Frog Flowers
Helen Nugent
The northern quarter’s Frog Flowers is part florists, part artist’s studio – and is one Manchester shop that ticks all the boutique boxes.
Frog Flowers is no ordinary florist. Based in Manchester’s northern quarter, this floral artistry studio creates innovative and contemporary flower designs to rival the most striking displays at the Chelsea Flower Show. It’s all done under the auspices of French-born artist David Jayet-Laraffe.
“I love it as much as when I arrived. I love the creativity, the colourful city. I genuinely do feel like a French Manc”
Jayet-Laraffe moved to Manchester 17 years ago with little thought of becoming a florist. His plan was to stay for a year, improve his English and carry on travelling. That soon changed. “I used to work as a waiter in a restaurant. A florist used to come and change the flowers weekly, so I’d take the old flowers home and make my own floral arrangement with them. Once some friends came to my house for a dinner party. One of them enquired as to where I got my floral display and when I told him that I’d done it myself, he suddenly replied: ‘David you should be a florist’. I woke up the morning after thinking that I have always liked flowers and being creative. So I went back to college and studied floristry.”
Prior to coming to Manchester, Jayet-Laraffe studied art in France and was involved in various creative projects including photography and art installations. Today, his floral artistry studio is a creative hub in the heart of the city. “Downstairs in the basement it’s a working studio where the team make up flowers for events,” he says. “The upper part of the studio is a versatile and relaxed space that I work from, where I meet people for a coffee, exhibit new ideas or projects, host events. That’s what I like about it, it just grows organically, changes all the time – a bit like a flower!”
Today, Frog offers a successful tailormade floral service for weddings, events, fashion shoots, installations and special occasions – making it one of our Top 3 Florists in Manchester. The work allows Jayet-Laraffe to combine his love for flowers, fashion and art, as well as work on collaborative projects that range from simple statements to exuberant exhibitions. As for Manchester itself, Jayet-Laraffe has never looked back. “I still love it as much as when I arrived. I love the creativity, the colourful city, and the main thing – the friendly Mancunians. I genuinely do feel like a French Manc!”
