Berkshire


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-4-1.png" alt="Local florist Heather Reilly of Sonning Flowers Berkshire" class="wp-image-64026" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-4-1.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-4-1-800x800.png 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-4-1-400x400.png 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-4-1-768x768.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-4-1-500x500.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Binky Nixon</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wow-20-years-of-sonning-flowers-tell-me-a-bit-about-your-journey">Wow, 20 years of Sonning Flowers! Tell me a bit about your journey?</h3>



<p>My love for floristry started at 14 after I did a week’s work experience at a local florist. I loved it from the moment I walked through the door and knew this is what I was destined to do. I then started as a Saturday girl at <a href="https://www.sonningflowers.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sonning Flowers</a> 13 years ago and obtained my level 4 City &amp; Guilds Qualification in Floristry at 19. A few years later in 2018, I became the proud owner of Sonning Flowers. What an adventure it’s been!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-it-been-like-running-a-small-business-and-managing-a-team-of-12">What&#8217;s it been like running a small business and managing a team of 12?</h3>



<p>It&#8217;s an honour. Don&#8217;t get me wrong, there are challenges like the rising cost of what feels like everything, and lots of planning ahead is required as the company grows. But on the flip side,&nbsp;having a large and very talented team enables us to really work on bringing each couple and clients vision to life. For me. It&#8217;s the best feeling when my whole team is required to work on an event together, and there&#8217;s always someone around you can bounce ideas off.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-i-can-imagine-there-s-lots-of-challenges-is-there-anything-that-s-happened-that-s-really-tested-you">I can imagine there&#8217;s lots of challenges. Is there anything that&#8217;s happened that&#8217;s really tested you?</h3>



<p>The pandemic! It meant our shop doors closed temporarily and a large number of weddings and events were postponed.&nbsp;Some aspects of the business were put on hold, but our website became our shop front and our gift bouquet ranges flourished. This kept us busy throughout the pandemic and it&#8217;s without a doubt why we are still standing today. I will never be able to thank our loyal customers for the continuing support they have given us, particularly through the pandemic.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/6.png" alt="" class="wp-image-64203" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/6.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/6-800x800.png 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/6-400x400.png 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/6-768x768.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/6-500x500.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-been-your-proudest-moment-so-far">What&#8217;s been your proudest moment so far?</h3>



<p>I&#8217;d say winning National Wedding Florist of the Year 2022 at the Wedding Industry Awards &#8211; it&#8217;s like the Oscars of the Wedding Industry. This was an all-time high for me and still gives me goosebumps to this day. It’s a moment I will cherish forever.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-anywhere-local-and-impressive-you-ve-supplied-flowers-to">Anywhere local and impressive you&#8217;ve supplied flowers to?</h3>



<p>One of my highlights is providing floral arrangements for the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-re-creating-your-dream-bouquet-what-s-going-in">You&#8217;re creating your dream bouquet &#8211; what&#8217;s going in?</h3>



<p>Very much our Sonning Style, such as roses (my favourite is white O&#8217;Hara, they smell amazing!), peonies, clematis, astratia, stocks, guelder roses, mixed foliages, grasses and ferns.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-your-workshop-is-in-beautiful-kingsclere-does-the-rural-location-inspire-your-work">Your workshop is in beautiful Kingsclere. Does the rural location inspire your work?</h3>



<p>Absolutely &#8211; we moved out of Reading town centre in 2021 and are now located next to Growing Together, an amazing local charity which includes planting, growing flowers and vegetables, and a forest school, and our consultation cabin overlooks their cutting patch. It&#8217;s a lovely spot, which changes with the seasons and it&#8217;s such a lovely relaxed atmosphere. I&#8217;m very lucky to be able to call this our workspace.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1500" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/sonning-flowers3.jpg" alt="Local florist Heather Reilly of Sonning Flowers Berkshire" class="wp-image-63733" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/sonning-flowers3.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/sonning-flowers3-533x800.jpg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/sonning-flowers3-667x1000.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/sonning-flowers3-267x400.jpg 267w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/sonning-flowers3-768x1152.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Lauren Mitchell Photography</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-your-favourite-kind-of-event-to-do-flowers-for">What&#8217;s your favourite kind of event to do flowers for?</h3>



<p>One where the whole team is required, in the summer months for either a wedding or corporate event. We had a wedding last summer where the brief was to simply be &#8220;spectacular with bright pops of colour&#8221;. We made four incredible hanging rings full of flowers which were absolutely sensational as you walked into the marquee. Seeing the couple&#8217;s face as they walked into the marquee for the first moment was an incredible feeling and for me, it&#8217;s all about bringing couple&#8217;s visions to life in a more beautiful way than they could have imagined.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-it-sounds-like-such-a-lovely-job-what-do-you-love-about-what-you-do">It sounds like such a lovely job. What do you love about what you do?</h3>



<p>There is so many things I love about my job but being able to bring joy to so many people through flowers for all of life&#8217;s occasions has always got to be the best part.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-want-to-get-out-in-nature-for-some-fresh-air-in-berkshire-where-are-you-headed">You want to get out in nature for some fresh air in Berkshire. Where are you headed?</h3>



<p>My beagle loves a long walk and we love Green Common, Snelsmore Common, and The Vine.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-party-time-how-are-you-celebrating-your-20th-birthday">Party time! How are you celebrating your 20th birthday?</h3>



<p>We are having a staff chocolate making workshop on our actual birthday at Chocoholics in Reading and a beautiful birthday cake from Celebration Cakes by Catherine Scott. They are small businesses we often work with so it&#8217;s great to use them for our own celebration. We also have lots of surprise gifts for customers and a new <a href="https://www.sonningflowers.com/seasonal-range/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birthday gift bouquet range</a>.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1500" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-2.jpg" alt="Local florist Heather Reilly of Sonning Flowers Berkshire" class="wp-image-64022" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-2.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-2-533x800.jpg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-2-667x1000.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-2-267x400.jpg 267w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/heather-sonning-2-768x1152.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Binky Nixon</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-here-s-to-another-20-years-any-big-plans-for-sonning-flowers-in-the-pipeline">Here&#8217;s to another 20 years! Any big plans for Sonning Flowers in the pipeline?</h3>



<p>We have lots of lovely weddings booked for 2024/25 which we are SO excited for! We always try to share on our <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sonningflowers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">socials</a> so do follow us for more inspo.&nbsp;Who knows what the next 20 years has in store, whatever happens we are looking forward to it and can&#8217;t wait to share our journey with you.&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://www.sonningflowers.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sonning Flowers</a>, <em>Cottismore Park, Newbury Rd, Kingsclere, Newbury RG20 4SY</em>. <em>Telephone: 01189590301</em></p>


Muddy meets: Local florist Heather Reilly of Sonning Flowers

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