“I’ve had a passion for flowers from the time I was born. My grandmother was a florist, my mother was a florist and I grew up in my aunty Betty Budge’s flower shop in Whangarei.
As a little girl, I watched my mother, Glenys Chauval, and Aunty Betty at work. Green floral foam wasn’t used back then, so they arranged the flowers the old-fashioned way, with wire netting and toothpicks.
I’ve always loved the beauty of flowers and how they make people happy. Picking flowers from the garden, giving them to someone and seeing their smile is a really lovely feeling.
Although floristry’s my passion and career, I didn’t train as a florist when I left school. I trained as a hairdresser. It’s similar to floristry because of the creativity and artistry. But if you cut a flower wrong, it doesn’t yelp!
I love motorsport and used to race motorbikes. But flowers aren’t as hard on the body!
Working with flowers is a chance to let the imagination run wild.
I moved to Tauranga with my husband Ashley, where we ran a farm for 20 years before I started my business, A Floral Affair.
The impetus for this was being made redundant from my job as manager of a flower market. It was devastating at the time but, with the support of Ashley and our sons, John (31) and Gavin (29), I decided to devote myself to my floral work – teaching, demonstrations and floral art.
I wanted to understand why and how plants grow so I went to polytech and studied for a Diploma in Horticulture.
Nine years ago, I joined the Tauranga Floral Art Group, never dreaming of the journey of imagination and creativity I’d be taken on. Floral art allows you to create amazing work – you can let your imagination run wild.
The last show I did was The Secret Garden. There was a harpist and fairies dancing in the garden; it was very theatrical.
In June, I was chosen by the Floral Art Society to represent New Zealand at the World Association of Flower Arrangers Show in Dublin, where I had to create an exhibition – live on stage – to reflect New Zealand.
I wowed the audience with three huge koru bound in shredded flax and sisal, then draped in foliage and flowers embedded with paua shells, taking people on a journey from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island.
Francine made these amazing koru live on stage at this year’s World Association of Flower Arrangers Show.
My inspiration comes from nature and what I see and feel inside. Flowers are from the heart and so are my designs. I enjoy turning them into theatre, art, fantasy and fun.
My favourite is the bearded iris. When other flowers struggle, the iris puts up a new bloom as if to say, ‘It’s okay. I’m here!’ It was also the first thing to grow in the garden where my husband and I first lived, and that same plant has travelled with us for the last 34 years.
I love teaching the everyday person to do flowers – picking what’s in your garden and making something to enjoy.”
