In celebration of International Women’s Day, we have asked our eight most inspirational floral friends to share their most important life lessons with us.

Laura Brown is the Australian-born, American-based Editor in Chief of InStyle Magazine. Her strong and directional point of view, fierce fashion and intelligent content make it one of the most widely circulated publications in the world. When she’s not leading one of the world’s most influential magazines, her side-hustle is celebrating and supporting other women which made her the perfect guest to celebrate International Women’s Day and share her advice and learnings with her usual humour, elegance, and grace.
Laura Brown

Laura Brown
 

Advice for women starting their careers?

Intern, intern, intern. Get in the door, put your hand up and don’t be precious. Get someone a bagel: some of my most meaningful early interactions involved the most menial things.

What would you tell your younger self now?

“Shut up.”

What has been your most pivotal career moment?

Getting on the plane to NYC from Sydney on September 4, 2001. Shocking timing, but almost 20 years later, the city has been kind to me and I’m still here.

How do you balance your work and life? Is this important?

Vital! In a large way though, my work has been a lifestyle choice. Art, film, fashion, these would all be my hobbies if they weren’t my job.

Your personal mantra:

"Underthink it."

What has been your biggest challenge in being a woman in business?

I appreciate that I’m in a woman-centric industry (as opposed to working at a hedge fund) but I just want to be a person in business. I think women need to be careful to not reinforce our own glass ceilings. I appreciate the original idea of International Women’s Day, but now I think, “We just get a day? How about 365?”

Most inspiring woman:

Tilda Swinton. A woman who marches to the beat of her own bagpipes.

Your leadership style in one word:

A surfer (ironic because surfing terrifies me).

“I’d like to run my own thing. I’ll work out what that is once I grow up.”
Laura Brown

What would you like your leadership legacy to be?

That I was happy to be there (as were the people who worked with me), and we achieved great things.

How do you empower women within your business and in life?

Everybody I work with has ownership of what they do: a story, a photo shoot, a layout and everything in between. It is their success as much as mine, as much as InStyle’s.

How would your team define you in one word:

Oh geez. I’d hope for, “Inspiring,” but they’d probably say, “Nuts.”

Three qualities you look for in friends:

Great. Big. Idiots.

Heels or flats:

I’m sorry, what are heels? I’ve forgotten.

If you were a flower, what would you be, and why?

Frangipani! A heady scent, but wilt quickly when they fall off the tree (code for I peak quickly and fall down).

Favourite flower:

Gardenia, frangipani, jasmine.

You sign off correspondence with:

Best, LB. That or an unacceptably large emoji of me giving a thumbs up

In a bid to support women across the UK who are struggling to find a job or losing hope for the future, we're donating £5 from every bunch of yellow flowers we sell to the Prince's Trust #ChangeAGirlsLife campaign in the lead-up to International Women's Day (February 16th - March 8th), because no woman should feel left out. They will receive vital help and support to re-build lost confidence and move forward into employment, further education or to become self-employed, working with a mentor for a fresh start and a much brighter future. The Prince's Trust (registered charity England and Wales 1079675 and Scotland SC041198).

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