The Old Leaf Story
The Beginnging of Old Leaf designs
It began in the middle of a rainy fortnight in 2018
The kind that turns gardens into puddles and keeps you indoors with a craving to make something. I built my first flower press, painted it, and filled it with shop-bought blooms (because rain-soaked petals are a recipe for mould, not magic).
When the flowers dried, I wanted to create something beautiful — but in true stubborn Capricorn fashion, it had to be different. The result? A resin-encased, pressed flower phone case. I shared a photo on my personal page, and my inbox lit up. Old Leaf was born.
The side hustle (2018-2023)
From there came pressed botanical frames, flowers for new babies, and even my first pressed wedding bouquet, quite possibly the only one in Australia at the time. But phone cases were still in higher demand, so I kept at them, turning my tiny one-bedroom unit into a resin-pouring studio and art station.
Over the years, Old Leaf was my side hustle. I dabbled in resin serving boards, ashtrays, jewellery, and vintage trays. Then came Covid, months of isolation where I went all-in on phone cases and trays.
Going all in
The wedding bouquet preservation takeover.
Post-Covid, I knew I wanted something different. Chronic migraines had made “normal” jobs unpredictable. I’d always wanted to be an artist, so I made the decision: no Plan B, just me, my flowers, and my art. I began sharing framed pressed flower artworks.
Almost immediately, a bride messaged me: could I preserve her wedding bouquet? I said yes... and got the rude shock of my career. These weren’t garden blooms picked with time and care; they were wedding flowers, complex and temperamental. The learning curve was steep, but I climbed it. That one frame... and the post I shared, sparked something unstoppable.
Wedding bouquet preservation became the backbone of Old Leaf Designs. Demand grew faster than I could learn to run a business, and the ride was as steep as it was exhilarating.
After the chaos
Refining
Now, three years into running Old Leaf full-time, we’re an all-female team of four.
We’ve weathered the chaos, refined our craft, and built a studio known for original, story-rich floral artworks that feel like secret gardens framed in glass. And while the journey began with rain, resin, and a one-bedroom flat- it’s grown into something far bigger: a home for flowers, stories, and beauty that refuses to fade.
About the maker
Tara- Old leaf designs Boss lady
I’m not a trend-follower. I’m a flower-listener. And yes... I believe blooms have personalities.
Nature has always been stitched into my life. My parents were landscapers. My mum ran a wildlife hospital. I’ve been a vet nurse and worked in a nursery. I grew up surrounded by living, breathing beauty while travelling the east coast of Australia as a child and learned early that the smallest details matter.
I get emotional over patterns and colour. (Once, I put my head into a giant kaleidoscope at a festival and cried. True story.)
Recently diagnosed with ADHD (honestly, I’m shocked I didn’t pick up on that earlier), I don’t thrive on sameness. I thrive in chaos, the good kind, the kind that fuels creativity. Which is why you’ll never see cookie-cutter designs leave my studio. Every piece is its own “thing,” its own little world.
I’m a social butterfly by nature and genuinely love getting to know people... like, really getting to know them. That connection filters straight into the art. Many of our designs are shaped by couples’ love stories, private jokes, or small but significant details they share with me. Sometimes the meaning is hidden.. just between me and my client- and that’s the beauty of it. Not everyone needs to “get it” for it to matter.
I’m intentional to my bones, and the work always sings louder when a customer says, “Do whatever you feel.” That’s when the pieces come alive. Because pressed flower art shouldn’t just look beautiful- it should feel alive.
Meet the Old Leaf Crew
Old Leaf may have started as a one-woman show, but these days I share the studio with two brilliant women who keep the magic (and tea) flowing. We’re an all-female, small business with heart, built on creativity, compassion, and the belief that regulated nervous systems create better art and a better workplace.
Candice: Our sweet, steady-handed studio assistant whose calming, motherly presence balances out all the chaos and caffeine.
Cass: Our studio all-rounder, originally hired because she seemed like the sensible, Type-A balance to my slightly kooky ways. Plot twist: she’s just as delightfully weird as me.
Together, we’re part artists, part problem-solvers, part flower whisperers.
What it's like to
Work with us
From the moment you book, we’re with you every step of the way, with frequent updates, full transparency, and the kind of care your flowers deserve.
When your blooms arrive, we photograph them like proud paparazzi and swoon over every petal. Then the magic begins: each flower is pressed with the technique it needs, a method we’ve refined through years of patient experimentation. Roses get one treatment, orchids another. Every stem has its own personality, and we treat them accordingly.
When your turn for design arrives
You have our undivided attention
You’ll quickly understand why we have longer wait times. We obsess over every detail, from the curve of a stem to the way a single petal catches the light. Nothing is rushed.
By the time your piece is finished, it’s more than preserved flowers in a frame- it’s a living memory, caught in glass, designed to outlast decades.
If your flowers mean more to you than just a pretty moment
Welcome in
We’d love to make something unforgettable together.