W L
INTERVIEW
BLOOMING MARVELLOUS!
Wirral Life talk to local freelance florist, Annie Haughey of The
Bloom Room. Annie has been a professional florist for almost
12 years and shares with us her life, business and ambitions.
What inspired you to become a florist?
Throughout my school life, I have always maintained a strong
interest in the more creative subjects, and I believe my artistic
nature drew me to a profession that capitalised on those skills:
I was initially torn between a career in hairdressing or floristry!
However, with the competitive nature of both trades, I felt that
floristry provided an area that could really showcase my expertise
in terms of my artistic freedom. I have a genuine passion for
flowers; there is just so much you can do with them. I love how
versatile their purpose can be – they can range from a symbol
of celebration, a gesture of sympathy or a simple token to make
someone smile.
How did you become qualified?
For two years, I trained for an apprenticeship in floristry at
Reaseheath College in Nantwich. The initial travel time of 1.5
hours each way can seem exhausting. However, the facilities and
support from the college was outstanding, and it gave me a lot of
time to reflect on my studies and organise my thoughts in terms
of what I was preparing for my next task. Alongside this, I worked
in a shop in Greasby, which provided invaluable experience: it was
here that I learned how to expertly make arrangements, structure
a bouquet and understand which flowers work best with which.
Why did you decide to start your own business?
I was 19 and raring to go. Understandably, a lot of people will
believe that this is far too young to start a business; that I needed
more experience and life skills. However, in the floristry industry,
it can be extremely difficult finding a stable, full time job –
especially at 19. As well as this, I had lost one of my closest friends
in the April of that year and this had a significant impact on my
life choices: I realised how short life is and decided to bite the
proverbial bullet and go for it on my own. Low and behold, as
soon as I did this, I was offered a job from a florist in Liverpool!
Typical.
I had my shop for a total of two years, and it was an absolute love
affair to say the least. I constantly felt conflicted by the financial
struggles of being self-employed and the liberating feeling of
having my own shop, my own space. It was this sense of freedom
that drove me to find other areas of employment in my local offlicence
and pub, alongside my shop. For most weeks, it wouldn’t
be unusual for me to work over 100 hours – as long as the doors
of my shop remained open, I didn’t care that I was missing out on
other opportunities people my age were getting up to.
I had a vision and I was so determined to see it through. I wanted
to come away from being the typical florist. My ideas were
consumed with luxury and bespoke items that I felt complimented
my signature designs. However, I don’t think people were ready
yet. It wasn’t quite what people expected, and my prices were
constantly compared to the bunches found in supermarkets. I
don’t think it helped that Asda was a stone’s throw away! In the
December, I finally resigned to the fact that having a shop simply
wasn’t sustainable; I closed the doors to Bloom Room for the final
time. However, with the constant pressure of maintaining a unit
off my shoulders, I believe this allowed me to grow (or blossom)
into a better florist. Bloom Room was reborn, and I was more
determined than ever to make it work as a freelance florist!
What happened next?
Fortunately for me, I have an extremely supportive family and my
dad actually converted our basement into a studio for my work.
This enabled me to solely focus on weddings as well as continuing
to work with regular customers on a weekly basis, arranging
bouquets homes and gifts. It just continued to grow from there
really! There’s nothing more humbling than a returning customer
– it provides a sense of affirmation and reminds me that: yep, I’m
pretty good at what I do! I genuinely feel that sense of joy when
asked to create an arrangement for a celebration and, of course,
I feel a sense of vicarious sadness when asked to do flowers for
people’s losses. Overall, it’s an extremely emotional job. However,
I’m probably more in touch with my emotions than other people
– I cry at anything. Disney films, newborn babies, Eastenders…
Nonetheless, I feel that it’s these personal touches that are missing
from store-bought flowers.
14 wirrallife.com