Meet luxury florist Skye Katz, known for her chic bloom designs. Her creations are strikingly bold and beautiful and make a statement in any room — just like her.

Nothing compares to the feeling of receiving a beautiful arrangement of flowers. No matter the occasion, they are a thoughtful, elegant and beautiful way of commemorating a moment. As luxury florist Skye Katz explains, “When people send flowers, they’re sending them because, a lot of times, there’s nothing else they can do for that person. This person may have everything in the world, but they don’t have a beautiful arrangement.”

If you’ve been lucky enough to receive an arrangement prepared by Katz, you’ve been treated to an abundant collection of orchids, roses and hydrangeas, all composed with Katz’s individual style and sophisticated attention to detail.

The flower guru started in floral design around the time that her third son was born. Today, she has store locations in Toronto and Muskoka, Ont., and is the go-to luxury florist in the Muskoka area. With a loyal following and an impeccable eye for not only florals, but also fashion and design, Katz opened her Flowers Muskoka Shop seven years ago, offering luxury florals and a carefully curated selection of jewelry, home décor and her own private label apparel collection, the Muskoka Summer Club.

Her success in the world of florals has come, perhaps most of all, because of her ability to draw from a wide basket of inspiration. This multidimensional approach has allowed her arrangements to both evolve with time and meet the bespoke tastes of each client, and it’s also why Skye Flowers is more than just a flower shop. As Katz told us, she was initially drawn to the world of fashion, and her entry into the world of flowers came as a surprise to her, so naturally, she has a lot more planned for the future. “I really want to be someone who’s associated with flowers, style, fashion and home décor, but my goal is to create a lot more than just flowers.”

We sat down with Katz to speak about how flowers ignited her vision for the Skye Flowers brand.

Q: What is the biggest difference between your Toronto and Muskoka clientele?

A: The difference is that once they get to Muskoka, they’re ready to relax. They’re ready to have people over. Generally speaking, I have regular clients who will order weekly flowers for their cottage, and so I have much more regular people in Muskoka than in Toronto.

Q: What are some of the trends you’re seeing?

A: I’m always looking for something new. I like the black-and-white vases right now; I’m doing a lot of that. That has been really popular because people like to keep things simple, and I want people to be able to do their own flowers. If you have these vases, you can do them on your own. Or, if you want something more elaborate, I can create that for you.

“I create my arrangements as though I would like to receive them myself”

Q: How do you create your arrangements?

A: I create my arrangements as though I would like to receive them myself. When I create things, they have to make sense, and there’s a pattern I create in my head. I always make sure [the arrangement] is as it can be and as perfectly rounded as possible. There are techniques that I had to teach myself. I knew how I wanted it to look, and it was trial and error using the method that I decided to create.

Q: What is your approach to style?

A: I love fashion. How I dress and my style are a little bit more rock-and-roll, but at the same time, I like classic simplicity. I like to keep it very simple on the base and then wear something really cool that stands out with either a cool bag, a cool jacket or a cool pair of boots. Fashion has always been my thing, and it’s always been a big surprise to me that I got into flowers.

Q: Who do you admire in the industry?

A: I would say Jeff Leatham does great work, over the top. Eric Buterbaugh, my top favourite in L.A. There’s Nicolai Bergmann in Japan. I really, really admire the things that they do with their business.

Q: What is your definition of “art”?

A: I’d say art is personal. It’s whatever has been created by somebody that is a personal reflection of who they are. I think art is not just a painting; art is a creation of something that you put yourself into.

Q: What are some of your hobbies?

A: I’ve always been athletic. In the summer, I run and swim. I’ve always been into working out and doing anything with my kids, like skiing, waterskiing and anything outdoors.

Q: What would be some of the goals you have over the next 10 years with your business?

A: My business is flowers, but my goal is to make it a lot more than that. I’m very grateful and lucky that I have a good client base. Starting in Muskoka, I started gradually carrying different things that were not flowers. I want to grow in other aspects, like fashion, home décor and styling. I want people to be able to look in their home and say, “I bought all these coffee table books at Skye Flowers. I bought these amazing candles at Skye Flowers. I bought this amazing bag at Skye Flowers.”

Q: What is your definition of success?

A: I think success is that you know from the bottom of your heart that you’ve done everything you can and put every effort into doing what you want to do. I think it’s having a challenge put in your way and being able to look at that challenge and accomplish it … and not even realize that you’ve accomplished it and that you’ve actually moved beyond it.

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