Founders Lizzie Powell and Latoyah Lovatt have redefined modern floristry with their incredible installations and spectacular designs. Spearheaded by Lizzie and Latoyah’s talent and ingenuity and fuelled by the social media boom floral installations are taking centre stage in events right now. This brilliant duo are the team behind those inspiring visual displays that you will have seen around London and all over Instagram. With 50k social media followers and a client list of celebrities and leading brands, the team behind Early Hours are not only highly creative and hard working but are also wonderful individuals. Even though their impressive work fills Instagram feeds as well as featuring in luxury magazines and style sections, both Lizzie and Latoyah remain humble and kind people.
“Nature is our inspiration and our starting point. We are known for the mix of mediums that we bring into our work... Even when a design doesn’t use fresh flowers, we have customers telling us how good it smells!”
I started taking photographs of the Early Hours installations years ago when I saw their very first vibrant floral display at the Ivy Chelsea Garden. For years (yes, years!) I chased them around London, often showing up a few hours after they had completed one of their trademark floral facades and going out of my way to travel places where I knew they had installed a beautiful display. My followers loved their creations and always wanted more. I was always intrigued by the founders behind Early Hours and when I finally met Lizzie and Latoyah I was taken aback by how down to earth and generous they were. Both also have young families making their success even more impressive. I visited Lizzie a few weeks ago at their studio in south London to catch up after lockdown and ask her a bit more about their partnership.
When did you both decide that it was the moment to start a business together? What was your thought process?
We always worked together really well, initially we met when we were both working at Jane Packer, a florist and designer based in Marylebone. We then went our separate ways, had our own distinct businesses and were self employed. Our partnership began when we started supporting each other during our respective maternity leaves, in a very organic way we started collaborating and helping each other with various projects until we realised it was so much more fun for us to work together as a team.
“We play to one another’s strengths and never let a difference of opinion get in the way of our bond which is fundamental to how we are able to effectively work together.”
It was so much easier to share the burden that running a businesses brings; there are so many pressures and a problem shared really is a problem halved. Neither of us has ego in terms of one of us wanting to shine brighter than the anyone else, we just want to be good at what we do and that’s so much easier to do in a team. Our strengths and personalities are so different, that we both bring a unique perspective and different skill sets to our business. When things go well, its so much better to share that with a partner.
You both have quite different personalities, how do you work together?
We actually work together in perfect harmony. Lizzie focuses on the design and creating a project’s concept and Latoyah is focused on the craft and organising the team to get the job done. We are two really different characters and have known each other for years. When we started Early Hours we were both really advanced in our skill sets and confident in our abilities. It just works! We play to one another’s strengths and never let a difference of opinion get in the way of our bond which is fundamental to how we are able to effectively work together.
Do you have any advice for people starting their own business?
When we started we worked unbelievable hours because we wanted to make it work. You need to be prepared to work harder than ever before. Its important to set manageable goals and not to expect overnight miracles. We started slowly, the business developed with us and we adapted to it as we went along. Its also important to have a thick skin, try not to be easily offended or too sensitive - there will be lots of different people and personalities along the way and your focus should be getting the job done. We always make sure that we’re always generous with our time. offer value for what we do and make sure we work as hard as possible to make our clients dreams a reality.
“You need to be prepared to work harder than ever before... We started slowly, the business developed with us and we adapted to it as we went along.”
What is the inspiration behind your installations?
Nature is our inspiration and our starting point. We are known for the mix of mediums that we bring into our work, but we always want to make it look organic. Even when a design doesn’t use fresh flowers, we have customers telling us how good it smells! Its the illusion of nature we create through shape, texture and movement. From celebrity weddings to iconic restaurant openings, nature always takes the centre stage in our studio’s stunning designs, including the striking rainbow tribute we created for the launch of Clap for Carers this summer. Other sources of inspiration include art where we find ideas for striking colour palettes, music videos and mimicking the form and movement of different fabrics and textures with flowers.
You have played a large role in the trend of floral installations, how will you keep evolving your designs?
We fell into floral installations by accident, both of us are trained florists. We started by making floral decorations around doorways for special events such as Valentine’s day for some of our restaurant clients and it all escalated very quickly. With endless opportunity for creativity, flowers bring joy and celebration to any occasion.
It does seem that recently everyone has picked up on this trend of floral installations, however we don’t just work with flowers, we work with all different types of materials. In a sense, floral installations have evolved into art installations, they are an extension of window displays. Our designs have always evolved depending on changing trends in fashion and in art, so it is easy for us to keep moving with the times. We usually base our installations around things which are current and quite relevant.
“We will keep being more and more creative as our briefs get more sophisticated... lacking in ideas is rarely an issue that we have, rather what we look forward to is the opportunity to create more and more challenging requests.”
We will keep being more and more creative as our briefs get more sophisticated. We are only limited by budget and what the customer wishes to do lacking in ideas is rarely an issue that we have, rather what we look forward to is the opportunity to create more and more challenging requests. We will keep on evolving as art and fashion continues to change.
How do you manage running a business along with having young families, especially given the very early start to your working day?
That’s a very good question! Latoyah and I are very lucky to have each other, and this is one of the reasons why having a business partner is so wonderful. I have a four year old, and Latoyah has a ten year old but we always “tag in and out”. We have a motto that we always put family first, so if something is happening with family the other one will always will step up no questions asked. It’s great to be supporting each other and somehow it just always works out.
Although we have small families, we also rely on family to help us. Both of us feel very blessed because as a business we have never missed anything partly because we both can rely on the other to step up whenever is necessary.
“We have a motto that we always put family first, so if something is happening with family the other one will always will step up no questions asked.”
In some ways the early starts are good as we get back home early and we are able to get involved in both aspects of life, however what it does mean is that we are often completely exhausted. We do lead a double day, working very intensively from the very early mornings until about two in the afternoon and then we step into our mum roles. We are lucky to have a huge team who are very supportive.
What is your favourite installation?
Its so difficult to pick one installation, we have so many wonderful memories associated with the different installations that we have worked on throughout the years. Of course, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show always brings wonderful installations and one of our favourites is a english meadow installation for the Ivy Chelsea Garden, the height of the installation made a really wonderful impact. We also loved a recent one for Bills in Soho, with its tulle and dramatic effect around the façade, it was a unique concept and received a really positive reception.
You can find out more about Early Hours Ltd at https://www.earlyhours.co.uk/
Photography courtesy of Binky Nixon or Nataly Jennings