His name has long since been associated with luxury, abundance and exclusivity. 
Not only has he acquired an extensive list of accolades and awards with five consecutive RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medals at the age of just 25, he has also stayed true to the craftsmanship of floristry itself, continuing to hone his skill both in design and business manners:  His name is Joseph Massie and this is his story.

Joseph began his floral journey quite early at the age of fourteen, escaping his day-to-day school life trying to find his identity in the north of England: A saturday job that started an unknown passion and fire lead him to become one of the world ́s top florists a few years later after his formal training.

“Working with flowers at such a young age was never something that I particularly intended to do, and it was never something I had a passion for to be honest, but at the same time it was something that I was incredibly grateful for because it enabled me to find something that I really did love and now pursue with a generous passion.” Joseph continues sharing his early experiences with floristry: “It was very basic work - selling bunches and gift bouquets, we weren't doing the most amazing installations or working with luxurious clients. I think it says a lot that I still loved it and found enjoyment in the work. Now, having the business that I have, I get to work with flowers in more thrilling ways for the clients that we have - it makes me feel really, really lucky.” 

After his formal training he started to compete, from national competitions to international awards.  “I think my motivation primarily came from the fact that I was a really ambitious, hard working and, kind of driven, teenager. I was good at school work, but I also put the best into everything that I did, and I guess I figured out relatively early as a teenager that the more you put in, the more you get out, and I find that usually if you work hard and you do your best, then you will be successful and good things will happen.” He continues: “My motivation was to put myself out there, build my skills and really see what could happen. When I entered my first competition I had know idea what it would lead to and no idea that I would end up where I am now, with many more competitions under my belt.”

Joseph soon learned that competing lead to a wider recognition, beyond his work in a flower shop and also setting himself apart from any other floral-design collages at the time due to the constant feedback from professionals. He used each competition to test new skills and develop new ideas that were vital for his later journey. Besides these award he gathered through his ambition, Joseph worked with leading designers like Gregor Lersch, Per Benjamin and Elly Lin, consistently learning new ways to work and reflect his own artistic preferences. He adds: “It took me a really long time to find my own style, my own voice and my own way of doing things because I was exposed to so much so young.”

With having achieved a gold medal at the age of 21 Joseph knew he was on the right path for his career setting out to gain even more knowledge and accolades before founding his own business in his mid-twenties, as he previously imagined.

At the age of 25 Joseph finally felt ready to take the leap into starting his own business. 
Yet instead of deciding to go down one route he build a multi-hyphen career compromising a flower school that runs workshops and classes, a flower studio focussed on luxury wedding design work and events as well as a branch focusing on large installations and fine art prints all tied together by Jospeh himself. Having more than one focus allows him to live out his many inspirations he gathers from fashion designers like Iris van Herpen and Alexander McQueen, iconic architecture and any visual research he is doing regarding his designs for clients and his flower school. His secret seems simple: “Don’t be lazy. Don’t just stay on the surface, go deeper and start to explore the why behind the curiosity - explore all these little hints and these little kind of whispers towards accessing building your own vocabulary, your own creativity. Whether you’re ignited by a particular type of wood, Macassar for example, or whether you love a particular stone or even a particular palette of hues that you just cannot ever stop dreaming about.”

With a global pandemic restricting events and wedding design work as well as other parts within the industry Joseph shared his experience, expectations and developments that formed around Covid-19, leaving him to shift his ideas onto new ventures. He has created an online membership program that allows Joseph to teach floral design and share his depth of knowledge whilst also touching important issues such as sustainability and eco-consciousness in design work:

“Our world has been turned upside down by the pandemic, but I have seen so much resilience and so much hope and so much creativity come through from our own students in our online classes and in our hands-on school this year of finding new ways to operate their business, and finding new ways to make things work for them. I think that is the most inspirational thing. “ Resilience is not only showing up through the shifts in business strategy but also the way Joseph is approaching his own creativity and outlets of presenting the brand he has created in the recent years: “Despite the craziness of 2020, I still remain pretty hopeful, and I think we have weathered it relatively well. We have managed to stay on track and true to our values, and I am just really excited to spring forward. We have got several sculptures under way, and we are looking to host some really exciting events in 2021, should restrictions allow.” 

Last but not least the advice one would give a younger self is always a question asked to any
of the talented creatives featured on “The Horticulturist” and Joseph gladly answered: 
“I would tell myself, to ‘just keep on going’ because I have to say that I have been in this industry for fifteen years now and I still love every single bit of it, and every bit of what I do.
I am very, very lucky to be able to say that I am still passionate about what I do; I love the clients that we have, the projects that we get to work on, the materials we get to work with, the places I get to travel to, and I have to say that I do feel incredibly lucky and I wouldn't change a thing.” 
 
If you like to follow the journey Joseph is currently venturing on, do follow him on: 
 
Instagram
or through his Homepage.