Text by Katherine Cloninger Ellis • Photography Courtesy of Sarah Horne
One woman’s passion for crafting beautiful botanicals in many forms.
Internationally renowned British floral artist Sarah Horne holds many esteemed titles and accolades to admire. She has impressively attained three Chelsea Gold medals for Professional Floristry; won the prestigious title of Chelsea Florist of the Year; and conducted a TED talk titled “The Power of the Flower,” which has thousands of views online. Her eponymous shop in Royal Leamington Spa in England has reached the national finals of the UK Flower Shop of the Year four separate times. With a hefty list of accomplishments, one would think that Sarah has completed years of extensive education in floral design to perfect her craft. However, with no formal training to her name and a failed art class under her belt, the self-taught artist has learned everything she knows through experimentation and enduring grit for 41 years. Sarah truly exemplifies the adage that “talent cannot be taught” and upholds the notion that sometimes self-discovery and fine-tuning of one’s skills is best found through trial-and-error outside the confines of a classroom.
From the young age of 15, Sarah dreamed of being an artist. Sadly, in 1990, her mother passed away, and Sarah, who was just 24 at the time, took over the family flower business. She had a natural knack for creating exquisite floral arrangements and began entering competitions because of her fascination with “measuring where her skills were.” After catching the attention of locals following her big win at The Chelsea Flower Show, the show decided to dedicate an exhibit to the picturesque town of Royal Leamington Spa, and the project manager asked Sarah to illustrate the floral designs for a brochure that showcased the exhibit. “I can’t draw—I’m a florist,” Sarah says she proclaimed. “They told me to get over that, and when I made myself try to draw, I was actually quite pleased with what happened.”
Sarah quickly fell in love with bringing her Victorian-style botanicals to life by putting pen to paper in a medium that isn’t too kind to making errors. “You can’t make mistakes with that [pen and ink],” Sarah notes. “I look at the details all the time, and composition is everything. Composition on flat pieces of art requires elements and principles of design that cannot hide behind color.”
After experimenting with drawing and hanging the artistic prints in her flower shop, a novel idea sparked that Sarah could not soon forget. “I kept looking at them, and I thought they would look fantastic on china,” Sarah remarks. “The drawings are quite contemporary because of the black and white, though historical in their look.” The thought of “bringing the outside to the inside” with captivating floral teawares was an alluring and familiar thought to her, as that is exactly the purpose of a lovely bouquet. It evokes happiness and provides beauty and joy to someone who might not have the opportunity to experience luxurious lush gardens. Expanding her business to include a giftware line only seemed natural, as it would showcase her beautiful botanicals to a wider audience beyond the perimeters of Leamington Spa.
The design process began in 2017 by first connecting with a world-famous potter in Stoke-on-Trent who is known for producing high-end fine bone china. Sarah was very particular about the vision that she had for the pieces. “I said to him that I have to have something inside the cups and jugs,” Sarah explains. “I love the idea of the florals looking as if they are growing on the china and threaded through the handles.” With Sarah’s vast knowledge of floral shapes and structures and the talented potter’s keen eye for creating attractive keepsakes, the dynamic duo’s collaboration is a dream come true for those who wish to enjoy the magnificence of nature in the comfort of their own home.
Every piece in the Sarah Horne Botanicals line is hand-decorated and designed to appear as if the flowers are naturally draping off the branch and into your cup of tea. The modest, yet striking, black-and-white illustrations provide a graceful canvas for playing with color and texture in both the delicious tea fare that is displayed on the china and the linens and flatware with which it is paired. “I always seem to have a younger clientele who falls in love with the simplicity of the black and white,” Sarah mentions. “It would go well in a country kitchen or a sophisticated loft apartment.” The collection consists of everything you would need for a proper afternoon tea, including a teacup and saucer set, assorted plates, milk jug, sugar bowl, teapot, tiered stand, and more. Homeware products exhibiting the brand’s signature botanicals also extend to candles, tea towels, stationery, and vases, of course.
For some, a failed art class and lack of proper training might deter them from following their dreams. But for Sarah Horne, someone who wholeheartedly believes that “art grounds you to a place that you can still hold onto your passion and achieve things,” living with an eternal rose-colored-glasses mindset and an undying love for her craft empowers more success than anything one can find in a book or learn in a classroom.
