Chevonne Nicholas’ passion is floristry. The 21-year-old Little River resident speaks to Adem Saban about life in the small town and her career as an apprentice florist.
How long have you lived in Little River?
My whole life – mum and dad bought that house 26 years ago.
What can you tell me about life growing up in Little River?
There’s a lot of space. We’re on five acres, just by the You Yangs. I love just being by the You Yangs and being able to go for a bike ride or for a walk to the top. The view is pretty good. You’re in nature, not in a concrete city.
What do you love most about it?
It’s a small town – there’s a great community spirit. Everybody sticks together. I remember when the local CFA needed a new tanker, everybody got together and raised money to fund it.
How did you get into floristry?
My love of nature growing up really contributed to it. My nan and great nan were also florists – but it skipped mum (she became a hairdresser). I went to Marjorie Milner College (floristry school) and they got me placement at the florist I’m now working at on Station Place in Werribee.
Do you ever source materials from your property?
Absolutely. I use stumps I find as bases and all sorts of Australian natives from our family property.
What’s life like on Station Place?
Very busy. A lot of people come in on their way to the cemetery. Valentine’s Day has just passed us, which also kept us busy. We do a lot of debutantes, too, and occasionally some weddings. We see all sorts of people coming in.
What do you love most about your work?
That feeling when you turn a box around and show people their arrangement and they get excited. Also, a little bit morbid, but funerals – it’s the last thing you can do for a person before they’re gone forever. It’s lovely to do that. It’s definitely rewarding. But it’s a hard job. The end product is lovely but getting there is hard.
Tell me a bit about the WorldSkills competition.
It’s a competition for tradesmen and women around Australia in October and I’ve been chosen to compete. I’ll have to make five different arrangements. I earned the spot after getting a silver medal in floristry in the 2015 WorldSkills Australian Regional Competition. I’ve also placed in five other national and international competitions, with three first places and two thirds.
