Inspired by the beauty and healing power of flowers, The Flower Market is coming to the Fitters Workshop to celebrate the creative community.
On Saturday 20 March 10am-2pm, Canberrans are invited to gather at the iconic building in Kingston to enjoy a free day of fun for the whole family.
Jess McPherson, owner and creative director of Powered by Flowers, a freelance floristry business specialising in weddings and events, created The Flower Market to celebrate connection and help local businesses.
“Last year I was starting my business and everything with COVID really delayed things,” she said.
“My tag line for my business is ‘Creating connection through flower design’ and I really wanted to have a community event that sort of celebrated that concept. That’s why it’s called The Flower Market, to bring people together.”
Powered by Flowers opened in September 2020 after Ms McPherson turned to floristry as a form of art therapy and a creative outlet for emotional healing. She said the business is a tribute to her friend, Rhys Summergreene, who passed away from cancer in 2019.
“He was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2017. It was very advanced by that stage and he was hospitalised for most of his treatment,” she said.
“He had flowers in his hospital room and he always asked if people could bring him flowers because it just really helped to help him remain positive and helped his symptoms of depression … When Rhys died, I enrolled in floristry as an art therapy outlet to help with my grief but also to stay connected with him and his memory.
“I found working with flowers to be so beautiful I wanted to do something with that.”
Ms McPherson said that while The Flower Market is a space for local businesses to come together to sell their products, her ultimate aim is to create a space “that’s more than a market”.
“It’s somewhere where people can come, bring their families, sit and relax in a really nice and creative space.”
Several businesses, including ceramic artist Tania Vrancic, Two Little Birds, Edible Favours, Baroque by Bec and Mint & Maven, will be there on the day, as well as food vendors, live music and a kids’ corner for activities.
“Last year it was really sad to hear a lot of businesses went out of business. I feel like in Canberra, we’ve been pretty lucky, and we haven’t been hit quite as hard, but I know that a number of businesses have worked really hard to stay afloat as well,” she said.
“This is a space for businesses to come together, share this experience and have these connections that they can draw on.”
As well as coordinating the day, Ms McPherson will be teaching a “Build your own bouquet” workshop to encourage creativity, connection and empowerment.
“I enjoy giving people the tools to create because I think that being creative and creating is really good for our mental health,” she said.
For more information about The Flower Market, visit poweredbyflowersstudio.com.au or register to attend via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-flower-market-tickets-139266011389
For more:
