Meet Kim, a self-confessed coffee addict and the magic maker behind Natural Nostalgia.
A lover of nature and the outdoors, she is a mom to an adorable little boy, as well as to a host of furry friends.
We chatted with Kim to find out all the in’s and outs behind running a “multitasking” business – floral designing, decor hiring & event planning and styling. You can read more below where we find out more about her thoughts on 2019 wedding trends, what gets her creative juices flowing and how to make her flower dreams come true!
Over to Kim!
Hooray: Tell us your name, the name of your company and your area of specification
Kim: Hi everyone I’m Kimberley and I’m the face and soul behind Natural Nostalgia. I’ve been discovering, learning and creating beautiful weddings for the last 6 years. It started off teeny tiny and we offered a few unique vintage decor items for hire. This sprouted from my love for collector’s items, one-of-a-kind vintage objects and general “knick knacks” that I had hoarded from antique stores and charity shops. Next I discovered a passion for floral design and I started experimenting with different flowers and foliage and various arrangements. I have always loved the outdoors, open fields, trees, flowers and birds – so working with natural elements came really easily to me. I absolutely LOVE making pretty – and enjoy styling and designing unique concepts for my clients. We strive to do unique and one-of-a-kind design concepts – making each wedding unique. Our decor range has expanded dramatically and now includes all sorts of decor to suit a wide range of client tastes and preferences. We offer floral design, decor hire, and event styling and planning – giving our clients a one-stop shop for everything pretty!
Hooray: Tell us about YOU
Kim: I live on a small quiet farm just outside of Howick. I love the KZN Midlands – the wide open spaces and the easy-going country life. I wake up to my neighbour’s cockerel crowing and his geese calling and I fall asleep to the soothing sound of crickets and bushbuck. I have 3 beautiful dogs, a horse, a donkey and two goldfish. I’m a single mum with the most incredible, fiery haired son- who’s almost 3 and keeps me on my toes. I couldn’t imagine a life without him – he is my heart and soul. Life is good here!
Hooray: Running your own business can be hard, do you have a daily routine?
Kim: My day always starts off with a good coffee and sometimes a brisk walk – I believe wholeheartedly in “a healthy body – a healthy mind.’ I always have a beautiful sparkly diary and I am an obsessive list maker. Each day I list what needs to be done and make lists for the relevant days of the week. I try to allocate a specific time each day to do some reflection – where can we improve? How can we do things differently or better? I believe strongly in out-sourcing – especially when pulling a large wedding together and getting many hands to make light work. Similarly I believe in great staff – they are the backbone of every business – and reliable and hard-working staff should be rewarded and held on to.
Hooray: Okay, so… just how many cups of coffee do you have in a day?
Kim: Eish, coffee and me are inseparable besties. I literally can’t start the day without a perfectly made cuppa. I also happen to be a bit of a coffee snob – driving a few (ok quite a few) kilometres down a terrible dirt road to get a well brewed flat white is almost a daily necessity!
**Hooray side note: You GO girl!
Hooray: How did you get into the wedding industry?
Kim: I had just returned from living and working in Tanzania – where I was manager of some remote bush camps (living in the middle of nowhere really – with lions and elephants as daily neighbours). I absolutely loved what I had been doing. I arrived back into the busy city of Durban (my previous residence) and knew that this was no longer the place for me. I had always had such a love for the Midlands – so packed up and moved to Howick. I loved the peace and quiet and the beautiful surroundings. Rolling hills, farms, grazing cattle, dirt roads, birdlife, wild storms – I love it all! My business started through trial and error really – as I looked to provide something that no-one was yet doing. Vintage decor hire seemed to be the thing that was close to my heart and pulled me into the wedding industry.
Hooray: What inspires you?
Kim: I feel inspired by all fellow wedding and event creatives who take a concept and turn into a tangible reality. I have oodles of respect for my fellow floral designers and decor consultants and stylists. We work long hours on our feet, it’s messy and thorny and often involves some blood, sweat and tears. We find ourselves regularly climbing up tall ladders, figuring how to hang gigantic floral installations from ceilings and beams, we carry heavy crates and boxes, we put our hearts and souls into our floral arrangements and care for each and every stem of a rose we touch. It frequently involves travelling long distances, learning to reverse trailers and sometimes having sleepless nights over our flowers and the heat of a KZN summer! What we do is pure love and unwavering commitment and I am in awe of these fellow people – local and international who were once referred to me by someone I met as “the rain makers” – and now I see why!
Hooray: Tell us about your ideal wedding client
Kim: My ideal client is someone who gives us enough tit-bits of information as to what they like and dislike but also at the same time gives us enough creative freedom to bring their idea (and all it encompasses) to life in our own unique way. Trust is key and all of my previous clients have trusted me with their vision. This allows us to add a unique flower, seed pod or strange foliage that we may find at the market or forage for in gardens – into our arrangements. It also allows us to search for unique and bespoke decor that we just know in our hearts one of our clients will love. This pushes us to search more, experiment more and essentially grow. Our ideal clients don’t necessarily have to be the bravest with crazy, never seen before floral and decor creations (although we DO LOVE those ones – you know who you are!) But just be brave enough to entrust us with your vision and let us help bring it to life on your special day.
