Pretty Dirty - by Melanie Stapleton (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Pretty Dirty is no ordinary flower book: it's a richly illustrated ode to the life cycle of flowers, from how they've grown to arranging them in unique ways, to their inevitable decomposing and disposal.

Melanie Stapleton, of floral studio Cecilia Fox, is a tireless advocate for making the flower industry more sustainable. Pretty Dirty is richly illustrated with beautiful images of flowers in the wild, floral collaborations, both by Mel and her 'flower folk' from around the world, as well as stylised images of compost and floral waste that prove beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder. Mel will share her tips and tricks from a lifetime spent with flowers and feature stories from some of her favourite 'flower folk', from the growers and wholesalers to other florists and those leading the charge on changing this pretty dirty industry.

Flower Folk featured:

Lisa Waud (Detroit)
Ren MacDonald-Balasia, Renko (LA/Hawaii)
Liza Lubell, Garbage Goddess (New York)
Hattie Fox, Hattie Fox Studio (London)
Hannah Martin, COM: POST (London)
Chloe Szukilojc, CS Studio (Dubai)
Christy Ralphs, Nourish Gardens (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Mandy Purvis, Organic Herbs and Seedlings (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Isabel Johnston and Lydia Reusser, Isadia (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Wayne Horrobin and Sarah Hodge, Horrobin and Hodge (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Meg and Joe, Monvale Flowers (Monvale, Australia)
Kristy Tippett, Soho Rose Farm (Drysdale, Australia)
Tamsin Carvan (East Gippsland, Australia)
Rita Feldmann, Sustainable Floristry Network (Victoria, Australia)
Sophie Wolanski, Muck Floral (Sydney, Australia)
Azzmin Rayment, Braer (Byron Bay, Australia)
Katie Marx (Naarm/Melbourne, Australia)
Shahn Stewart, Alchemy Orange (Naarm/Melbourne, Australia)

About the Author

Melanie Stapleton is the founder of Cecilia Fox, an award-winning creative floral studio. She has been involved with florals since the tender age of 16 when she moved to London and learnt from the city's top florists. In 2007, she started Cecilia Fox in Melbourne, Australia, and quickly gained a reputation for being the go-to for high-end weddings and large-scale events (The Birdcage, NGV, Melbourne Museum). However, the irony of working in an industry that took from nature and created lots of waste became front of mind, and Mel turned her attention to how her work and the industry could be more sustainable.

Mel creates dreamscapes of nature in the form of botanical arrangements and installations, seeking beauty in the unlikely and the untamed. A deep respect for the past, present and future of the natural world informs every element of her designs. Her studio is now based in her native home of Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa, where she holds floral workshops in addition to her floral design work.