Not even fashionably late to the party, but hopefully past Valentine/Galentine’s fatigue too, I feel the need to share my thoughts about ‘special days’ like February 14th1, and I guess some bank holidays too.
I want to offer my point of view not because anybody ever asked, but because my personal principles and beliefs will naturally always influence the ways of my business, so they could matter to my clients, suppliers, freelancers or partners.
Also it has been feeling so damn weird to be posting pretty flowers and ‘happy this or that day’ stories while the world has felt literally on fire right left and centre, so giving a bit more context about where I stand seems opportune, and blog series seems like a fitting form.
Disclaimer n.1: This post is 100% Chat GPT free. I have chosen to preserve its full humanity (if I can so call something I typed on my phone and posted on the World Wide Web) at the cost of a few typos or not so smooth phrase constructs. Hopefully, it was worth it.
Disclaimer n.2: Before I begin, I would like to make it very clear that I am, on a daily if not hourly basis, riddled with guilt and shame for how little informed and prepared I am on most topics, and that my opinions have been formed from a mix of personal experiences (duh), gut feelings, years of therapy, more Instagram reels than I care to admit, the wisdom of incredible women I am so lucky to have in my life, and my selfless father as a forever North Star on politics and justice. I am in no way claiming to have all the answers or to be living a cognitive-dissonance-free life, but what I can say is that the following two threads have surely underpinned l the way I move (or wish to) in this world lately.
The first is a deep need to be present: I think that exercising mindfulness and actually being in the moment, whatever that might be, is the best chance we have to true connection, be it with others, the physical world or ourselves… and I have the strong feeling that’s a lot of what life is about.
The second is the dreadful sense that the white-supremacist, capitalist patriarchal system our lives are so deeply embedded into is the root of most of our troubles, big and small. Luckily this awful feeling is accompanied by the unwavering belief that this is something we all have the power to change by (in very very very simple words) being intentional about how we spend our time, our energy, our attention and our money.
So… Valentine's. The most logical deduction from my anti-capitalist perspective is perhaps to expect me not to observe (or encourage people to) a pretty much purely commercial holiday. Fair enough. I was slightly surprised myself to find that that’s not quite my view one the matter, and I promise it is not just because I work with flowers. Truth is, I’ve been a pretty lousy Valentine in my partnered-up days, but I really wish I was better at partaking in this sort of celebrations: I think ’social holidays' can be a wonderful excuse to make something different out of what would have most probably been an ordinary day, giving us the chance to savour it more. (Only now that I am writing this thought down, I realise I might be needlessly explaining how the wheel works… so please forgive me if I am making a point that was already obvious to everyone but me). In short: do I believe one should get their lover a completely generic I’m-just-buying-this-cause-I-have-to-give-a-present-TODAY gift to tick a Valentine's Day box? Absolutely flipping not. But I think that, if it feels right and not onerous, some quality time together, a thoughtful card, a meaningful gesture or even present could indeed all be ways we get to live that day a touch deeper and feel a bit more.
Some often point out that everyday, in a happy relationship, should be a celebration of it. I get it, it should. Like every day should be a good day to shower our mothers with love, and so on. Sure. But why shouldn’t we let the calendar remind us that, if we want, on/around this particular day we can dial – or even spice – things up a bit? What is wrong in allowing a particular date to push us to make sure we shut our laptop and leave work in time so we can finally head back to our favourite restaurant2, after having given up on your last couple of attempts in favour of sweatpants time on the sofa with a movie on (or, more likely, doomscrolling)? It’s so easy to let routine lead the way... so I, for one, have decided to be thankful for these little guided interruptions.
One of this kind of days that usually works very well on me is Mardi Gras. I am nowhere close to be religious (sorry dad), so this key date ahead of Easter should mean squat to me, but Pancake Tuesday? Yes please. I don’t necessarily get it, but still, I love it. Isn’t it just delightful that a breakfast that would have probably been consumed in a rush before heading out for the day, for that one day turns into a family or friends coming together to flip pancakes? In fact, starting to write this post made me realise that Shrove Tuesday is this week, and, having to practice what I preach, made me formulate a plan that, at the time of writing, I really hope I will follow through with3.
Anyway, I digress, but in summary: if we leave expectations and social pressure out of the door, and just try and embrace what genuinely makes these made up (although aren’t they all) holidays feel special to us, then, in my humble opinion, the more options we have of slowing down, breaking the everyday routine rhythms, and refocusing on ourselves and our loved ones, the better.
So, now that my own stance is clear to me, how does it apply to Mora?
I am afraid I have an extra side track to follow first, before I can explain it. As most of you might know, Mora operates mainly as an event floral design practice, run from a studio space, not a public facing shop, which makes gift bouquets something completely bespoke I offer in extremely rare, un-budget-friendly occasions. On and around Valentine’s especially, I tend to wish lovers a good one and try to convince them to buy seasonal blooms so to avoid those chemical-riddled, pathetically scentless, quite frankly sad looking, imported roses. I tell them camellias look just as sexy and blousy, narcissi are much more beautifully scented, or dainty snowdrops infinitely cuter. I support SSAW collective “Why Buy Roses In February?” campaign, which explains all of the above and more way more eloquently than I ever could. BUT what I don’t usually do, is offer a concrete alternative, for the people I want to convince or the already converted.
Well, no more of that. If I want to keep professing my love for seasonality at a time where sadly the majority of what’s on offer tells a whole other story, than it is only fair that I also provide a concrete alternative to those that want to listen. After some pondering and experimentation, I have finally landed on a seasonal design I am absolutely in love with and I will be offering for pre-order next Valentine's.
I call it The Slow Burn.
Fully embracing the pared back late winter look of our landscape, the Valentine's bunches will feature sculptural magnolia branches in bud tangled in ochre weeping willow twisting stems. In the warmth of the home, the velvety cases of the magnolia flowers will drop to reveal their pink-streaked hearts, which will then unfold in gloriously bold blooms.
And because I feel like the flower receiver is usually the one more opinionated about the blooms but also wants them to be a somewhat spontaneous gift, I thought it might be a good idea for you, dear reader, to have the chance to point your loved one in the right direction. For this reason, I have created this page you can send your lover now, and then forget all about it! By filling it, they'll be able to leave their contact to, without obligation, be contacted closer to Valentine's time to be offered the chance to pre-order your Slow Burn bouquet from us.
Finally I have decided, following the same train of thought this post started with, to try and offer more quality time opportunities, in workshop form. These are actually starting this weekend for Mother's Day, with a dreamily scented bouquet making session at Fig Pilates and a Spring flower arranging demonstration and taster at Chef Chantelle's green Michelin star restaurant Apricity.
I'm very much looking forward to practicing what I preach by sharing more moments and my obsession – pardon, passion! – for flowers with others, and by offering an option of truly seasonal Valentine's blooms.
- It feels very messy to be posting this on International Women's Day but it kind of started to feel very 'now or never'. There is very much to say about IWD and the need for this celebration so I'm sure I'll write a sillily late post about that too.
↩︎ - Talking about restaurants: with Valentine’s falling in February, a notoriously slow time in the hospitality industry, it does offer a great opportunity to show our support to our favourite local businesses.
↩︎ - My attempt to execute my Pancake Tuesday Plan dramatically failed and I ended up with a pair of broken sunglasses. Very tragic, but a story for another day. My amazing friend Jess came to the rescue though by hosting a lovely evening at hers, so I did get to eat yummy pancakes and be in great company on the day after all. ↩︎