Robin Hilleary

@fleurotica

I met Robin last Fall when she helped curate the flowers for our NY pop up shop. She is a true ray of light! I was happy to reconnect to talk style, and see how she and her burgeoning Fleurotica were doing after quarantine.

Photography: Jenna Saraco and Nicole Steriovski

What neighborhood do you live in?

stinky, dreamy, seedy old gowanus

What do you do for work?

i'm an artist! i own my own floral practice, and also design and consult freelance for fashion, film, furniture...

Is there a favorite pair of shoes of yours that stands out in your memory?

i remember my first pair of "high" shoes - platform strappy lavender steve maddens in the fourth or fifth grade. i wore them to death, though they originally debuted at a school dance :)

What is your most treasured item of clothing?

favorite item of clothing is a cotton and lace eyelet nightgown circa the 1800s i found upstate and basically haven't taken off since, day or night.

Any personal style icons you want to share?

ooooh... gleanne headley's character in dirty rotten scoundrels. aaliyah. 1970s givenchy, 1980s ysl, 1990s rei, yohji, issey, margiela.

Has quarantine changed your style sense at all or the way you dress everyday?

not really, i've always worn large pajama-adjacent stuff and gardening shoes. glad to welcome everybody else to my world :)

Have your personal and/or professional goals shifted at all over the last couple months?

yes! fleurotica has suffered immensely, like most small businesses, and in my busybodied creative restlessness, i got very inspired to explore my own fancies and push the edges of where my professional aspirations lie out a bit further. i'm prioritizing political and humanitarian action even moreso than before, as well as rethinking the ethics of traditional floristry, and the environmental and sociological repercussions of fanning the fires of a luxury industry.

Anything exciting coming down the pipeline?

so many things ! keep an eye out for a flower table i'm releasing in the fall in collaboration with my good friend justin, as well as some more interior design-oriented collaborations, more of our crazy merch, etc.