Meet the florist offering an eco-friendly funeral flower service for bereaved families in and around Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth

A florst based in Pillerton Priors is offering eco-friendly funeral flower tributes.

Claire Cooper, who has more than 14 years experience in the floral industry and has has her company Hibiscus Floral Design for 12 years, launched her latest company- Solace Flowers - in last November.

Claire said she wanted to make a difference in the industry as many floral funeral arrangements include a lot of waste products and plastic.

She said: "After the pandemic hit in spring 2020, my established wedding flower business of 12 years took a drastic hit with the majority of my weddings for 2020 being postponed or outright cancelled.

"I decided to pivot my current business utilising my creative skills, train further and look into alternative ways to be more sustainable in my trade.

"I am excited to showcase a range of new designs which have been greatly praised by local funeral directors.

"I am truly passionate about developing a service that will stay in the hearts of bereaved families.

"All of my designs are created from a conversation, not a catalogue.

"Set apart from the High Street, I can offer home consultations, on-site meetings at the funeral directors as well as telephone, Zoom and email correspondence for families in a Covid-19 safe way during these difficult times.

"I also feel compelled to make a difference to the funeral flower industry, not only taking the stress away for the bereaved having to 'find' a florist but to offer a dedicated bespoke funeral flower service to families, specialising in eco-friendly tributes.

"With so much focus these days on sustainability, I feel this aspect is hugely overlooked in funeral flowers with regards to the amount of waste produced with huge amounts of plastic ending up in landfill just days after a funeral.

"Sustainability / using more eco-friendly practices is an increasingly important issue for many, climate change continues to affect our lives as well as the fate of all other species around the planet.

"I feel it is important to play my part in being as eco-friendly as possible in my floristry and look at ways that this practices can be incorporated into designs/ tributes for funeral flowers."

When asked how her business is more environmentally conscious, Claire said: "Where possible I try to buy British grown seasonal flowers, offering a range of natural floral designs - our most popular design is a casket spray which can be unbound after the funeral ceremony.

"The pre-tied bunches can then be given away to family and friends attending the service.

"I also work onto structures such as willow and moss frames that can be recycled. I gift wrap our condolence flowers in recyclable materials such as natural kraft paper or hessian."

Claire says she has had a great response her new business so far.

"It's been fantastic, I wanted to apply the same personable service to funerals as I do to weddings," said Claire. "I have learnt so much from courses I have attended via Zoom during lockdown and speaking with local funeral directors.

"Working alongside them, I have been able to gain a full understanding of what type of tribute may be required, that from natural burial will be different requirements to that of a cremation.

"I aim to make this difficult process that little bit easier for families with a personable professional service, offering natural alternatives for funeral flowers."

"Flowers can play such an important part in a funeral, they can create a background of warmth and beauty leaving a lasting impression.

"I offer a dedicated, personable, funeral flower service in the Leamington Warwick area creating natural, thoughtful floral tributes. I can also send images of the floral tributes to families, if they wish."

To find out more go to: www.solaceflowers.co.uk or https://www.facebook.com/SolaceFuneralFlowers