So you want to be a… flower designer

Rebel Rebel is the green-fingered duo behind Beyoncé’s floral headdress for Tyler Mitchell’s debut Vogue cover shoot, as well as the flowers in the final episode of Fleabag. We speak to its founders about why the flower game is worth the long hours and hard graft

Even if you haven’t heard of Rebel Rebel, chances are you’ll have seen their carefully crafted floral creations all over Instagram. The florist business was founded by Mairead Curtin and Athena Duncan in 2000, after both of them had quit their jobs in TV.

Fast forward almost two decades, and Rebel Rebel boasts an impressive client list including Mayfair institution Sketch, BAFTA and Vogue (more on that later), a shop in Hackney hipster hangout Mare Street Market, a workshop space also in Hackney, and an outpost in Tuscany.

Here, Curtin and Duncan discuss how to go about setting up a flower design business, the value of work experience, and why the job will never just consist of glamorous magazine shoots and trips to Italy.