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Press, 1 December 1987, Page 24

GEOFFREY Hickling (above) with one of his arrangements for the Polo Ball. The Auckland-based florist recently returned to his hometown especially to oversee the bedecking of the Civic Regency in pink and white blooms. A little over a month earlier he was also in Christchurch to transform the Town Hall for the New Zealand law conference.

Working on a big scale does hot phase Mr Hickling. For three years he was the Regent of Auckland’s florist, responsible for twice-weekly changes of arrangements in the top hotel’s 332 rooms and suites, its restaurants and function rooms.

Corporate clients queued, so several months ago Mr Hickling set up his own firm, Geoffrey and Associates Floral Directors. The Brierley annual meeting was on the agenda and Christmas functions for groups such as

Rainbow Corporation. Weddings, social events, and decorating marquees are part of his business but mainly “lots of corporate work.”

“After the Regent you get used to doing things on a bigger scale,” says Mr Hickling who is often called on to advise also about lighting, music, and catering.

For the Polo Ball he helped his friends, Wayne Beaumont and Rex Morgan of Grimsby’s restaurant oversee the presentation of a stylish spread. Mr Hickling gained his florist’s diploma while working in Christchurch at Miss Feaver, he then worked in Sydney before returning to New Zealand. His job at the Regent made him one of few florists employed full-time by a hotel.

Now, he relishes the variety of his work and hopes his Christchurch contacts ensure him of more visits south.