Enjoy the scents of freshly brewed coffee, delicious food and beautiful blooms at Geelong’s newest café.
Guided by the vision to create all things magical and support local creatives, Fleur Wolves is truly a thing of beauty with coffee, flowers and interiors all being as gorgeous as each other. The newest addition to the Geelong cafe scene, Fleur Wolves is an intimate and unique dual-space, combining a cafe and a florist.
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Launching just prior to COVID and Victoria’s first lockdown in 2020, founder and Geelong local Caitlin McAuliffe began Fleur Wolves serendipitously, turning a hobby into a business creating beautiful arrangements that would stand the test of time.
With a passion for interior design and home renovation, Caitlin began creating her own beautiful art to fill her spaces, making and selling her first Macrame back 2018, planting the seed for a new creative outlet. Armed with a flair for design, the creative started experimenting with decorative, handmade straw flower and pampas wreaths, selling her unique creations via Etsy.
With a knack for bringing texture and beauty into homes, Caitlin’s dream of Fleur Wolves was recognised when she moved into lasting artistic floral design using dried and preserved flowers, creating floral bouquets, arrangements and installations that can be enjoyed for a very long time, sometimes indefinitely. The demand was high, with Caitlin selling whimsical arrangements and accepting regular custom requests over Instagram.
“Fleur Wolves begin with just as a hobby three years ago then Covid happened,” Caitlin explains.
“It was then that preserved flowers and hampers went absolutely crazy as no one was allowed to leave home, so sending flowers and hampers become such a big thing. I fell more in love with flowers by working with them everyday so I ended up completing my floristry certificate which took twice the amount of time due to Covid.”
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With loved ones were separated through lockdowns and border closures, sending flowers became one of the only ways to stay in touch which gave Caitlin the launchpad she needed.
Designed for any space in the house, Fleur Wolves sells dried and preserved flower arrangements, as well as new and beautiful fresh bouquets, come in all sorts of sizes, from mini bouquets to jaw-dropping 40cm tall arrangements. Caitlin also sells bespoke gift boxes as well as stunning wreaths which you can display on the walls all year round.
With her floral business established, the mother of two sought to achieve another dream, combining her passion for flowers, food and coffee with her very own store.
“I’m a lover of coffee and have been working with coffee for the past 13 years,” she says. “I’ve always had a creative side to me, creating coffee art in your coffees or just playing around arranging flowers. I just love to make everything bright and beautiful.
“I’ve always dreamed of opening my own cafe ever since I was 15. I just loved the idea of coffee and flowers together, it’s not very common and I just loved that. I think that’s why I also went with the floral inspired theme!”
Guided by a lifelong dream, the cafe didn’t come together as quickly as intended, with the lockdowns, restrictions and subsequent consequences wreaking havoc on the hospitality industry and delaying Fleur Wolves opening.
“We got the keys to the shop at the end of 2020. We were suppose to open in 2021 but with all the lockdowns there was absolutely no point opening,” she says.
“This was definitely a kick in the guts, and at one point I was so ready to just throw it in, it was just such an emotional rollercoaster not knowing when everything would go back to somewhat normal. Lucky we have such amazing owners of our shop that were extremely patient with us during this time.”
Opening to the public on Wednesday, May 11, it’s proven to be worth the wait. Caitlin has created a café, florist and destination venue, all rolled into one aesthetic delight in the heart of Geelong. A certified mood-booster of a space, Fleur Wolves cafe is set to be a neighbourhood favourite, and that’s just judging from the interior alone.
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The intimate space boasts bright whites and an abundance of natural light, balanced with a stunning Australian floral mural painted by talented local artist Abby Lee. It’s a cheerful, bubbly and bright nod to the wild, organic, whimsical nature of dried florals. From handmade timber tabletops and rattan pendant lighting to an abundance of florals and local gifts, the café seamlessly blends earthy hues and bright whites resulting in a truly beautiful, lush destination.
Towards the back of the shop, timber shelving draws the eye, boasting a wondrous collection of wares from local businesses. From candles and teas to keep cups and cactus and Euphorbias, you’ll find the perfect gift for the special someone in your life. Of course, you’ll also find a bunch of unique and artful floral arrangements on display, ready for sale to brighten up someone’s day or when you just feel like treating yourself.
“Our cafe is a little floral inspired express shop. A one stop shop if you will,” Caitlin explains.
“You can literally get everything you need in one go! Have a friend who needs a little pick me up? Coffee, Cake, flowers, candles, Crystals all available with gift wrapping and beautiful hand selected cards. There’s nothing worse when you have to make multiple trips to different shops, here at Fleur Wolves we have you covered. We have dine in available and soon street front dinning once the footpath has been replaced.”
More aesthetic goodness fills the menu, with the likes of croissants, focaccias, jaffles, cake-nuts (cupcake donuts) from Eat The Cake, loaded Fat Cookies and slices from Sugar and Slice, alongside perfectly brewed 4blend coffee, lavender matcha, smoothies and Vegan Açai cups and Granola cups with your choice of topping. A real sweet highlight is of course the loaded frappes, offering 10 flavours with limited editions coming out over the holidays. Think Strawberry cheesecake, chocolate, cookies and cream, Matcha chai, vanilla… This is only the beginning.
“Everyone has been going crazy for our loaded Frappes! We have at least 10 flavours available with limited addition ones coming out over the holidays! Halloween inspired is next on the list,” Caitlin says.
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If you like pretty things and tasty things in equal measure, we’d recommend popping into this beautiful bloom-filled space. You’ll truly feel a true sense of wonder, whimsy and magic coming here.
Fleur Wolves is located at 6-24 Moorabool Street, Suite 49, Geelong (across from Lambys) and will operate from 7am-2.30pm Monday-Friday and 7.30am- 2pm on Saturdays.
For more, head to the website.
