Romance Blooms

No two days are the same for floral artist Antonia de Vere, who, with her husband, comprise the creative duo Mark Antonia.

- Fiona Ralph

Antonia de Vere is the quirky, colourful half of floristry and design business Mark Antonia, alongside “multidimensional” husband Mark Seeney. We chat to the creative floral artist about her “chameleon-like” style, why she loves working with dried flowers and how she juggles her hectic schedule.

How would you describe your style? My style is more architectural. My work has a lot of Japanese floral inspiration, from ikebana to wabi-sabi ideals. It’s hard to categorise what I do; I see myself less as a florist and more as a maker/artist, so naturally I am inspired by design, sometimes more so than flowers. My style is rather chameleon-like; I dress and style my home via my emotions. While art and architecture are very serious, my personality is not and that comes out in the way I dress and how I live. I like to have fun with my appearance.

What do you love about your job? Working with dried flowers means I have unlimited possibilities. I find you can be more creative with dried flowers than with fresh. I don’t have to worry about my arrangements perishing – they are, as I like to think of it, immortalised. I love the versatility of dried flowers and coming up with designs that no one has done before. It’s like being an Egyptologist of flowers.