An Interview with Vicki Baker, Uncut Stems
To celebrate the launch of the Autumnus Vase for BATCH 1, we got in touch with our friend Vicki, founder of Uncut Stems, to see if she’d like to create something for us. Luckily she said yes and it has been a joy to see how Vicki and her colleague Louisa decided to style the vase.
Uncut Stems is, put simply, a flower club. But it’s so much more! It’s a flower subscription that champions British flowers, and therefore all the seasonal intricacies of doing so. I just wish they covered Sheffield! I asked Vicki some questions about Uncut Stems…
The Autumnus Vase, styled by Uncut Stems
Tell us a bit about how Uncut Stems came about - had you been brewing the idea for a while before you launched?
Uncut Stems was born out of lockdown. I’d been a creative producer and stylist for some time before but all of my booked work cancelled in March 2020 as the magnitude of the COVID crisis started to dawn on us.
I’d always loved flowers and had wanted to learn more about them for a long time. I would take apart flowers sent to me keen to learn more and craved information on each stem, which I wasn’t getting. I wanted to understand where the flowers came from, if they were in season, why did the grower pick that flower and what happened to the flowers that didn’t get picked?
In a bid to learn more I started buying flowers from local growers and delivering them to friends, unarranged, in buckets around London and with a letter describing what each flower is, where it came from and how to care for it. We’d all share how we’d styled them under the hashtag #showusyourStems and Uncut Stems was born!
You only use flowers grown in Britain for Uncut Stems - how big a challenge is that? Is it tricky finding suppliers and growers?
Supply chain is our biggest challenge but the industry is blossoming alongside demand. It’s not an overnight process, the very nature of growing and the seasons forces a certain speed, but alongside our growers we’re building up capacity and are really excited for the future. We are also very much open about the fact that the seasons are tough over here and there may be the odd weeks in the future where we need to source seasonal European flowers, but if we ever do then we’ll always explain our decisions to our customers.
Do you find a lot of your work is in changing a general mindset and promoting seasonality?
Education is a central part of what we’re trying to achieve. Not only seasonality, although that is a large part of it, but also how flowers age. We’re big on editing down your arrangements rather than binning them. Don’t be off-put by a browning flower - pick off it’s petals and leave the stem in the vase as what’s underneath is almost always worth hanging on to!
“Don’t be off-put by a browning flower - pick off it’s petals and leave the stem in the vase as what’s underneath is almost always worth hanging on to!”
I love the illustrations you include in your letters - who makes them? Is writing the letters a labour of love?
I love writing the letters, it feels like a space where we don’t need to be self-conscious (unlike Instagram!) and can really connect directly with our customers.
The illustrations have been a slower burn. After sending out our very first letter with none a friend put her hand up to help and for the first season she drew everything. But things can change at a moments notice in the flower world and I felt terrible asking her for new drawings late at night when a last minute stem substitution had occurred and so, as we had no money, I bought an Apple pen and learnt how to do them myself. Over time I’ve gotten better and now when I’m pulling a letter together I often giggle at the quality of some of the drawings I did late at night last year - they get redrawn of course!
One of the things I love about your flower club is the way you present a really engaging and easy to follow process for arranging the stems. Sometimes it can feel quite intimidating arranging flowers - have you any top tips?
Look at each individual stem and consider it’s shape, colour and texture. What makes it interesting? Can anything be removed (a leaf, a bud, a node) to accentuate it? And after that point don’t over think it, just take stock every now and then to make sure the shape you’re making is pleasing to you. If you’re anything like me that will change a lot over the next couple of days so enjoy the process!
In the studio we love making playlists or listening to audiobooks whilst we make pots. Do you have any favourite music / podcasts to listen to whilst arranging the flowers?
We take it in turns to put on playlists which varies through nostalgia (Phil Collins radio on Spotify is always a winner) to hip hop to to garage to dance. We’ve been working our way through the Mercury nominees this month which has been fun!
“Look at each individual stem and consider it’s shape, colour and texture. What makes it interesting? Can anything be removed (a leaf, a bud, a node) to accentuate it? And after that point don’t over think it, just take stock every now and then to make sure the shape you’re making is pleasing to you. ”
What's your favourite thing about your work?
When customers reach out to tell us about a memory associated with a flower, or to tell us that our flowers have meant something to them or even when they simply message out of curiosity about something. We call ourselves a flower club because we’re all learning from one another and the community we have built is what I am most proud of.
As well as this wonderful community, I’ve also really enjoyed the process of seeking investment. To have others agree that your idea is an exciting prospect has been such a confidence boost. We’re building up toward our next big round and honestly, I’m excited!
“We call ourselves a flower club because we’re all learning from one another and the community we have built is what I am most proud of.”
Many people reading this will want to join Uncut Stems I'm sure, but the club is full! When do you expect to open up the list again? And what's next for Uncut Stems?
It is, but we’ve been working hard on it and are ready to release more London subscription spots on the 23rd September. We have a waiting list here, and those who pop their name down will get first access which we recommend as getting a spot can get quite competitive!
