Michael Spyrou
Founder

Founder Michael Spyrou’s original vision for the Flower Temple came from a multifaceted perception of what successful flower retailing should be about.

It should provide the very best range of varieties, present, new, unheard of, or previously unavailable varieties as well as develop new fresh ways to let people know and enjoy the fullest premium product. It should also house the best talent in floral design and provide a base for their talents to develop and evolve. It should promote the very essence and impact of a natural living product and house them in an environment that reflects and speaks of passion, individuality and style. A vision and practice often lacking in the traditional pre conceived ideals of floristry.

After a successful and ground breaking 10 year journey as the co-founder of Brunswick Street’s Flowers Vasette, Michael assembled a team with a diverse range of talents from management, floral design, retail, logistics and marketing and launched Flower Temple in 1999 followed by it’s online service in 2005.

Michael spends most of his time working in his newest retail concept store Melbourne Flower Merchant – A Fresh exciting mix of product and talent providing for a new generation of client.

“In this ever evolving e-commerce environment, retail is a craft, you need to be working in the business to understand the psychology of your customers – we are looking for a generation of client who values service, knowledge and experience as much as their purchase.”

Elizabeth Ricci
Creative Director

The Flower Temple team is led by Elizabeth Ricci, her role encompasses all facets of the business.

Alongside handling the day to day running of the business, Elizabeth’s talents in retail management and visual merchandising set the style and direction in the consistently changing environment.

Elizabeth searches nation wide for talented florists and like minded creatives to showcase and celebrate their skills directly to the public.

Elizabeth’s most recent project was to evolve the business to a new platform in retail floristry – to keep the team and the business as leading edge in the industry, the launch of Melbourne Flower Merchant not only showed another side to the creative but raised the bar in an effort to elevate the standard in the industry.

With an international, national and local reputation Elizabeth Ricci maintains a constant philosophy in providing a base for talent to develop and evolve ultimately providing the customer with the best in product and service.

"With over 27 years of experience in the flower industry, I never take that experience for granted, I always want to remain educated, relevant and inspired. I look for inspiration in nature, fashion, architecture, design and where it is most unexpected. I work well with like minded creatives where there is a mutual respect for our craft. I have an undying passion for my industry and I want to share my journey with anyone that shares the same passion. I do things a little different and I create my own opportunities, I own my weakness and thrive on my strengths."

Genevieve McCaskill
Marketing , Content Creation + Events

As a true creative, Genevieve's career has largely traversed marketing and event management for fashion, media and luxury brands. In more recent years, Genevieve has produced events for Vogue Australia, GQ Australia, Vogue Living, Rolex / Kennedy, Graff Diamonds, Loewe and Bang + Olufsen. She has also worked in an Events/Communications role at the industry associations Flowers Victoria and the Nursery and Garden Industry of Victoria. In these positions she managed industry led initiatives and events including the Melbourne International Flower + Garden Show.

"Returning to the flower industry to lead amazing concepts and projects brings a lot of satisfaction. Working with nature to inspire happiness and be behind the magic to potentially make someone's day ....makes my job even better!"

Elaine Tiong
Art Director & Creative Consultant

Elaine brings diversity in creative and design experience to Flower Temple and is responsible for the overall visual aspects of the Flower Temple brand portfolio as well as overseeing and supporting the short term and long term vision for the brand.

From Graphic Design to Concept Creation, Elaine works behind and in front of the scenes to bring together content that connects our brands with our valued clientele.

“I’m a creative at heart and over the last 12+ years feel so privileged to have worked for and with so many fabulous people and brands. I’m definitely in my happy zone when I’m on location styling or perched in-front of my mac experimenting with graphic applications. From interiors, fashion, flowers, graphics and art, I believe creativity is limitless and I love to explore how ideas can be translated across a myriad of mediums.”