Iona Mathieson is one of the co-founders of SAGE Flowers in Peckham, the cult floristry business that has taken London and the industry by storm. Along with her business partner Romy St Clair, she is an advocateshe is an advocate for young female entrepreneurship, diversifying and decolonizing floristry and sustainability, and use their platform to progress these topics. Iona and Romy started SAGE with no formal training, less than £1,000 and a couple of wooden pallets in a South London car park.

Fast forward a few short years and they have grown a floristry empire, regularly being lauded as London’s go to florists and leaders of the Gen Z floristry movement with an enviable client list including Mercedes, Nike, Glossier and Fenty. As outsiders to a traditional business, they have disrupted the industry by giving back to their local community through their Future Flowers scheme which offers funded placements to diversify and decolonize floristry. In their first book, The Art of Starting, they share tips from a range of experts and entrepreneurs and the secret to success.