In Conversation With Pollenet

Brains : Meet

21 April 2020

Photography by Trishna Goklani

Flowers accompany occasions: weddings, funerals, birthdays and baby showers are but a few events in which floristry can create the mood for celebration. Within a home, flowers evoke joy and peacefulness with the same vivacity that a lightbulb can light a room. Holly Clemett, founder of Pollenet certainly thinks so, “There is a lot of emotion in flowers – they can bring back memories, they can make you feel inspired or calm and relaxed.” And by looking at how favoured a Pollenet bouquet is, we can understand why.

Holly’s floral arrangements – often captured in an Anissa Kermiche vase – go against the grain of traditional floristry. Pollenet opened their doors in 2019, built on an organic love of the green-fingered art form that sprouted from a flower arranging class Holly took in 2018. It was here where she noticed the restraints of traditional floristry. “I remember going to a floristry class at a flower shop run by a woman who’s been in the business for years; she was amazing and I learnt a lot of fundamental skills that day,” explains Holly. “However, I was told a few times by the team that my flower placement in the arrangement was wrong. I remember thinking that everyone’s arrangement looked exactly the same and that ‘How could it be wrong if I liked the way it looked?’” Looking at a Pollenet bouquet, you wouldn’t think to describe it as technically erroneous. Varieties of flowers, lengths and colour palettes fill a Clemett-made arrangement, and the brand's aesthetic goes in accord with the millennial mindset: colourful but not perfect. “There is definitely still a place for that kind of traditional floristry, and that’s great,” Holly shares. “But at Pollenet, it’s all about having more fun with flowers and allowing people to see them in a different way. I want Pollenet arrangements to be a focal point of whatever room they’re in, to spark intrigue and inspire.”

Despite the current lockdown circumstance, business is still running as (close to) normal as Holly can suffice, delivering flowers on one specific day to minimise unnecessary contact. But a beautiful bouquet need not be obtained from a florist! “Never underestimate the power of a single stem!” exclaims Holly, as she explains that this is the perfect time to explore what’s around our homes. “During my daily walk last week I found a part of a cherry blossom tree that had fallen on the floor, with the cherry blossom still in perfect condition. I put this in my favourite vase at home for about a week and I loved it, it was so simple but so beautiful. I would definitely recommend hanging around your nearest blossoming tree and taking a small piece home with you.”

Flowers are a simple pleasure, that during this unsettling time are a needed addition to surroundings that we’re heavily accustomed to, and honestly rather bored of. “I really believe that flowers can change your mood,” Holly states. “Even when I pick up my flowers from Covent Garden Flower Market or have them delivered from a wholesaler, I feel excited and I’m not even the one who gets to keep them.” So with that being said, Holly has kindly shared her tips and a tutorial on how to create an exquisite floral arrangement using the amenities you have on offer: supermarket flowers and a treasured vase. Get your green-fingers at the ready and let the power of flowers take over!

A Pollenet flower arranging tutorial!

Holly's Tips and Tricks

1. Don’t be restricted by how you think the bouquet should look over how you want it to look, just keep going till you create something that you love.

2. Think about elements of the bouquet like height, textures and the shapes you’re creating. If every stem is the same length, you may lose some of your favourite parts when it goes in the vase.

3. Choose flowers you love that make you happy and know that you can’t go wrong!

https://www.pollenetflowers.co.uk/shop