The floral journal

Stories from the studio

Consider this your invitation into the studio. Here's a little peek at how Petal Anthology come to life, one petal at a time.

A hand holding a large, rustic dried flower bouquet featuring cream and white roses, baby's breath, pampas grass, and green foliage in a workshop setting.

How it started

Preserving a moment in bloom

I remember pressing flowers as a child, picking blossoms from the garden and putting them into books for months while they dry. In 2020 when I discovered resin preservation I was drawn back in like a moth to a flame.

A circular logo for Casting Florals featuring delicate botanical line art with pink flowers, green leaves, and dark green text on a white background, framed by a soft pink and dark green border.

The Beginning

The beauty of pressed botanicals

The beginning was simple, a way to fall in love with florals and learn a lot about the difference between botanicals and chemicals.

A collection of various bouquets and floral arrangements displayed in different sized clear resin, with a pink bow in the foreground.

From New Zealand

Made with love and care

In my small at home studio in Motumaoho in the Waikato creating special pieces which preserved the memories they held, became a special kind of job.

A wooden shadow box with a 400 x 400 mm opening, containing a bouquet of dried flowers arranged neatly within it.

Botanical stories

The next logical steps

In 2023 I introduced shadow box preservation. Born from resin being too heavy to hang on a wall, I wanted to create something that would work for those clients who wanted a piece of hanging art work from their precious memories rather than a display block.

Floral-themed notepad with a pen holder and flowers on a light surface

The next steps

Designing something special

In 2024 I was spending most days in a office with no personality, and could never find interesting stationery that made that time more interesting. Bare in mind this is my office, in my house. I decided it was time to make something pretty just for myself. This started my beautiful stationery.

Framed pressed flower wall art featuring dried botanical stems and buds arranged on a white mat inside a white frame, photographed on a light surface with a small plant blurred in the background.

revisiting

It was time to revisit

I put pressing flowers aside early on in the casting florals journeys because I couldn't get the results I wanted. But recently having revisited my pressing methods and switching up how the flowers are displayed it was time to come back to my preservation beginnings.

A circular logo design featuring the letters 'P' and 'A' in dark green serif font, with a delicate floral illustration in the upper left and a small leaf motif between the letters, all on a white background.

and Now

Introducing Petal Anthology

This year when all these changes started coming together into something more than just casting florals I realised it was time for a bigger change. A change in direction, a change in meaning and a change in name. After many considerations Anthology seemed like the best word to encompass everything. "from anthos 'flower' and logia 'collection', denoted a collection of the 'flowers' of verse".