Pressed Flowers by Nell creates beautiful memories of your special day

Nell Stritch, owner of Pressed Flowers by Nell, pictured at her new studio on Roches Street, Limerick. Picture: Beth Pym/ilovelimerick

Pressed Flowers by Nell creates beautiful memories of your special day

By I Love Limerick correspondent Mary Doyle

Pressed Flowers by Nell has just moved into a new studio space on 54 Roches Street in Limerick City Centre. Nell Stritch, owner of Pressed Flowers by Nell, is excited to expand her business, in which she creates bespoke pieces of art devised from flower arrangements. From bouquets to corsages, to handpicked flowers from your garden, Nell creates beautiful framed pressed pieces which are the perfect gift for any occasion.

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We caught up with Nell and learned more about her business, her passion for flora, and her new space.

Nell Stritch, owner of Pressed Flowers by Nell, pictured with Richard Lynch at her new studio on Roches Street, Limerick. Picture: Beth Pym/ilovelimerick

When did you start preserving flowers in this way and creating these pieces?   

I started pressing flowers when I was a young child with my grandmother, Nancy Lawless, who founded Lawless Flowers with my mum Helen. I used to enjoy watching them and helping out too, and when I finished school I started working at Lawless Flowers straight away. I trained as a florist, but I saw a massive gap in the market on this side of the country for pressed and dried flowers. I started pressing flowers for myself, and then eventually for customers!

How did you come up with this idea of creating gifts by pressing flowers?

A lovely lady who I knew got married about four years ago and insisted that I press her gorgeous bouquet as she wanted to keep it forever, so I said I would give it ago. Thankfully it turned out amazing and is now the pride of place in her home. She recommended me to all her friends and people started contacting me, so it grew naturally while I still worked at Lawless Flowers. In October 2019 I opened Pressed Flowers by Nell and have been pressing flowers full time since. I believe in the expression ‘do what you love and you will never have to work a day in your life’. I get a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment every day from my job which I am so lucky I do.

How do you feel your new studio will benefit your work and your business?

I feel that my new studio really shows what my work is about, it’s a wonderful place for me to display my pressed bouquets which will be for sale, and it will be very convenient for my customers to meet me in the city centre. It is a gorgeous cosy space which offers a private one-on-one service, as I intend to work by appointment only.

What do you offer to customers that is different from other floral businesses?

I offer a service that will turn any flower or bouquet into a beautiful piece of artwork in a professional frame that will last forever. I have pressed flowers and dried flower bouquets for sale from my own collection, and I make unusual and pretty headpieces that are popular for hen parties and other events. I also spread my passion by traveling to various venues providing floral arrangement classes and giving floral demonstrations.

What is the process you go through when creating a piece?

When creating a piece, if it is for a bride, I would arrange a consultation at the studio, within two to seven days after the wedding day. We have a chat and they usually give me an idea of what style they are thinking of for the finished piece. I then spend time pressing the bouquet petal by petal and leaf by leaf, and throughout the next six weeks I check on the flowers in the press most days. I then go to Thomas Street Framers and pick out a few frames that I think will suit the piece and send them to the customer, as they then decide on their favourite. The customer then collects their piece of artwork made from their wedding bouquet, and they will have it forever.

What’s next for Pressed Flowers by Nell?

I have a few demonstrations planned for the next year – some in limerick and some up the country. I also hope to start giving floristry classes and would like to start doing more dried bouquets to sell from the studio. I love competing in floral art competitions and hope to enter some this year and next too. In 2018 I won a silver medal at Bloom, and hope to enter again this year. The Chelsea flower show is also one which I definitely plan to enter next year. I am involved in the Limerick Garden Festival this July and am really excited for it as I am organising a floral competition too, so I have a nice exciting year ahead.

Opened Monday to Thursday from 9 am to 5 pm, you can make an appointment with Nell by popping into the studio on the first floor of 54 Roches Street, or by contacting her on 085101331, or at [email protected].

For more information on Pressed Flowers by Nell, click here.

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