Lucy Rayner lost touch with the magic and creativity of nature she relished as a child and her mental health was suffering. She found herself taking trips to a local florist on her lunch break and found there was something immensely healing about buying flowers; she would take them back to her desk feeling a little bit lighter each time.

She found entering a florist shop somewhat daunting; she rarely had a clue what she was buying and always had a budget to stick to. It inspired her nonetheless and she took a leap of faith: She left the comfort (and salary) of her advertising job and enrolled on a course at McQueens’s Flower School.

She wanted to make choosing flowers more accessible and enjoyable for ordinary people like her who simply enjoyed the experience choosing flowers, so she launched a pop-up flower stall. Here, people could get more for their flower spend with unfussy, artisan flowers that would dry well and could be enjoyed for longer.

She launched Flower Tonic with two goals in mind: a flower bar that could offer a more creative, fun and accessible flower-buying experience, and mindful flower workshops that bring nature and creativity back into peoples’ lives.

She hopes the Flower Tonic offering will allow nature to heal, promote mindfulness and boost wellbeing, just as it has done for her.