Making Dreams Come True
Hello and welcome to Tales from...
A little bit about me!
My name is Anna Reddings and I am a Floral Designer living and working near Battle in East Sussex. I started my working career as a printed textile designer then went on to work in the fashion business as a Buyer. After 10 years in the fashion industry I decided to leave to pursue my dream. To work with flowers. The rest, as they say, is history......
Mud on my boots
I've always loved anything to do with colour and texture due to my textile background and I grew up with a family of keen gardeners. My Grandfather, Arthur was my first inspiration. He took such an enormous amount of pride in his garden and the flowers he grew. It was difficult not to get swept along by his enthusiasm. He was also a painter and I would love to sit in his studio with him watching him brush thick oil paints on to his canvases when I was a child. My parents also loved to spend time gardening, both fruit, veg and flowers. I have my Dad to thank for my love of Dahlias. I now have 6 cutting beds full in my own garden. This childhood interest lead to a career change in my early 30's with a course at Jane Packer in London. Totally inspired and raring to go I set up as a freelance florist in London until we decided to move out to the countryside a few years later while our children were little. We've now been here more than 12 years which is very hard to believe. When we moved here my life changed immeasurably. Not only did I have 3 small children, a new life with no family near by and no local friends yet I also decided it was time to get a puppy. Little did I know that this one act would change my outlook on everything. Walking daily in the countryside meant that not only was I breathing clean, fresh air but I was witnessing the seasons first hand. I became keenly attuned to Mother Natures subtle changes during each season. Watching for signs of Spring in late Winter and noticing each tree as it changed colour on my daily walk in the Autumn. Always coming home with pockets full of little treasures I or my children had found on our walks. It changed my perspective, made me more thankful for the little things and made me so much more aware of my surroundings and all that nature had to offer. It has heavily influenced my floral design and love of each season. I try, where possible to use seasonal flowers and foliage and I always try to add a foraged element into my work. My cutting garden is a very new project and a steep learning curve but one I am really enjoying. Its connected me with so many new and interesting people too.
Turning dreams into reality
In 2017 we built a beautiful summer house studio in our garden for me to work from. The Apple Tree House Studio is where I do all my floral work and host most of my workshops. It was also where my Instagram journey began sharing stories and photos and Tales From Apple Tree House. That name has since been used to accommodate Tales from The Floral Studio, Tales from the Workshop, Tales from The Print Room, Tales From the Cutting Garden and so on. Then shortened to accommodate them all to Tales From...
So many tales to tell and never enough time. But hopefully you will join me at some point on my flowery journey and we can create something beautiful together.
xxx