{"id":1449,"date":"2023-11-10T09:35:57","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T09:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/?p=1449"},"modified":"2024-11-08T10:37:47","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T10:37:47","slug":"wreath-making-with-claire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/heart-of-the-county\/wreath-making-with-claire\/11-2023","title":{"rendered":"Wreath Making with Claire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Representing the circle of eternal life, hanging a wreath on your door traditionally symbolises nature and the promise of spring. This month we\u2019ve partnered with Lincolnshire florist Claire Sutton to find out more about her wreath making courses and why she advocates native varieties in her work…<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Claire
Claire Sutton’s wreath, see www.figandfern.co.uk.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A\u2008bushy, pretty wreath on the door is one of the joys of the festive season, and with an abundance of natural greenery in your garden, there\u2019s no need to look very much further… in fact, Louth Florist and founder of Fig & Fern Claire Sutton is a keen advocate of both seasonality and sustainability in her work.<\/p>\n

Raised in Lincolnshire and previously working in HR, Claire pursued a career in floristry full time around the millennium, joining the British Flower Movement and choosing to bypass the mainstream commercial floristry world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does requires more thought, but once you become an advocate of British seasonal floristry you don\u2019t tend to go back,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch of my work as what I suppose you\u2019d term an artisanal florist is for weddings and other events. My work has a look that\u2019s markedly different from mainstream floristry but that\u2019s because rather than sourcing imported flowers from wholesalers, including those who use imported blooms, I prefer to work with the seasons and express them in my designs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a few local suppliers I use regularly such as Sandilands\u2019 Owl Garden Flowers, but in addition, my own garden is a great resource, allowing me to work a year in advance and \u2018grow to use,\u2019 as well as ensuring there is plenty of material to use for things like these festive wreaths.\u201d<\/p>\n

We joined Claire at Wootten Hall in North Lincolnshire for some advice on how to create a homemade wreath for your door this month with both sustainability and seasonality in mind.<\/p>\n

Claire is hosting at least two wreath making courses at the venue in December as well as half-day courses from her own studio near Louth. What follows are just a few of the many\u00a0 hints and tips Claire can impart\u00a0during a course… and attendees will also a glass of fizz and patisserie treats from a professional chef during her workshops!<\/p>\n

For starters, Claire advocates the use of wreath bases made from vine, rather than those metal. Available from good florists, these are a little bulkier than metal, they\u2019re made of a natural material and because they\u2019re a bit bulkier, they require less material to be bound to them.<\/p>\n

Floristry wire is good for tying in materials like pine cones, but Claire prefers natural twine for tying in sphagnum moss, which provides body for the wreath and allows it to retain moisture.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoss is something that should really be sustainably sourced in large quantities,\u201d says Claire. \u201cIt\u2019s not something you have to be too fussy about if you\u2019re gathering it to use in a domestic setting, but as a florist I\u2019m always mindful to use a supplier who can source it responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same goes for the foliage that you\u2019d like to use. I tend to forage what I need from my garden and secure it to my wreaths, working clockwise around the whole of the circumference and having all of the material facing the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere I\u2019ve incorporated native fir, larch and spruce to ensure a good mix in the overall look, giving it a fuller, more \u2018luxe\u2019 appearance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy starting point is usually a preferred colour scheme and I do like to see where a wreath will be hung before I start working which is a good way of informing about colours and different decoration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack doors are fairly easy to work with as they\u2019ll take most colours, but a deep red is my favourite. I\u2019d choose sage for a grey door and for a sage green, lilac, purple or soft pink and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to decoration, it really is just a case of using your imagination and carrying through a colours scheme that you really love. In this example I\u2019ve used some vintage velvet ribbon which I\u2008can reuse in the future, and I\u2019ve used some red pepper berries too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve also incorporated pine cones and I\u2019ve retained a couple of bells which also have a couple of wooden clappers in, giving a cheery little clang when visitors come round over the season. It\u2019s a little bit of festive joy that raises a smile, but the real satisfaction is knowing that you\u2019ve created something and had a great time doing so!\u201d<\/p>\n

Find Out More:<\/em><\/strong> Claire Sutton is the founder of British seasonal floristry studio Fig & Fern. Claire will host wreath making courses on Saturday 2nd December at Wootton Hall and for individuals, couples or small groups by arrangement in her own studio. Call 07976 974568 or see www.figandfern.co.uk.<\/em><\/p>\n

Wootton Hall, Wootton, North Lincolnshire
\n<\/strong>A\u2008wonderful venue for weddings… and wreath making courses!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Our gratitude to Stephen Gamet and Kate Lawley of Wootton Hall Wootten, near Ulceby, who allowed us to use their beautiful home for our photoshoot. Built in 1796 and commanding a Grade II* listing, the couple restored the property over the past three years and now offer it for use as an exclusive venue for weddings and events.
\nSee www.woottonhall.com or email enquiries@woottonhall.com for detail.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Claire's
Claire’s wreath on the front door of Wootton Hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Representing the circle of eternal life, hanging a wreath on your door traditionally symbolises nature and the promise of spring….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heart-of-the-county"],"acf":false,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1449"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1454,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1449\/revisions\/1454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}