Vicki Roycroft and Zoe Southwood met when Zoe attended a workshop taught by Vicki on Waiheke Island. They now work alongside each other at Wildflower Waiheke, each specialising in their chosen field and bound by a love of flowers.
Vicki
Zoe and I met when I started the Wildflower School about five years ago. She rang up the day before the course started and joined knowing nothing about flowers.
It was a wonderful group, but Zoe was outstanding – it was immediately clear she had a natural talent for flowers and she came to work for us during the next four wedding seasons.
A couple of years ago, I mentioned I was approaching 20 years of doing wedding flowers on the island and that it was time to focus more on the school and pass the wedding side to somebody else. She didn’t say anything, but a few days later got in touch to ask: “Would you consider passing on your baby to me?” I said, “You’d be absolutely perfect.”
I shared as much as I could, letting her become more and more in charge while I was still there in the background. Then, I totally stepped away to allow her to run it the way she wants. It’s amazing to see how she interacts with the brides, and the quality of her work is incredible. She’s doing so well.
We work closely together but still have control over our separate domains and consult each other all the time. It’s so lovely because she’s helping me out in the school, and I still have some connection to the weddings as well. We are on the same wavelength when it comes to style elements and can talk about anything – just sparking ideas off each other.
Zoe is really positive and enthusiastic, very bubbly, and stunningly gorgeous. She’s also a bit of a tomgirl, very real and can be a bit goofy, which I really like about her. We always have a good laugh together. She’s very good with marketing, bringing a whole new level of style to everything she does. She presents everything really beautifully, which I love.
I’m so proud of Zoe. She’s only 25 but is doing amazing work and Wildflower’s going from strength to strength. I feel totally confident in her and love that Wildflower still feels like it should do. I’m excited to see how she pushes the business even further.
Zoe
The first time I met Vicki was when I did the Wildflower School. I had never touched flowers in my life and really came a long way in three weeks, so I told Vicki that I’d love to join the Wildflower team.
We were having a cup of tea one day when she mentioned she was thinking of selling the business. I mentioned it to my dad and he asked why I didn’t buy it. I was only 24 and thought there was no way I could, but he really encouraged me. So, I called Vicki and we had a chat. We decided the best way would be for me to take over the wedding side, which allows her to continue to run the school without having to give up flowers completely.
We chat about everything – she’s kind of like a second mum, or a friend, and it’s been incredible to have a mentor at all stages. If I have a question, I always go to her as she has 20 years’ experience and knows what she’s doing. We have a lot of similar interests, and we bounce ideas off each other and balance each other out.
When it comes to flowers and workshops and going overseas, Vicki is the eternal optimist. She has a great sense of humour and great style. She always knows a beautiful store somewhere in New Zealand, or a reference from art history – she has great taste and the ability to find beautiful things all the time.
She’s also incredibly generous. She’s not in any way threatened by exposing her knowledge. For many, opening the behind the scenes of your business to others going into the same industry could be very threatening, but she’s so willing to teach people. She wants everyone to be involved and to enjoy themselves.
It’s been such a pleasure to meet and work with Vicki. She has been such an instrumental figure in my life, and it’s been, frankly, life changing. The fact that she trusted me to take over the business she spent 20 years building is incredibly humbling. My life now revolves around flowers and my business and that wouldn’t have been possible without her.
We work closely together but still have control over our separate domains and consult each other all the time.
Words — Melanie Dower
Photography — Trelise Von Sturmer
