Time to get some web lessons from a flower girl. Oxfordshire-based author and floral stylist Willow Crossley trained in fashion, worked in magazines and set up an online business, Willow Rose Boutique. She also oversaw the interior revamp of her husband’s pub, The Bull in Charlbury and is helping with The Swan in Ascott-under-Wychwood. The mother-of-three has published books ‘The Art of Handmade Living’, ‘The Art of Living with Nature’ and ‘Flourish’. This spring, Willow launches her second collection of pre-tied faux flower bunches for OKA. We talk to Willow about Etsy purchases, gardening blogs, laugh-out-loud online columns and her hunt for perfect dungarees.
My favourite website... Pinterest - I love it and spend hours on there. Often I’m not looking for anything in particular but sometimes I’m in need for inspiration. I’m decorating our new pub at the moment and researching different types of panelling and paint effects. For clothes shopping, I love Vestiaire Collective. I sell on there too but seem to spend far quicker than I manage to sell! For presents I head straight to my brother Ned’s site, the online shop Not Another Bill. He has just launched his own label, Bill, which sells the chicest leather pieces that you can personalise. I love anything personalised!
My favourite apps... Instagram and WhatsApp - I live on both. I still can’t believe WhatsApp is free and I love how you can see if things have been read or not. I’m so impatient so this is very handy for me. Instagram is fab for work; I love seeing what other florists are up to. I find I have so little time to keep up with everyone at the moment so seeing what people are up to via Instagram is such a joy.
My blog of choice... Gardenista - It’s all about gardening, flowers and wholesome living. Its layout is very clean and simple making it easy to navigate. I can’t stand complicated web layouts.
My internet hero is… Natalie Massenet - She is a genius for creating Net-a-Porter. She is totally to thank for the way we now shop so easily online. Pre-babies, I spent a lot of time shopping. Now, three sons later, I can’t remember the last time I was allowed anywhere near a nice glossy changing room. So thank you Natalie!
My most recent buy online... dungarees from ASOS - I spend my life hunting for the perfect pair. I‘ve tried about 45 pairs and am still no closer. I just bought an antique kilim runner from Etsy, some wall brass wall lights from OKA for our new pub, and also a linen Japanese style apron from Daylesford, which is my work uniform.
Book just downloaded/ read... I’m so embarrassed by how little I get to read. I have such good intentions. I have stacks of books piled up on my bedside table but by the time I actually get into bed, I’m delirious with tiredness and pass out before picking up a book. Saying that, we went on holiday at New Year and I read The Girls by Emma Cline. It’s quite a dark story but it’s brilliant, I really enjoyed it.
My favourite tweeter... I don’t do twitter so I have no idea.
My favourite instagrammers... I follow a lot of interior designers and fabric houses including @pennymorrisoninteriors, @barnebygates, @sarahvanrenendesigns, @cljhome, @cabbages_and_roses and @watts.on for beautiful, original pictures. @ettoresottsass is curated by Raquel Cayre and is full of lot of colourful, quirky lifestyle bits and pieces. Elliot Tebele @fuckjerry makes me cry with laughter, as does my brother Tom @tomlcw.
Social media allowed me to meet... the wonderful florist Nikki Tibbles - She ended up coming to a workshop I did a couple of years ago at Anthropologie. Nikki has always been such an inspiration to me so it was an honour to have her.
Most worthwhile newsletter subscribed to... Red Magazine - I’ve always loved it, as it’s the perfect mix of accessible and aspirational fashion. So many magazines are full of things costing too much to even contemplate. I love their recipes, the layout and most of all beauty writer Rosie Green’s column; my husband can tell when I’m reading it just by how much I’m laughing.
Pet hate about life online how hard it is to turn it all off. I’m very bad at switching off. I aim to not look at my phone after a certain time and on Sundays but it seems to magnetically find its way back into my hand.
To find out more about Willow's collection of pre-tied faux flower bunches for OKA, visit www.oka.com.
March 2017
The floral stylist talks about Etsy, gardening blogs, laugh-out-loud online columns and her hunt for perfect dungarees.
Published March 2017