Transformations, Calm, and Flamboyance: An Interview with Cass Scully
/Cass Scully is a talented florist and budding interior designer who has been working
at Nauti Studios in Hazelbrook in the Blue Mountains.
We asked Cass some red hot Qs to get a behind the scenes look at the world,
and inspirations behind her amazing work.
Cass Scully; a designer who curates custom colour palettes, constructs sculptural botanic designs and cultivates spatial concepts for events, interiors and brands.
Tea or coffee?
I love both! You’ll often find me brewing a herbal tea in the evening to unwind but I live by my oat milk coffees. They get me through the early Flower Market morning runs!
Sunrise or sunset?
Sunrise and first light are positively dreamy. When I see them, it means I have a beautiful flower filled day ahead of me.
What scares you?
Big waves! Flimsy old staircases and heights.. AND ZOMBIES! I guess I’m a fraidy cat.😉
Colour and finishing designs in progress with Cass Scully.
Cass’ designed and styled dreamy dried, preserved and fresh seasonal blooms.
Tell us about ‘By Cass Scully’!
I have a passion for flowers, colour, texture and print. I also love how these elements can work together to transform a room, a church or a restaurant into a space with a distinct personality which reflects a family, couple or business. By Cass Scully was a way for me bring my preferred mediums of botanics and interior design under one Cass-shaped umbrella.
I began working with some talented friends at TalkInk Studio over lockdown and they really helped me to communicate my personality into my business and brand. I love it so much!
When did you start working with flowers?
Nature is the original artist and I’ve always appreciated the calming and centering qualities that nature can provide. I started my formal studies after moving up to the Blue Mountains back in 2016.
What inspires you and your work?
Everything! Music and art, films and sculpture. I’m also inspired by the unique growth and forms of the flowers themselves. They’ll often tell you what needs to go where.
Cass’ floral stylings with Australian native flora, in an Art Deco shoot at The Avalon, in the Blue Mountains.
Up-close you can see the detail and beauty of Cass’ floral design.
What’s your fav thing about Nauti?
The warmth! The gorgeous supportive community of people the Nautis are! It felt like I was welcomed instantly into this beautiful network of creative legends and as someone who hadn’t been in the mountains long, it was so appreciated. It’s getting me emotional just thinking about it!
Afternoon cups of tea and check ins are the loveliest way to destress and share. I find the Nauti kitchen chats are like a knitting circle of advice and funny stories and I couldn’t love them more.
What is the thing you are most proud of?
I’m proud of my passion to learn and continue learning. I love pushing myself as a designer and the things I’ve learned during my studies have been so valuable.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’ve just purchased an incredible dried botanicals business called ‘Oh Blossom’ and I couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s a beautiful, sustainable business that sources and dries local blooms, blossoms and foliages for long-lasting bouquets, designs posies on consignment and for branded opportunities. Go check them out!
Cass in her studio space in the Blue Mountains’ Nauti Studios.
If you were a flower, which one would you be?
I’d like to say a Sweet Pea but I’m not so delicate. I’d be a loud, bright one which is flamboyant like a Gloriosa Lily.
Have any artists changed the way you see the world?
The colour gods: Matisse and De Maistre are a couple I think of straight away!
If you could have dinner with any person dead or alive, who would it be?
Captain Beefheart aka Don van Vliet. He was the coolest, craziest multi-discipline artist, poet and musician and a genius and I would love to sit and listen to his stories.
Some incredible floral design from Cass, focusing on colour, dynamism and focal points. Here she is working with richly coloured terracotta hued Latte Disbuds, contrasted by smooth lines of local lemon Ranunculus, with a bright reprieve from the density of the Disbud, perfumed sherbet coloured Stock, Leucadedron and dried seed pods.
