The kit you’ll need

The Kit You'll Need

Working with dried flowers is not as expensive as many other art forms, especially if you grow and dry your own blooms. However, there are some essential bits of kit that you will need to invest in. Once you have these though, if they are good quality they might last a lifetime. Below I describe some of the essentials.

Snips and Scissors

To cut your stems, you will need a variety of snips and scissors. In my workshop, I have:

• Niwaki snips - a pair with light, rubber handles will make repetitive work much easier

• secateurs - these are essential for cutting thick and woody stems, and can be used both in the studio and in the garden

• long-nosed pliers - for working with wire

• sewing scissors - for working with ribbons and thread

Tools for Creating Displays

When it comes to building your displays, there are some key materials that you will need, most of which can be purchased from hardware stores or online.

• Chicken wire - I use a medium-sized gauge, as a really fine one is more difficult to manipulate.

• Metal wire - you can buy wires in different colours, so instead of always using green florist wire, aim to buy a wire that will match the colours of your arrangement – you can get wires in different gauges too.

• Bullion wire - a very delicate wire that I buy from Hobbycraft, and that is the finest wire I've come across.

• Natural twine - ideal when making compostable displays.

• Raffia - a strong natural material for securing displays or creating bows, etc.

• Frog pins - weighted pins that can be used to create stand-alone displays – you can buy them online or source vintage ones.

• Needle and thread - for securing your displays or for when you are working on dried flower hangings.