From Chair Covers in a Garage to a Movement: Meet Jess of the Flower Summit

This episode of Dish the Dirt is proudly sponsored by the Flower Summit.

Every now and then I sit down with someone whose energy is so big it barely fits through the microphone. Jess is one of those people.

You might know her as the founder of the Flower Summit. Or as the woman behind the Newcastle Food & Flower Markets. Or the Newcastle Flower School. She wears a lot of hats — and on this episode, we went right back to the beginning to find out how she came to wear them all.

An entrepreneur before she was old enough to be one

Jess will happily tell you that school wasn't for her. She was a dreamer, always certain she'd run her own business one day — she just didn't know what it would be yet. At thirteen, she talked her way into a job at her local supermarket (a little creative maths around her age may have been involved). Surrounded by people years older than her, she grew up fast and learned even faster.

By eighteen she'd moved to Sydney, working her way through hospitality and then the corporate world. And at twenty-three — an age when most of us are still figuring out how to feed ourselves — she started her first company. It began with a hundred chair covers sewn in her auntie's garage and a restaurateur willing to take a chance on her. From there it grew into draping, centrepieces, and eventually some of the biggest events in Sydney.

The crowning moment? She brought Australian Bridal Fashion Week to the country — flying in couturiers and buyers from around the world for a runway she's still proud of to this day.

Falling for flowers

Flowers, it turns out, were woven through her story all along. A dear friend — now working at the Sydney flower markets — taught Jess everything she knew about bridal blooms, and something clicked. These days her team handles around two hundred weddings a year, and her love of flowers has only deepened into teaching, market-making and design.

Coming home to Newcastle was the next dream. She'd promised herself she'd bring proper flower markets to her hometown, and after years of planning (and plenty of doors that didn't open the first time), she did exactly that.

The spark that became the Flower Summit

Here's the part of Jess's story that moved me most. On a trip to the US, she met a community of female flower growers who farm right alongside one another — and instead of competing, they cheer each other on. You go, girl. What can I help you with? That spirit of generosity stood in stark contrast to the tall-poppy culture she'd so often felt back home, and it lit something in her.

By the time her plane touched back down in Australia, the Flower Summit had a name. She'd already announced it. That's just how Jess works.

The Summit isn't only for growers and florists, either. It's about the whole business of flowers — the social media, the branding, the photography, the pricing, all the unglamorous bits we're rarely taught but desperately need. She's even building an Australian grower-led flower pricing guide, shaped by growers themselves and updated with the seasons, so the industry can price with clarity and confidence.

And while the Summit celebrates women in floriculture, Jess is clear: everyone is welcome. Male growers, male designers, dreamers and first-timers alike.

Come and be in the room

If Jess's story stirs something in you, consider this your invitation.

The Flower Summit is a two-day celebration of women in floriculture — everyone welcome — with world-class speakers from across Australia and around the world, hands-on workshops, and a whole lot of people who'd rather lift you up than compete with you.

📅 24–25 November 2026 📍 Stanley Park — a stunning 28-acre waterfront property just outside Newcastle

Tickets and full details are at flowersummit.com.au, and I'd get in early if I were you — the good ones never hang around.

I'm also thrilled to share that Dish the Dirt is the official podcast and media partner for the Flower Summit, so I'll be there capturing all the stories. Come and say hello — I'd love to meet you.

🎧 Listen to the full episode with Jess now, wherever you get your podcasts.