Pull up a chair. The Florist's Table is where the floral community gathers for real conversations about design, business, and life in flowers. Hosted by Mayesh Wholesale Florist.
Thorns & All: World Cup Champion Bart Hassam on Floral Sculpture & Why Every Trend Comes Back Around
Abby Chick sits down with Bart Hassam, 2019 Interflora World Cup champion and owner of three flower shops in Brisbane, Australia, for a conversation about where floral design trends come from and where they're headed.
Bart shares his path from his grandmother's garden in Queensland to ten years as a design assistant in Japan to the World Cup stage. He explains why copying the masters is one of the best ways to learn, and why formal floral education still matters even when it looks dated. Abby also asks the question every florist scrolling Pinterest has been wondering about: what are these hydrangea mounds called? Bart traces today's floral sculpture trend back to 1970s and '80s competition work, and explains why proportion is what separates great work from a knockoff.
Plus: his take on dry stemming and why every bouquet leaving his shop gets a water source, the Australian designers he recommends following, and what's next, including a new shop and flower school in Brisbane.
15 Sept 2026
Beautiful People: Tammy Porto on Reinvention, Flower Trucks, and Trusting the Creative Pull
In this episode of The Florist's Table: Beautiful People, Val McNichols sits down with Tammy Porto, founder and creative director of Wild Nomad Flower Co., a northern New Jersey studio known for its editorial-inspired designs, immersive brand activations, and artful approach to weddings and events.
Tammy shares her wildly non-linear path into floristry — from screenwriting and film casting to branding and web design — and how buying a flower truck three months after having her son (right before COVID parked it in her garage for two years) turned into the business of her dreams. She opens up about imposter syndrome, finding her aesthetic through large-scale installations and floral-scaping, and the years of invested skill people never see behind the work.
Plus, Tammy announces her brand-new second business, Wild Revivals — a grand, production-style event design studio.
It's a conversation about creativity, reinvention, and trusting the pull toward what's yours.
Visit the link for show notes and video podcast: https://www.mayesh.com/blog/beautiful-people-tammy-porto
8 Sept 2026
Alex Vaughan of FLWR Shop on Pivoting to Retail, Speaking Up & Building a Brand
Abby Chick sits down with Alex Vaughan, owner of FLWR Shop in Nashville, Tennessee, for a conversation that gets right to the heart of what Thorns & All is about: the real, unfiltered side of running a flower business.
Alex shares why she walked away from big-budget weddings and events to go all-in on retail — and how that pivot gave her back her weekends, her creative energy, and a customer base that aligns with her values. She's candid about what speaking up has cost her, how she grew FLWR Shop's social media without losing her voice, and the hiring philosophy that keeps her team strong: a love of beauty, attention to detail, and a willingness to wash buckets.
Plus: rebuilding after a tornado destroyed her first shop, the Nicole Kidman Practical Magic moment, and what's next — a farm, and a long-awaited step into education and consulting.
New episodes of Thorns & All, a Florist's Table series hosted by Abby Chick, are available wherever you get your podcasts.
Visit the link for show notes and video podcast:
https://www.mayesh.com/blog/thorns-and-all-alex-vaughan
Who has been a guest on Mornings with Mayesh
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Trey Brown
Jen Cavender
Ali Zimmerman
Ana Romero
Glory Barbaris
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.9 / 5
12 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
92
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
85
Contact Mornings with Mayesh
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
