About Smilax UK

We are Lesley (right) and Katie-Jane (left). If you couldn't tell, we are related—Mother and Daughter! Both of us have been in the floral industry since 2007. Although we started together, our floral journeys have taken different paths, occasionally crossing over the years. Our adventure began when Lesley bought a little flower shop in Northumberland.

We operated the shop for eight years, with Lesley managing it and Katie-Jane building a name for herself. When Lesley sold the business, Katie-Jane stepped into the floral world alone, starting her own business specializing in wedding flowers.

Fast forward a few years, and Katie-Jane is still running her wedding floral business. Meanwhile, Lesley, eager for a new challenge, took on a position with a Dutch floral exporter, utilizing her past skills as an operations manager for an IT company. After a few years, she left this role to retire.

In 2020, Katie-Jane decided to move to the USA with her husband. After working in the USA for over a year and a half and using Smilax almost every weekend, Katie-Jane realized that with our backgrounds, we could make magic happen and bring Smilax to our floral friends in the UK!

In August 2023, we teamed up with a fantastic supplier in Texas called East Texas Smilax. Along with Mike, Lisa, and the team in Texas, Lesley handles operations and logistics in the UK, while Katie-Jane manages social media, design, and marketing. It has taken some work, but we did it. We have so much more to come, and we are incredibly excited that you're joining us on the next chapter of our floral journey.