Phil John Perry - Transcending Floristry
For some the term florist may be enough to describe their passion and enthusiasm surrounding their talent, however this is not the case for Phil John Perry. Even though he is a trained florist, having earned his stripes and worked for several flower shops including Rebel Rebel in London, his work with flowers is only one part of his multifaceted talents: From Art Direction to Film, Set Design and other media like poetry and writing Phil John Perry loves creating through them all.
His work has been featured in Vogue, both American and British, as well as other publications such as Man About Town, Kaltblut, Elle Magazine and Kodd just to name a few.
Growing up Phil has always been driven by his ideas and his creativity which lead him to experiment with acting, drawing and singing before discovering flowers as potential medium channelling his vision and bringing it to life. At the age of seventeen he started to work selling Christmas trees eventually learning the ropes of floristry, only to later break the rules and turn them into his own after ten years of working in retail, visual merchandising and floristry.
“Creating themed shop displays at my work has been the most creative experience for me. My Boss has always had a mind like mine, full of narrative and magic. She has always championed the impossible and ‘out there’ over the mediocre and dull.” but he also admits that: “My formal training in any of my fields has either been awful or non-existent. I often get frustrated with technical skills holding me back in writing and drawing but florals is something I do know because I’ve worked in every part of the industry.”
After moving to London from Manchester, where he grew up, Phil slowly moved towards event and studio-based floristry work which furthered the previous knowledge and craft even more.
With curious experimentation he started to shift his own floral work into the art he is known for today whilst still working for a London based company. Right before leaving the company to establish his own multidisciplinary art practice he was asked by his former bosses to create a piece for the Vogue cover shooting of the September 2018 issue starring none other than Beyoncé.
On the big day of the cover shoot the structures of the commissioned headpiece, that previously had been made by one of his bosses at the time, weren’t working so Phil stepped outside his comfort zone following his own intuition and created both headdresses, one of which made it onto the cover. As many may have guessed, this experience of owning his innert creativity and stepping up to elevate himself is what changed not only the way he was seeing himself and his art, but also the way he approaches his work now:
“I was lucky enough to be on a wave at that particular point in time and it paid off. I was already leaving that particular company and that job really cemented my own need to be in control creatively from that point on (control of my element only of course). I approach work now from my point of view, the same way I did that day. I lose out on lots of “posh” jobs because of it but the jobs I do under my business, I most of the time love because of making that choice. I also don’t change my style to fit. Sometimes you have to add elements but if a client wants a pretty wild meadow I suggest they go to another person or company and that I have learned is a ok thing to do. I have that luxury because I also work a day job. I’d rather work a day job and only do the work I want personally than full time be making things I don’t like. I did that for many years and it wasn’t healthy for me. When I first started up alone I did a lot of event work and commercial stuff and made good money but I was doing what I did when I was working for other companies and it wasn’t making me happy so I stopped.”
Whilst describes his own work as “Polarising and loud”, Phil is also generously sharing what inspires his craft and how he is continuing to propel himself forward, on his own terms:
“I’m inspired by everything, I’m mainly on fire, idea wise, when I’m feeling love or even the opposite. Most people are like that. I will see the shape of something in nature and it will inspire me to make something that compliments it’s weight or balance. I find mechanics are more important than the pretty bit. Headdress wise, the challenge against gravity inspires me. “ Besides besing obsessed with space he also loves to draw from peoples character´s, mythology, and science: “I also watch a tonne of history and science documentaries. I watch them before I go to sleep everyday. YouTube is a fountain of documentary style ASMR”.
Phil continues: ”A lot of folk talk about mindfulness and meditation and for me that’s what happens when I’m making. Everything else disappears and I’m consumed by the world I am making. I don’t know what I would be like if I didn’t have that. However it’s equally frustrating when you just can’t get in to a flow. I used to try and force it but now I know that I just can’t, it comes in waves and I can only surf when the wave comes. Commercial work is different, I can create what is needed whenever, when it’s not my concept but that’s not art that is designing. To make for a brand or event that has given the theme is work for me, I love it and often love what I make but it doesn’t require getting in to a zone for me. When the two worlds collide is when it’s amazing, that is very rare though.”
Artist like Phil often find the recent fashion trends of picture perfect feeds on Instagram and highly curated looks tailored to the audience difficult to apply to their own craft. It is when storytelling gets custom made: Made to be liked instead of being made for the purpose of the story itself.
Especially when working with concepts, doubts about the right type of image are common Phil explains. However there are ways to overcome these doubts by honing into what matters in the first place which is making Art: “I was having more fun when I was poking fun at myself and making Art because I wanted to make it. Recently when I’ve felt those doubts, I’ve been brave and put something out there that I know people will think isn’t “cool”. So now I just shut my eyes and jump! To quote the person who has inspired me most: If everyone likes it, that means it’s not good.
“This is so true” Phil says with glimmering eyes: “Especially in this Instagram-Likes obsessed world. I know what I would have to do to get a load of followers and likes and it would be easy but it wouldn’t be me or interesting. It would be a pot plant being held shirtless or a wild pastel arrangement.”
It has been the passion of staying true to himself, and well outside the box, that has enabled him to make the work he enjoys most: Not honing in on one medium but combining them all and jumping over his own shadow once in a while. With new challenges arising like the current Covid-19 issues and heavily influencing the event industry Phil shares some of his thoughts: “I found it difficult at first and with my mum being an NHS worker I went a little nuts. I got angry with seeing lots of self deprecation. It solidified many of my views that I didn’t want to solidify.
I was feeling useless so I decided to do whatever I could to entertain and create! I used it to reach out to fellow creatives and chat live on my Instagram which has inspired me so much. So many artists are doing incredible things. Now I’m in a flow and for the first time in over a decade I’m free from routine and the fight for work! I’ve just been flooded with ideas and made so much with my time. I’ve made an audiobook, a tonne of florals, a new super hero inspired by the key workers, been singing again and writing. It’s been a telling time for working class artists and made me respect how valuable time is for us and how it has been stolen. Also it has show me the importance of being silly and not trying to projecting “chic”, I’m just not and never have been. I have to say I don’t know what lots of people were doing with all their time before quarantine. Overall it’s been humbling, thought provoking and shackle releasing.”
Phil John Perry is indeed an artist of a new generation of creators and visionaries that share their bold ideas by making them happen in whatever way they feel comfortable. By any means and media possible. Reflecting back to where he came from Phil would tell a younger version of himself to ”Trust the friends you value as your friendship group won’t change that much.” as well as: “Know that you’re going to meet Beyonce so it’s all going to be ok!” and last but not least the main mantra in his life: “To be braver and not listen to those who tell you to not put all your eggs in one basket. Put them all in one basket! You will do it anyway!”
Currently Phil is continuing to run and further his own business as well as writing a TV show pilot and editing his screenplay all on top of bringing his ideas and unique vision to world.
If you want to learn more about the many talents of Phil John Perry, why not dive into a piece of his mind:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philjohnperrystudio/
Homepage: https://philjohnperry.com