Hooray: What do you love most about your job?
Kim: Making pretty of course. I love it when the job is done – and we can look around the room and see the beauty we as a team have created. When the bride and groom come down to the venue the day before their wedding and say “Wow! It’s even better than we expected! Thank you so much” This is a great feeling! We are blessed to work with our hands and make beautiful things – it’s an ancient tradition – handicraft – making something with your hands for another. It’s a very rewarding gift that we get to call work!
Hooray: Can you describe your style?
In a few words: whimsical, natural, boho, simple, elegant, edgy and vibrant.
Hooray: If there was one thing you could change about the wedding industry, what would it be?
Kim: Community over competition – and this is a new concept which is arriving on the shores of KZN. I just love this idea! For the first time fellow businesses (in other words competitors) are sharing ideas, information on how they went about creating things, sharing information on wholesalers and suppliers, sharing pricing strategies, and even helping each other with complicated wedding set-up’s. This is just amazing. When I started Natural Nostalgia 6 years ago – the floral and decor creatives were very closed off to each other and no-one shared information or business know-how. You had to sink or swim and I found this lonely and disheartening. This is now changing and I am thrilled to be a part of this change movement.
Hooray: Name 5 of your favourite wedding vendors that you enjoy working with
Kim: Hmmmm….I’m not a big fan of favouritism and I believe that there are loads of talented wedding vendors – and sometimes each needs their moment to shine. I find some of the same vendors are punted over and over again – and yes – they do amazing work – but sometimes the little fish also need a chance to swim up top 
Hooray: Do you work with a team?
Kim: We have the most amazing magical flower fairy team! Made up of myself, Kimberley, Noeline, Shannon, Pindi and Amber – a group of local Midlands girls who love what we do and love making pretty! We all share a common love of flowers, design and making beautiful things with our hands. We also love good coffee, hard work and the odd glass of wine (or two) together after our work is done.
Hooray: Your favourite flower?
Kim: This is a difficult one – because I love just about every flower, every type of foliage and any flora or fauna. But if I have to pick one I guess it would be the cymbidium or boat orchid – it’s just so beautiful and comes in the most delightful colours.
Hooray: Do you foresee a wedding trend for 2019?
Kim: Black is the next big thing from decor to linen and even furniture. Together, black works well with natural wood and stone or marble for example. A mix of textures that are all natural and earthy. All white seems to be a thing of the past. Floral trends will still include lots of foliage, I expect, but perhaps more minimalist and simplistic in their uses. Single stem flowers, aloes and potted foliage that has maximum impact – with their individual uniqueness.
Hooray: If you had an unlimited budget, what would be your dream creation (for a wedding obvs)
Kim: Ooooh that would have to be a ceiling of flowers – still on my bucket list – flowers dripping from the ceilings – everywhere you look creating an indoor garden. I would also love to do a wedding in a greenhouse – so using a unique and different venue.
**Hooray side note: AH-MA-ZING!!!!
Hooray: How do you manage your boss/mom life, especially as a single mom?
Kim: With lots of help from my ‘nana’ (Samuel’s granny / my mother). She is amazing and swoops in whenever wedding set-up or flower arranging becomes very demanding. She takes such wonderful care of my son and is always just a phone call away ready to drop everything and drive to the midlands to help. My son has been in a crèche/preschool since he was 1 – which allowed some extra time for me to focus on the tasks that had to be done that day. I have learnt to prioritize work and manage tasks as effectively as possible so that I can have the afternoons to spend with him after school. Having Noeline and Shannon as permanent members of staff means they can help with the daily tasks – freeing up some of my time. So yes – having an incredible support team helps loads!
Hooray: Where do you see Natural Nostalgia in 5 years?
Kim: I see us having a bigger showroom – as we are already outgrowing our current space. Also increased storage space for our decor – and a larger variety of decor to hire. We currently have a floral design studio which is offsite and it would be lovely to have this together in one spot. I see us doing exactly what we are doing now – beautiful weddings – with beautiful clients!
Hooray: The funniest/craziest/worst thing that has ever happened on the job?
Kim: Hmmm – usually when I am wedding planning – there can be some pretty crazy things happen as the night wears on. Especially when we hit midnight – there is always one (or a few) guests that turns into a pumpkin! But it’s all good fun in the end.
Thank you so much for sharing with us Kim. We love how you have managed to find a wonderful work/life balance and run an incredibly successful company! You inspire us as mothers and bosses!
We hope one day soon to come share this incredible flat white with you when we decide to venture out to the Midlands again!
If you are looking for flowers, decor or co-ordination for your big day, be sure to get in touch with Kim, using one of the links below:
website
email: info@naturalnostalgia.com
instagram
facebook
Opening featured image credit to Little Things Pics