The Freelancer Life: Meet Sarah Manners
Sarah is one of those extraordinary people who took a burning passion to do something completely different from her day job and made it her full time job.
After six years working in the events industry she left her 9-5 behind, retrained as a florist and started her own floral design company, Me & Stem.
It hasn’t been easy but we chat to Sarah to find out how she transitioned, the perks of working for herself and where she looks for inspiration on a daily basis.
“I always knew I was never cut out to be a 9-5 kind of girl. Don’t get me wrong the hours I work now can actually be far longer and tiring...but they’re my hours, I set the rules and the pace”
Hello Sarah, so great to have your story on The Freelancer Life
Tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and how long you’ve been doing it for?
I run a floral design company called Me & Stem, providing florals and styling for events and weddings. In 2017 after 6 years of working in the events industry I took the plunge, left my full-time job and retrained in Floral Design at the Covent Garden Academy of Flowers for 6 months. Me & Stem was then born in September 2017.
Wow that’s quite a change in direction to completely retrain - good on you! Did you always have a passion for flowers and what made you decide to make the jump?
I have had a passion for flowers and nature ever since I can remember. My childhood was largely spent outdoors, whether it be exploring the gardens at various National Trust properties, hanging out in my Grandpa’s vegetable patch or helping my parents with the gardening (mostly prancing around the garden adorned with flowers…) but the great outdoors and nature have always been my thing. I remember from a very early age becoming aware of the beauty of the seasons, and getting so excited about how they change and what every new month brought with it. I’ve always been very in to art and creativity and am always making things or having mad ideas, so combined with my love of nature, floristry seemed the obvious answer.
In terms of when I decided to make the jump, when I was working in events I was always the one booking florists for all the large scale gala dinners I was organising at the time. As a thank you, these florists would often invite me on one day flower arranging courses, and it all went from there really… I was hooked!
How did you find the transition from office culture and set hours to re-training and working for yourself?
I always knew I was never cut out to be a 9-5 kind of girl, so the transition in that respect was joyous. Don’t get me wrong the hours I work now can actually be far longer and tiring than in the office. In the run up to an event or wedding, an average working day for me could be 3am – midnight without stopping. But they’re my hours, I set the rules and the pace, I get to work with amazing people and am surrounded by beautiful things. What’s not to love?! And no day is the same which makes it all the more fun.
Do you have any tips for anyone thinking of making a similar move?
Make sure you want it enough, it is a big transition. Building a start-up business from scratch is hard work and requires utter dedication at all hours of the day - you have to make big sacrifices with the anti-social hours and weekend work, so you have to really love what you do to be able to make it a success.
But if it is what you want more than anything and you have a good support network around you, you soon get the rewards back. I’d also say try and get as much experience under your belt beforehand – helping out at friends weddings, shadowing established florists, regular trips to the flower market to build up supplier relationships etc.
Share your struggles – what do you find hardest about working for yourself?
I do often miss the community an office culture brings, and I think that is definitely something I took for granted at the time. I am a very sociable person by nature, and working independently most of the time with such gruelling hours can get rather lonely. I often work from cafes or shared work spaces, and I also have 2 rather energetic dogs who get me out and about every day. I am very fortunate to have such an amazing support network around me, so I know a chat and a cuppa is never far away.
Share you perks – what do you enjoy most about working for yourself?
I love waking up every day never quite knowing where it is going to take me. Every day is different, and I love that. Nothing is quite as exciting for me than when a new brief lands at my desk – my mind goes in to overdrive and I instantly start sketching ideas and coming up with all sorts of creative ways to make something. And then right through to the other end of the job, delivering the project and seeing the client’s reaction is one of the best feelings. And because it’s flowers, everyone is always very happy.
“Make sure you want it enough, it is a big transition. Building a start-up business from scratch is hard work and requires utter dedication at all hours of the day”
What is the best project you’ve worked on since setting up Me and Stem?
I have to say, it has to be the first large scale installation I created – the sense of achievement I felt at the end of it is something I will never forget. I was still training at the Academy when I was very fortunate to land one of my first jobs with H&M. It was to do all the florals for the launch of their Autumn / Winter 2017 collection in their press studio. It was before I had a studio space of my own and at the time was living in a small flat in Clapham Junction, 4 flights of stairs up, I didn’t have a van or any kind of man power to help me. I couldn’t tell you how many times I went up and down those stairs carrying box after box, and every possible space in that flat was soon taken up with flowers (even in my bath tub!). But I delivered it, totally on my own, and the client was delighted with the results. I still smile (and weep ever so slightly inside..) when I think about it.
What are your top tips for anyone planning an event and looking to add a floral touch?
It is very important to set your brief and budget from the word go. Not everyone has a creative eye and you may struggle on the brief side of things, but have a think about the overall look and feel you’d like to achieve with the florals – colours, style, height, impact – and then meet face to face with the florist/‘s you’d like a quote from. I may be totally shooting myself in the foot here, but having worked on both sides of the fence I’d say it is very important to have a chat with at least 2 florists – everyone has a different style and way of doing things, and dependant on the event it can be a very personal thing. You must have complete trust in who you end up working with. And then enjoy the process!
What are your top 3 recommendations – podcasts, books, people to follow, sources of inspiration?
I realise all my recommendations are experiential, but for me, I get all my inspiration from getting out and about so here we go…
1). Walking. It may sound like a simple one, but leaving your phone at home and getting outside in the fresh air, even if it’s just for 20 minutes, can clear your head instantly.
2). As I mentioned earlier, I’m a big fan of the National Trust and have been going with my family ever since I can remember. I love how they conserve and protect their hidden spaces, the differing garden design at each property, and all that heritage you get from a single membership. I never actually go inside the properties, I just like to explore the gardens.
3). Charleston Farmhouse in East Sussex - I am mildly obsessed with the Bloomsbury Group and their utter dedication to the arts and creativity. Charleston Farmhouse was where Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant lived, and is a total representation of their artistic creativity. Every wall, door, piece of furniture and surface is painted with the most wonderful mosaics – a very inspiring space!
What role does collaboration play for you?
Collaboration is a huge part of my job. Every job I do I am commissioned by a client, so in that respect from the word go we collaborate on ideas to hit their desired brief. Whilst my ideas and designs are independently curated, I am constantly dealing with different people to help deliver them – from my suppliers at the market, to all my lovely freelance florists who help with larger scale events – team work is dream work!
What were you doing this time last year, what have you learnt and how have you changed since then?
This time last year I had just finished installing a big autumnal wedding (so many amazing colours!), and was working my way through lots of wedding quotes for the 2019 season. Early on in the business I struggled with the quoting side of things - a mixture of massively underselling myself and always wanting to give as much as I possibly could to a project, even though it would have financial repercussions for me personally. A lot of people also think the wholesale cost of flowers is really cheap, so having to break the reality to a lower-budget wedding that they wouldn’t be getting a big flowery arch can often be tricky… I’m definitely still guilty of it now, but luckily I have developed more confidence in my rates and quoting so that I don’t undersell myself. But it is tough!
“Early on in the business I struggled with the quoting side of things - a mixture of massively underselling myself and always wanting to give as much as I possibly could to a project”