips for styling dried flowers? 

My motto is ‘think outside the vase’! As dried flowers don’t require water, they can be placed in, or up against, just about anything – even hung upside down! Try carefully draping them over a table as a centrepiece or have them overflowing from a small woven basket. You can also sprinkle petals and flower heads as decoration on a table or mantlepiece, like confetti. These are many unique ways to display everlasting blooms..

4/ Sustainability is a growing trend in the floristry industry. Flower growers and designers have become more mindful in lessening the impacts to our beautiful nature. What does sustainability mean to you? If you could give any advice to aspiring flower lovers, what would that be? 

Do your research! Think about all aspects of your flower’s life cycle, from where you source it to how you get it to your customers. When I started, I went down a few rabbit holes trying to find the most sustainable ways to source, dry and pack flowers. Understanding my environmental impact is at the heart of my operation and has guided me to make key decisions with my business. I only stock and create naturally dried flowers. With other preserved alternatives being harmful to the environment, it was an easy decision for me.

You can find out more about Rosie via her website.

SHOP THE DAISY COLLECTION