How we've helped Island Bride Flowers

Growing flowers on the Isles of Scilly sounds like the absolute dream for many, but for Steph Haggerty it is her reality. Steph runs Island Bride Flowers, a wedding and events floristry on St Martins.

While focusing on events may see Steph with a slightly reduced workload than many other florists, the added time allows her to ensure that her clients are getting the very best of what Scilly has to offer.

“It’s really hard to get what we have here across to the mainland in good condition, and the same goes in return. I try to reflect the islands within my designs, using local flowers with many of these from my own cutting garden,” Steph said.

With the COVID pandemic leaving the Isles of Scilly isolated for much of the past 18-months, Steph had turned to YouTube videos for inspiration to further her knowledge of new techniques. However, there is no substitute for face-to-face learning, and with thanks to the Skills Hub and the Access to Training Fund, Steph ventured to the mainland for a sustainable floristry workshop with Floribunda Rose Floral Studio in Hampshire.

“It was really nice for me to just go and meet another florist, talking about flowers and learning about things I might have missed out on by being over here as I just don’t get to network.

“It really embedded for me techniques that I had previously looked at online, with the training finally giving me the opportunity to learn about it further and ask questions in person,” she said.

Getting to and from the mainland can be such a significant barrier both personally and from a business perspective, with Steph finding the financial assistance to travel as the perfect opportunity to better her business.

“The Skills Hub has been a fantastic support, it’s so nice to sit down with someone who can pinpoint the things that need improvement. I’ve done a couple of other courses as well as the sustainable floristry course, and the encouragement to grow and better my business is such a lovely thing to have,” she said.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Skills Hub from October 2017 - June 2023 was part funded by the European Social Fund and match funded by Cornwall Council and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership. The project  received £2,885,993 of funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England.