CJ Hendry’s Flower Shop, the travelling pop-up that drew hour-long queues at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden last month, is heading to Fortitude Valley as the only other Australian stop on its 2026 tour.
The pop-up will run at 1 Arthur Street from 25 June to 12 July. Every fabric flower costs $5, and every visitor receives one free on entry. There is no limit on how many you can buy. If Sydney’s response is any guide, Fortitude Valley could be in for some serious foot traffic.
Hendry quietly announced the Brisbane dates through her online calendar, and locals were quick to take notice.
From Brisbane to Brooklyn
Hendry was born in South Africa and raised in Brisbane, studying architecture at QUT and also finance, before walking away from both to pursue art full-time in 2013.
She sold her designer wardrobe on eBay to fund the transition, drew from early morning until late at night seven days a week, and built a following entirely through Instagram before galleries or representation entered the picture.
By 2015 she had relocated to New York, where she is now based in Brooklyn. Her hyperrealistic large-scale drawings of luxury objects, rendered in her signature layered scribbling technique, command five to six-figure prices from collectors internationally. Her right hand is insured for $10 million.
She has described Brisbane as the place where she can simply switch off. “Brisbane is very calming for me,” she has said. The Flower Shop returning here is not an accident.
Inside the Flower Shop
The Flower Shop is an in-person-only travelling market built entirely around Hendry’s fabric flowers, each one handcrafted from felt and fabric in different shapes, sizes, colours and textures.
Buckets overflow with blooms of every variety imaginable: classic roses and tulips alongside more surrealist forms, and Australian-exclusive designs including native florals such as wattle and gum nuts, which sold out in Sydney.
The concept draws on the same sense of play that runs through all of Hendry’s work: ordinary objects transformed into something slightly unreal, where the pleasure is in noticing the craftsmanship up close. At $5 a stem with a free flower on entry, it is also one of the more accessible encounters with a genuinely world-famous artist’s practice.
The Flower Shop has visited Singapore, Melbourne, Hong Kong and New York, where a permanent retail store now operates. Sydney and Hong Kong permanent stores are to follow. The Brisbane pop-up is a two-and-a-half week window only.
Getting there and what to bring
1 Arthur Street sits in Fortitude Valley, close to Brunswick Street and accessible from the Valley train station. Street parking is limited on weekday evenings and weekends, so public transport or rideshare is the practical choice.
Tips from the Sydney crowd: arrive early, check the Flower Shop’s Instagram before you go to shortlist your favourites, and bring something to carry your stems home in.
The CJ Hendry Flower Shop runs 25 June to 12 July at 1 Arthur Street, Fortitude Valley. Entry is free. Follow @cj_hendry for updates as opening day approaches.
Published 4-June-2026
