Our Dusty Miller Designs feature today is full of vintage, eclectic finds which somehow work well together. Sophie Henson has created the same atmosphere in her emporium of flowers, coffee and gifts in Sydney's Clovelly, where you'll often find her with her little girls and her very handsome puppy, Slim Dusty (yes, that's him in the dog bed below). We talked to Sophie about getting up at 4am and her horror of supermarket flowers.



Sophie, what's your background? What was the path to you starting Dusty Miller Designs?
After leaving school I went to Sydney Uni to do a degree in Visual Arts majoring in photography. After working as a photographer for many years, mainly in weddings and events, I decided to do a floral design course to broaden my horizons. After a few months I was completely hooked! Now with 15 years experience under my belt in Australia and London, I'm still very much in love with floristry.

Are you at the flower markets every week?
Yes we have 3 trips to the market a week, which we share amongst the girls in the shop.  I like to do the Friday market trip to get geared up for the weekend and stay in touch with what's around. The markets seem like a drag of a job to outsiders, but we secretly love it! It's another world out there and all the growers have been up since about midnight making the trek to Sydney and setting up their stands, so by 9am the day is over for them.

There's something quite satisfying about choosing your own flowers from such a vast selection, then bringing them back and seeing your vision come alive in the shop ... and then someone loves your vision and buys it to enjoy at home ... love that!!

How do you balance work and family? Is Slim Dusty a help or a hindrance?!
I have 2 young girls and they live above the shop with me for most of the week, and the rest of the time with their Dad. When they're with me they just love being in the shop, it's like a treasure trove for them. Sometimes I come into the shop and they're perched up at the coffee counter having a babycino with one of my gorgeous staff... so cute!

Slim Dusty is still a puppy, only 6 months old, so of course he's still learning the rules. I want him to be a shop dog but he still likes chasing the pigeons across the road which isn't ideal. He is very popular with all the customers, especially the kids, and will sit at someone's feet looking up at them as if asking for a cuddle ... he usually gets one too!

What's your guiding thought when sourcing things for the store?
I have always wanted to create a homely and inviting atmosphere, where people feel welcome. It was really important for me to let people touch things, even children, as this is something that we're almost never allowed to do anymore. Everything is for sale in the shop and please feel free to give it a cuddle before you buy.

I am quite passionate about recycling hence I try to source quality used furniture and artistic pieces.  By doing this we have unique pieces all the time. My customers now know and love the style of Dusty Miller and look forward to seeing it evolve from week to week.

As for the flowers, I am very fussy and will only buy Australian natives, and my other flowers from local growers only. I try to buy things that are in season, which means they are more reasonably priced and also last longer, so my customers get more bang for their buck. A customer once told me my flowers lasted so long it was bad for business! I wanted to steer clear of the run of the mill flowers that were being stocked in other florists, fruit shops and, God forbid, supermarkets!

We hope you have a chance to visit Sophie at Dusty Miller Designs and meet Slim, who was perfectly behaved during our shoot.  If not, enjoy our sale event this week.

In case you are wondering about the beautiful wall colour we used behind Slim, it's "Crepe Papier" from our friends at Murobond. 

Victoria