May Flowers

Some flower orders are errands and some are projects. May Flowers is built for the second kind: a design studio in the west end that handles weddings, launches and installations alongside everyday delivery, and that treats the arrangement as something composed rather than assembled. It is worth knowing the format before you set out — this is a working studio, not a shop window you walk past.

Occasions this studio is built for

Planned occasions are the core. Weddings and events run as a full service — bouquets, centrepieces, ceremony and reception installations — with the date booked and the design worked out in advance rather than picked from a list.

The commercial side is unusually developed for a studio this size: brand activations, product launches, corporate spaces and offices that need florals as part of a set-up rather than as a gift. If your occasion involves a photographer, this is the kind of florist that has already thought about how the flowers will read in frame.

The everyday half is still there — birthdays, thank-yous, congratulations, subscriptions for a home or an office. Sympathy arrangements are part of the standing offering.

The studio describes its own work as modern, seasonal and deliberate. If what you want is a classic wrapped dozen, other shops in the city are a better fit.

Delivery and same-day orders

Same-day delivery works if the order is in before midday, six days a week with Sunday off. The delivery footprint covers the region rather than only the core, so a suburban address is inside the normal working radius — an advantage over the downtown studios that stay within a few neighbourhoods.

Saturday is worth understanding on its own: deliveries still run, while a visit to the studio itself is arranged rather than assumed. For anything designed to order — an installation, a wedding, an event — same-day has nothing to do with it, and the conversation starts weeks or months ahead.

What stands out

• An author, and a date. The studio was founded in 2016 by creative director Annie Tran-Shuttin, and the design direction is attributed rather than anonymous.
• Events as a first business, not an add-on. Brand activations, product launches and corporate installations sit alongside wedding work as a normal part of the year.
• The studio doubles as a bookable space. The premises can be rented for shoots and small events, which is rare for a florist and tells you what kind of room it is.
• Workshops. The studio teaches as well as sells.
• Region-wide delivery from a west-end base. The suburbs are inside the normal route, not an exception to it.
• Dried work and plants as a standing line. Dried arrangements, orchids and potted plants sit next to the fresh collection, not as leftovers.

Where the flowers come from

The studio describes its arrangements as seasonal but publishes nothing about growers, wholesalers or import routes. Seasonality is the only sourcing signal on offer, and it is worth taking at face value and no further.

The studio, the service and what else you can buy

The address is a design studio in a converted industrial building: workbenches, cold storage, floor space, and enough room to build an installation and photograph it. That is a different proposition from a retail floor — there is no long cooler of ready bouquets to browse, and the visit is best arranged rather than improvised, especially on a Saturday.

What you get instead is a conversation with someone who will design to a brief. Beyond fresh work the studio sells dried arrangements, orchids and potted plants, subscriptions for homes and offices, and gift cards. Workshops run periodically, and the space itself can be booked for a shoot or a small gathering.

When to come and how to get there

The studio sits in the west end, in the belt of low workshop buildings near Corso Italia — away from the retail strips, closer to a drive or a short transit hop than a walk-past. For deliveries the location barely matters; for a visit, plan it.

Wedding dates for the warm months are taken early, and event work fills the same pre-holiday weeks everyone else wants. For Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day the pressure lands on the everyday collection, where a few days of lead time buys you the design you actually wanted rather than what is left.

Questions and answers

Can I walk in and buy a bouquet?

This is a studio rather than a shop floor, with weekday hours and Saturday visits arranged in advance. Ordering ahead and collecting is the smoother path.

How late can I order for same-day delivery?

Before midday, Monday through Saturday. After that the order moves to the next delivery day, and Sunday is not a delivery day at all.

Do they deliver to the suburbs?

Yes — the delivery area covers the wider region, not only the downtown core.

Do they do weddings, and how far ahead should I book?

Yes, as a full service with consultation and design. Book as soon as the date is fixed: warm-season Saturdays go first, and design work needs lead time regardless.

Do they do corporate and event work?

Yes, and it is one of the studio’s main lines — activations, launches, installations and recurring office arrangements.

Do they do sympathy flowers?

Yes, sympathy arrangements are part of the standing offering.

Can I hold a workshop or a shoot there?

The studio runs its own workshops and makes the space available for booking, which is unusual for a florist and useful if you need both flowers and a room.

What is the catch?

It is not a corner shop. If you want to look at cut stems and leave in five minutes, a storefront will serve you better; if you want something designed, the format is the whole advantage.

Opening hours