Introductions
meet your hosts
SARAH RUSHBROOKE & KEELEY REES
SARAH RUSHBROOKE
FLORIST & WRITER BASED IN GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
I’m an English florist and writer living in Glasgow, Scotland. When I’m not flowering castle ruins and transforming community centres into wonderfully weird wedding venues you can find me making flower crowns, weight lifting and fostering greyhounds.
I first found myself faffing with flowers when I was fourteen. A local florist agreed to take me on for a week long work placement. Instant love. The florists I worked with taught me everything from hand tied bouquets to funeral work. I even completed a BTEC in floristry during my gap year before heading north to Glasgow for University.
My 20s took me through a series of marketing jobs but I always make my way back to flowers. At the end of 2020 I held a wreath workshop on zoom for friends. I ordered boxes of fresh foliage from Holland and quickly realised I had no where to store it all. My bath ended up being home to buckets of eucalyptus, spruce and holly. I went picking for ivy and berries then delivered all this gorgeous greenery to my friend’s doorsteps. Hosting the workshop awoke something in me.
The seed for Rook Botanics was planted.
You’ll often find me with flowers in my hair and moaning about the outdated wedding industry. As my business (and my confidence!) grows I feel more compelled to stand for the things I believe in. Weddings are for everyone, love is love, no matter your gender or sexuality. Your wedding shouldn't be a day of trends, but instead should be a true reflection of who you are.
SARAH'S BIZ
Rook Botanics: weird & wonderful
Rook Botanics: weird & wonderful
Rook Botanics specialises in weird and wonderful weddings, creating flowers that really honour the personality of the couple. I have no time for never-ending wedding trends. I care about what colour you begged your parents to paint your bedroom walls or what flower makes you remember a loved one. Pulling all this together and translating it into flowers that feel like yours is what I care about.
Teaching is an integral part of Rook Botanics as well. Flower arranging and wreath making workshops are a staple throughout the year, as well as other seasonal classes. I come alive in front of a class of people and love answering everyone's questions about floristry and flower arranging. Everyone should have flowers in their home and know how to arrange them.
FIND SARAH ONLINE
Find Sarah online:
Story time
how we met
aka: we both had greyhounds and that's all we needed to know.
A couple years ago I (Sarah) signed up for The Substack Soiree, a course all about Substack. One of the hosts was Keeley. When she asked me to be on her podcast Creative Courage I fangirled so hard. We accidentally chatted for three hours when we recorded my episode.
I found out that Keeley was a fellow greyhound obsessive and the rest is history.
KEELEY REES
WRITER, CREATIVE COACH & FLORIST BASED IN CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
I’m an Aussie and live in the nation’s capital with my humans, my 10yr old whippet and my rescue greyhound who steals all my shoes. I’m a dedicated adult ballet student, I do voice-over work on occasion, I have big dreams and I like my tea, earl grey, hot. #IYKYK.
I spent my childhood in the garden. I taught myself how to make flower crowns and then I’d run about the backyard pretending to be a princess or a farm girl. I’d create posies and bouquets any chance I’d get and everyone would say ‘you should be a florist when you grow up.’ But I was going to be an actor, obviously.
I also followed the two most important men in my life around in the garden: my dad on Saturday mornings and my Grandad when I would visit him on school holidays. They would both walk with me and teach me the names of the flowers and how to care for them. I was put to work weeding and watering and caring for the garden.
When I was upset, I ran to the garden. When I was happy, I’d jump around in the garden. It was always there for me.
But then life got busy, I grew up and chased crazy creative dreams. While I felt the pull to work with flowers, at one point even obtaining my Cert 1 in Floristry, I pursued other things and like Sarah, found myself in marketing in various roles. Over 20 years later, guess who just started their Cert 3 in Floristry? This girl right here. Little-flower-crown-Keeley would be so happy.
Now, my world is filling up with flowers and it feels like the missing piece I’ve been aching for over the years.
KEELEY'S BIZ
The Green Edit Studio
The Green Edit Studio
The Green Edit Studio is an extension of the same work I’ve always done: storytelling, celebration, and beauty, except this time in with a medium people can physically step into. Floristry lets me step away from the computer (and over a decade of online work) to engage with living materials and build arrangements that breathe, move and carry living stories.
I’m currently completing my Cert 3 in Floristry and the dream is to work on weddings, and large scale installations that offer immersive, narrative spaces.
Fun fact: My first wedding as a florist just happened to be my own.
I also offer Creative Coaching for creatives who want an accountability buddy and someone to help them get their ideas out of their notebooks and into the world.
FIND KEELEY ONLINE
Find Keeley online:
Episode: 7
Meet your hosts
In this episode we chat about how we met and how we found flowers, or should it be how flowers found us? Plus we share our favourite and least favourite flowers. (They know what they did.)
Episode: 7
Meet your hosts
In this episode we chat about how we met and how we found flowers, or should it be how flowers found us? Plus we share our favourite and least favourite flowers. (They know what they did.)
SO THAT'S US. WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Get in touch
We'd love to hear from you! Feel free to get in touch via email, or the contact page where you can even send us a voice message! We're keen to hear your flower stories or even if you just want to reach out and say hi, we'd love that too.
