In the studio with Muck Floral

Floristry is a unique craft—one that demands urgency, intuition, and a willingness to embrace impermanence. It’s precisely this tension that energises Sophie Wolanski, the founder and creative force behind Muck Floral, Sydney’s go-to destination for vibrant, sculptural arrangements that feel as much like art as they do florals.

A career working with flowers wasn’t always an obvious path for Sophie. Armed with a degree in Fine Arts and a background in sculpture, she came to floristry almost by accident—her trained eye for form and balance translating seamlessly into the fluid language of floristry. “I first experienced working with flowers in 2012,” she recalls. “I had no intention of becoming a florist, but a friend put me in touch with someone who was doing ‘flower stuff’, and I had an absolute epiphany while helping her on a wedding.”

Recognising the pull, she immersed herself fully, relocating to New York for a year at the height of the ‘Brooklyn flower scene boom’. There, she trained alongside some of the city’s leading florists, absorbing a style that was looser and less bound by tradition, an influence that continues to underpin her work today.

After a few years living and working in both New York and LA, Sophie set her sights on Auckland, which is where she opened her first store under the Muck Floral name. “New Zealand has this unique charm to it. People so in touch with their land, but still living a metropolitan life,” she explains. “The semi-isolation inspires creativity you don't get in larger cities, and people are so excited when anything new opens up because the offerings can be quite limited.” After a few years in Auckland, Sophie returned to Sydney to establish her Redfern studio. It’s here that the brand has evolved into what it is now: a sought-after floral store known for its bold palettes, unexpected textures, and sculptural compositions that challenge conventional floristry.

When asked what she loves most about her work, her answer speaks to the very nature of the medium. “I'm drawn to the immediate and ephemeral nature of floristry. I'm quite an impatient person and not really a perfectionist. When working with flowers you are on a timeline, essentially working with an already expiring product. Decisions have to be made fast, and beyond images, the magic only really exists in that moment.”

That sense of immediacy feeds directly into her creative process. Since launching Muck Floral, Sophie has cultivated a loyal roster of clients who are drawn to her distinctly avant-garde approach, one that prioritises feeling over formula. Whether working on an intimate bouquet or a large-scale installation, her process always begins with people. “If it's a large event like a wedding, it all starts with meeting the couple. My process begins when I start building a relationship with someone and can then play off their character to figure out what best reflects them,” she explains. “The rest is quite intuitive. I don't work to very many scripts or recipes.”

Alongside an upcoming installation for Assembly Label’s Paddington boutique in honour of Mother’s Day, Sophie has been focused on the launch of her first ever product: an air fragrance developed in partnership with local perfumer, Map Of The Heart. “[It’s] a collaboration between fragrance, floristry, and object design; a portable ritual, extending fragrance into daily life as environment rather than adornment,” explains Sophie. Nearly two years in the making, the project marks a natural expansion of her practice into something more tangible and lasting. “Seeing that come out into the world has been super special and satisfying beyond belief.”

Quick-fire q+a:

What time do you wake up? 6am on a normal day, 3am on a market day.

What’s the first thing you do? Stretch.

Early morning or late night? Both! But early morning all the time, late night occasionally.

Are there small comforts you reach for more often this time of year? Tea.

What does home mean to you? Comfort.

What feels essential right now? Skincare and a comfy bed.

What are you listening to at the moment? I wish I had a cooler answer, but it's the new Harry Styles album.

Is there a smell that brings back a memory? Jasmine will always bring me back to Sydney summers.

Where do you go—physically or mentally—when you need to retreat for a moment? I either go running or to the sea. I find calm in movement, or that moment when you're underwater and can't hear anything else but the shells scratching. 

What do you turn to for inspiration? I still love reading print magazine like Plant Journal and Apartamento. I get really inspired by people - the ones whose brains are working in the weirdest ways.