By Diane Leyman

North St Flowers is the business of florist Emily Bradbury and her partner Craig. Emily has been a florist for eight and half years, and after spending around two and half years freelancing from home under the North St label, she recently took the plunge and moved into premises on Thornbury’s High Street.

Emily has always had a passion for flowers, but it wasn’t until she'd been working in hospitality for a while that she decided it was time to do something new. Craig came home one day with a bunch of course brochures and floristry seemed the obvious choice, and the rest is pretty much history.

Emily’s enthusiasm, passion and talent for what she does is so evident when you meet her, and it’s also something that has also been recognised – North St was awarded gold at the 2012 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. They were called in last minute and had only five weeks to prepare (most entrants have a year), so it was an intense few weeks that involved building an apothecary garden and living wall, but Emily says it was totally worth the hard work and effort.

According to Emily there’s no ‘normal’ day for a florist – any one day can involve getting up at 4.30am to hit the markets, to creating arrangements for weddings, events and cafes, to dealing with the business and admin side of things, and she’s now also thrown a shop into the mix. I visited on the fifth day since the temporary shop opened, and although it was quickly pulled together it was already a fantastic space full of beautiful and seasonal blooms and terrariums. There are plans to renovate over the holidays and reopen officially at the end of January with an additional gift and nursery section out the back, and I have no doubt it will be amazing, so watch this space! For more information, visit the North St Flowers website and Facebook page, or pop by in person at 776 High Street, Thornbury.

Diane Leyman is a freelance editor, proofreader and project manager with more than six years of experience working in non-fiction illustrated trade book publishing. She has a passion for all things design, and writes a design blog called Notes to a Further Excuse. She also likes taking photographs, crafting, drinking coffee and obsessing over mid-century homewares.