Kelly Ekardt – Frankfurt Floral Artist & Stylist

From the world of high fashion to the art of floral design, Kelly Ekardt has carved a unique path in the creative industry. Based in Frankfurt, her bold, eclectic, and rebellious approach to floral styling pushes the boundaries of traditional floristry. Whether she’s creating vibrant installations, still-life compositions, or experimental floral sculptures, Kelly’s work is all about storytelling through color, texture, and unexpected materials. In this interview, she shares her journey into floristry, the inspiration behind her Barbie floral project, and what’s next for her ever-evolving artistry.

Firstly, I am in love with your Barbie flower work. Tell me about this project!
Oh thank you! My friend Emily, she’s a photographer and I were at a flea market one Saturday morning and stumbled across several vintage barbies. We thought to ourselves, let‘s create a still life photoshoot using these Barbies, trash and flowers.

We wanted to create a juxtaposition. We all know barbie as a symbol of the perfect woman, perfectionism, and wholesomeness, but this is a falsehood. It‘s impossible to obtain, so I wanted to show the rawness of life, show how raw barbie could be. Life is a bit messy, but it‘s also beautiful at the same time.

How were you introduced to the world of flowers?
I worked in fashion for 20 years as a fashion designer and fashion stylist, so I was organising photoshoots at this time. I organised a photoshoot called Tender, capturing emotions through colour and flowers. We can associate colours to our emotions, as well as with flowers. Through this photoshoot I invited my friend and floral arist Carolina Terrazas-Kreuch to help with the floral part of the photoshoot. We worked together to create a concept for the photoshoot and from that moment something clicked. I then enrolled myself in the Berlin Flower School Career Course. Best decision I ever made!

Why do you love working with flowers?
The feeling I get when working with flowers, I‘ve never had it before. It feels so natural, I feel like a true artist when working with flowers. Flowers demand your full attention when working with them. They have helped me truly become present and fully immerse myself in my art.

What is the best advice you have received through your floral arrangement journey?
Patience. Practice. And don‘t compare yourself to other floral artist. Be inspired by other floral artists, but know that you are one-of-a-kind and your work is special.

What inspired you to turn your passion for flowers into a business?
From the moment I stepped foot into Berlin Flower School, I knew that flowers was it. So it was a natural thing for me to do.

Are there any artists who you look up to or inspire you most?
This is a hard one because there are so many inspiring artists out there. Non-flower inspiration is from Es Devlin, she specialises in stage design. But the women can do anything. She is fasinating. Gosha Flowers in Abu Dhabi, Art Petrov from Russia, Studio Linné from Berlin, Myrrh Sog Blooms from Thailand, Bonne Casa from Thailand and Omer Gilony from Lisbon. I mean the list could go on, but these artists
are amazing.

Where do you source your floral materials, vases & tools? 
I source my flowers mainly from our local flower wholesaler here in Frankfurt, where you can find a variety of small floral farmers there. For my hardware, vases etc, everywhere. Local shops, flea markets, sometimes I find things at my local hardware store. I‘m a big fan of a DIY shop! Haha. And the street, honestly.

How would you describe your style of floral art?
I would describe my style as eclectic, bold, rebellious and full of energy. I want my arrangements to command space with vibrant colors and unconventional compositions. I play a lot with perspectives, textures, and contrasts. Hoping each piece gives an unexpected encounter—alive, surprising, and always a statement.

Do you have a favourite material or season?
I love chickenwire! It‘s so versatile and so fun to create with. I love showing the mechanics in my work, it‘s raw and adds an element of realness. Something can be beautiful while also being edgy.

I also work a lot with branches. I can‘t seem to go for a walk in nature without bringing a branch how now. Also I work a lot with dried flowers. I just love them! My favourite season is autumn. There are so many beautiful flowers to work with during this time.

What is the advice you would give to someone who is studying or wanting to study floral arrangement?
Just do it! The beautiful thing about flower arranging now, it‘s so much more than flower arranging. The industry is exploding and you can literally go in any direction from weddings to events to photoshoots to floral sculptures, you can decide! You can carve out a little niche for yourself.

Do you have any good floristry secrets / tips to share?
Always alot yourself enough time to prepare. Preparation is key. Mock-ups are important especially with bigger clients. This also helps with getting the full idea in your head. Play, play, play!!!!!! This is how you learn.

What do you love the most about your flower career? What do you find are your biggest strengths? 
I love the versatility in my work. I am very much a project based person. With each project I get to do all the things I love from the brainstorming, to moodboarding, to the actual creation. I am also very organised, so I will have thought out every scenerio in my head while working on a project. My least favourite in the design process is the fincancial management, but I‘m learning and working on it.

What are the biggest challenges you face working with flowers as a job?
Budget!!!! And educating clients. So many clients have no idea what actually goes into the work we do. We do not just play with flowers!!!!! So it‘s important to educate the client to let them know all the work that goes into our creations. They don‘t see the behind the scenes, so how would they know to be honest? When we educate our clients, they can then fully understand what they are paying for.

For flower lovers – where would you recommend they visit in your city in a 24 hour visit? 
I live in Frankfurt, Germany and I would recommend going to the Palmen Gardens (botanical gardend), Batemen Park in Bornheim, the Stadtwald, it‘s beautiful. I love the Kleinmarkthalle, it‘s our food market hall and the colours of the vegetables are so nice! Very inspiring. And there is a book shop at the front of the Kleinmarkthalle called Buchhandlung Walther König, they have a wonderful selection of art books. Three of my favourite shops are Maria, 2nd Home and Liebesdienste Home Interiors.

What is ahead in your flower future?
So much! I want to keep developing my style, keep growing my business slowly and steadily. I want to create huge installation pieces, and create floral sculpture art. I hope to have a small team one day where we just play and create, play and create, play and create!

Kelly Ekardt’s fearless approach to floral design is as inspiring as it is unconventional. With big dreams of large-scale installations and floral sculptures, she’s just getting started. If you’re eager to explore your own creativity, keep an eye out for her Intuitive Floral Sculpture Workshop happening this May in her garden—details coming soon!

Follow Kelly’s floral journey on Instagram @kellyekardt and visit her website www.kellyekardt.com to see more of her work.