What do you get when you put some cacti, some young entrepreneurs, some librarians and an artist in the same room?
Some beautifully decorated bowls of succulents with a personal message on them, of course.
At the Lakelands Library, a program of creative collaborations is bringing people together to share skills, learning and experience.
Most recently, Jude Young and Esther Joy from Plants W/ Purpose joined with community artist Elli Moody to guide people to develop their own personal design and decoration for a succulent fishbowl.
While Elli offered participants artistic advice, participants were each able to imbue their work with a personal affirmation, message or mantra.
They also learned how to propagate, grow and care for a succulent fishbowl at home.
This personalisation of the artwork is key to Plants W/ Purpose, with the new business supplying bespoke plants as decorations for gifts and special events such as weddings.
While Jude says it was Esther’s idea to focus on succulents for their business, he admits to having a soft spot for cacti, despite the fact that some people see them as less pretty or appealing as other plants.
“They are definitely coming back into fashion,” Jude said. He also suspects they are increasingly popular with men as a table decoration choice.
The library’s Jessika Miller said the workshops in the Local Creatives program so far have been highly popular.
The workshops are free and have attracted participants from all walks of life.
She said City of Mandurah supports the workshops through the learning budget, so that business people and creatives are not out of pocket.
The program is helping to realise the Lakelands branch’s ambition to provide a shared, creative community space in their brand new library.
“Our workshops on creating recycled flower crowns have also been very popular and we have had workshops on illustration, face painting and the use of social media and marketing,” she said.
Another topic is “Kokedame,” or “wrap a plant” which explores creative ways to make plant pots, including instruction on making macrame hanging baskets –another indoor plant fashion that is right on trend.
“People are really enjoying the collaboration, and it’s always nice when at the end of the class they get to take something they’ve created home with them,” Jessika said.
More of the many creative workshops and events being run at local libraries can be found on the City of Mandurah website.
