struggle. You see, the only way to buy fl owers back in the 60’s meant a crack of dawn start at Covent Garden, so with two children under four and a husband who left at six, running a shop was fast becoming a no-no. Reluctantly, she gave up retail, in theory to become a domestic Goddess at home. “I hated it. I loathed


domesticity at the best of times, was bored rigid and while I loved the children, doing the coff ee morning and play group circuit was not my scene.” So, at the suggestion of a


good friend, she applied to The Florist Magazine, which had been launched in 1949, to write articles. “I knew about fl oristry, still had a lot of friends in the industry and it was something I could do around the family. I never met Mr Price, the then owner, but we built up a good rapport over the phone and for three years I regularly fed stories through by post.” Then disaster struck. Mr


Price was taken into hospital and suddenly the future of the magazine seemed doomed. “I got a friend to drive me over to Croydon to visit him in hospital, admittedly a slightly odd way of meeting your boss for the fi rst time and asked if there was anything I could do. He asked me to consider buying the magazine and keep it going… I think he knew he was dying.” But while Mr Price did die


shortly afterwards, the seed had been sown and with Derek’s support, and an advance on the housekeeping, Jayne decided to buy the magazine. Two weeks later ‘Jayne the


fl orist’ became ‘Jayne the publisher’! “Did I know what I was doing? Not really! I didn’t know what a point size was, hadn’t a clue how to lay out a magazine and couldn’t spell. But I read voraciously, looked at how other magazines worked and decided I needed an editorial, some news


“I automatically went into a full court curtsey… an interesting manoeuvre when you’re holding a bucket of fl owers and scissors!” When Jayne met the Queen while decorating her private bathroom at The Ideal Home Show. Seen here after their “meeting”


“I sound like an angry old woman but I do think skill standards have slipped and that perhaps there isn’t the same pride in fl oristry as there was.”


pages, interesting products and information.” Oh yes and plenty of tips


and design advice. Because if Jayne had one mission it was to bring to the readers more information on trends, design and tips. Not just her thoughts but those of the people she knew in the industry. “A successful trade magazine is the bringing together of information and so, as Editor, my job was to be the conduit. Constantly extending the information line to make sure I was passing on everything and facilitating discussion, thought and networking through the printed word.” But there was one other major


change to make. “Having been a reader, I remembered that when you put it down on the bench, having a green cover meant it could get lost amongst the fl owers and foliage. I wanted my magazine to stand out so told the printers to fi nd as bright a red as the Christian Dior nail varnish I always wore. Maybe not the most classic way to choose a colour but it worked.” And indeed, for over 30 years, until four colour printing became the norm, red remained the corporate colour. The early days were a mixture


of Heath Robinson make-do and sheer gut determination, based on passion rather than any proven publishing experience. “My fi rst offi ce was a broom cupboard under the stairs, then a caravan in the back garden, followed by a second because there was so much paperwork. Derek did the proof-reading, the kids were roped in to stuff envelopes and, when they were old enough to reach the stove, make their own supper! We only had one phone line but always implied there were dozens of us by saying we’d pass their request on to the right department… which was usually me putting on a diff erent voice!” And it was one of those phone calls, back in 1977, which launched the next stage of the company’s development. “One of the bosses at Grand Met hotels rang me to see if I could help them put on an event for a group of American fl orists who were ‘doing’ Europe. They wanted a weekend of activity… but didn’t know what. “I’d always wanted a


gathering of fl orists in the UK and saw this as the perfect opportunity to launch something


F&wb Spring 2013 >> 71


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