Business blooming for Hong Kong floral artist Gemma Hayden Blest
Floral artist lets Kylie Knott in on a few tricks of the trade, and reveals her favourite place in Hong Kong
It is easy to identify Gemma Hayden Blest in a busy Central coffee shop. She is the one holding a large metal bucket overflowing with mainly roses and berries in a mix of reds. Blest pulls up a chair and plonks the colourful tools of her trade on the floor.
Her works are full of imaginative twists, and often appear in photo shoots for fashion magazines and installations for big brands. Most of her more than 1,500 Instagram posts feature flowers shot in Blest’s soft and romantic signature style.
British-born Blest says her love affair with flowers stems from her great-grandmother, who was a florist and a judge at the Chelsea Flower Show – the country’s premier battle of the blooms.
“There were always bunches of fresh flowers in the house when I was growing up and the garden was always alive – climbing roses everywhere. This is where elements of my work come from,” says Blest, who works in Hong Kong and Los Angeles. She also visits a lot of international flower markets. “Every major city has a flower market. The one in Mexico City was just amazing. The Day of the Dead celebrations were a mix of amazing flowers.”
