I have loved flowers and all things green since I was a little girl secretly picking my Grandad’s huge bright dahlia heads near Lavender Hill in London where I was born. My family moved to Farnham when I was 5 years old with Mum, Dad, 2 sisters and baby brother where I was given my very own piece of garden to grow whatever I liked!
After training as a chef and successfully owning a restaurant my passion for flowers wouldn’t be silenced so I trained as a florist and it was one of the best things I ever did! My love for food and cooking is still reflected in my floral designs as I often use vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds in my pieces.
Wanting to soak up as many different aspects of floristry, I worked freelance for other shops and event companies whilst building my wedding floral design business from my home in Farnham. During my career I have arranged weddings at Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s cathedral and Hampton Court and have supplied flowers to the homes of many celebrities including Cliff Richard, Elton John, Amanda Holden and Cilla Black to name just a few!
The year I arranged over 60 weddings from home with flowers and foliage covering my garden and most rooms in the house filled with vases and buckets I knew it was time to realise my dream and open a shop!
Lavender Hill Company was born and I moved into my beautiful premises in Ridgway Road in Farnham just before Christmas 2010. In 2015 we opened the doors of our fabulous new shop down the road in Lower Bourne, with more space, lots of light and plenty of room for all our floral workshops. Every morning when I open up and smell the flowers, I count myself blessed to be earning a living doing the very thing that I adore!
Sue lives in Farnham with husband Steve. They have 3 sons, 3 lovely daughter in laws and 9 grandchildren who all live locally.