Creating floral works of art is good for the soul, says Hollie Stinson.
The former dance teacher turned florist is positively blooming after setting up Hollie Berries, her own business supplying sustainable, seasonal, wild and natural flowers for weddings, installations and events.
From wreaths and beautiful bouquets to hanging green canopies and stunning table decorations, Hollie is the cream of the crop when it comes to sustainable floristry.
“I feel like I’ve found where I want to be in life which is good,” says Hollie, 30, from Insch.
“It’s very therapeutic, I love everything about it from going out into the garden each day to cut the materials to working with them.
“I also love the fact that every design is different because everything is natural.
“It’s just really good for the soul.”
From dance to flowers
Dancing to her own tune, Hollie initially expressed her creative side through her love of ballet, contemporary and commercial dance.
“I’ve always loved to dance so after school I went to Telford College in Edinburgh where I did an HND Dance Artist,” says Hollie who is originally from Dunoon.
“I then taught dance for about three years which I really enjoyed.”
Following her husband Chris up to Aberdeen, where he worked, Hollie started working as an assistant manager at the former Jigsaw shop in the Bon Accord Centre while crafting as a hobby.
“I had an Instagram account for my creative stuff but I didn’t think you could make it a job at that point,” says Hollie.
“I started off doing crafty things like wreaths at Christmas and Spring time.
“I was also making things like candles and jewellery, basically everything you can ever think of I’ve had a bash at it.”
11k followers on Instagram
As her Instagram account grew, it suddenly dawned on Hollie that she could turn her hobby into a full-time career.
A life changing moment happened when Hollie enrolled on Floristry course at the North East Scotland College campus in Fraserburgh.
“I absolutely loved it,” says Hollie.
“As soon as I started the course I realised ‘wow’ this definitely has to be my job.”
It was during her time at college, Hollie spotted a gap in the market for sustainable floristry.
“During the course I realised how unsustainable the floristry industry is as all the flowers were coming from Holland and they’re all hugely packaged in plastic,” says Hollie.
“So from the start I knew that if I wanted to do it on my own I wanted to do it in a sustainable way.”
Flower power
After college, Hollie secured a job at Flower Vogue in Aberdeen where she put her floristry skills to the test.
“It was a great place to learn as it was busy environment and very hands on,” says Hollie.
After building up her experience over a year, Hollie found the confidence to launch her own business.
“I was already growing flowers as a hobby so I thought, I can do this on my own, using my own flowers, locally sourced materials and non plastic packaging,” says Hollie.
“So in March 2021 I decided to launch Hollie Berries and go for it full-time on my own.”
Floral shop installations
It was a leap of faith worth taking for Hollie who’s show-stopping floral art is in demand across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Her elegant arrangements have also caught the eye of some of the area’s top venues.
“I’ve created a big over the door installation for the Hidden Scotland shop at Milton of Crathes,” says Hollie.
“It’s an everlasting one using artificial and dried flowers so it’s sustainable and instead of using flower foam, I’ve used wires to piece it all together.
“I’ve also made Christmas wreaths for Dunecht Estates and Gairnshiel Lodge in Ballater as well.
“It’s a pinch me moment to see my designs on display.”
Wreath workshops
Hollie’s floral art is also one of the main talking points at weddings across the area.
“For weddings, I get a brief and it can be anything from using greenery to create a big backdrop or it can be something quite heavy with flowers floating from the ceiling so the briefs do vary which is super exciting,” says Hollie.
Christmas has also been a particularly busy time for Hollie.
“This year I’ve almost done 100 wreath orders and I’ve got 13 wreath workshops,” says Hollie.
“Everything is mainly from the garden and we use the local Christmas tree farm in Insch as well for all our spruce and pine so everything is locally sourced, we don’t import anything so it’s a really sustainable way of having a Christmas wreath.”
Looking to the future, Hollie has big plans.
“We’ve got a big barn which is actually an old Victorian stable and we’re planning to restore it all next year so hopefully I’ll be able to host workshops here at the house.”
For more information about Hollie Berries, check out her Instagram.
Conversation