Saskia Havekes: Sculpting Emotion Through Flowers
Saskia Havekes has spent more than three decades working with flowers, though she feels the word floristry no longer fully captures what she does. She sees herself as a floral director, even a sculptor, shaping space and emotion with blooms. Over the years, the industry has evolved dramatically, and Saskia has evolved with it, continually redefining how flowers can be experienced beyond the traditional bouquet.She grew up in Kenthurst on the edge of bushland in northwest Sydney, in a house her Dutch immigrant father built overlooking a valley of angophoras and flannel flowers. The home was open and unconventional, filled with artists, architects and lively gatherings. Her father was a painter and potter, and her mother taught her the names of flowers and how to garden. With flower painters in the family and a strong European heritage, creativity and nature were inseparable parts of her childhood. Although she began her professional life in advertising and later worked in publishing and television in the United States, she was always drawn back to flower markets and flower shops. They remained a constant pull.When Saskia returned to Sydney after her marriage ended, she briefly enrolled in formal floristry training but found it too rigid and traditional. After a year, she left to learn from a mentor who encouraged her to break conventions. That decision shaped the direction of Grandiflora. Her early career in advertising sharpened her understanding of branding, but it is the ritual of the flower market that still defines her practice. Rising before dawn, selecting stems alongside trusted growers and maintaining those relationships has become both discipline and devotion.Working with flowers means navigating the full spectrum of human emotion.
","author_name":"John Eussen"}