From the mysterious to the masters of their craft, "This Job Rocks" is where I'll walk in someone else's work shoes. On Twitter and Instagram #ThisJobRocksYVR.
Nestled between Beta 5, Commissary Connect and Metro听Commissary on the 400 block of Industrial Ave, a dog is barking. What's the commotion? He鈥檚 just stumbled onto Fat Cat's turf. Fat Cat being Garden Party Flower鈥檚 one and only guard cat.听He鈥檚 been large and in charge听since long before听owners Amy and Caley听opened Garden Party Flower's听original location in Kitsilano.
Inside the shop, a talented team of floral designers have started their work day with their typical听summer morning routine 鈥� preparing the coming weekend's听wedding arrangements. And today, I'm听joining them behind the scenes.
The infamous,听Fat Cat.
Donning an听apron, I'm put straight to work, pruning. These Novia, Rokoko, Wanda and Juliette garden roses are destined for one of this weekend's four weddings.
Fact:听wholesale roses do not come trimmed. It took us an hour and a half to dethorn, clip and pluck the petals of 3 large buckets of roses. Within that short span, Amy shares her self-taught听lessons on roses:
1.听听No two thorn's prick the same. Case in point, a听Wanda roses has听hooks that听barb you. The trick is to use the tip of a square tipped knife, and working your way from the head of the flower, gently scrape each of the thorns, leaving a clean stem.
2. Warm, not cold. To revive flowers, trim and submerge stem in warm water.听These roses travel all the way from听Kenya where听鈥渞oom temperature鈥澨齣s听much warmer.
3. It's in the ratio. 1/3 of the听stem should stand above the vase.
4. Guard听petals. To reveal the perfect rose, remove the outermost听bumper petals (and use those petals to sprinkle down an aisle).
5. The fullest bloom. When the base of a flower is soft, it's bloom is fully awake. A hard bud means the flower still has room to听open wider.
Amy Hu poses with听a bloom.
With so many summer weddings and an increasing number of corporate clients,听project management and delegation are crucial to keeping the shop running smoothly. Above the shop, the mezzanine serves as office, workshop and consultation space. Amy and I sit down over听mango tea to assign tomorrow鈥檚 arrangements so the team听can prepare ahead. Boutonnieres for Claire, table settings for Natalie, and Sweetheart table for Lisa.
Having graduated from denser thorns, Amy decides听I am听ready for something more challenging. My task: twine together听a 5 foot garland of salal and eucalyptus. As I work,听we chat about what has driven her all of these years.
Since she was a teenager, Amy has been working in flower shops. She tells me that above all, it鈥檚 always been about听making the听experience memorable for her client. Whether it's manifesting听a bride's dream or contributing to a business's aesthetic, Amy's vision, creativity and resourcefulness shines through in all of Garden Party Flowers' arrangements.
She听recalls the story of a girl calling the shop to order flowers for her Sweet 16 birthday. But it's no regular request. It's a tea party, and at the centre, the birthday girl's wish is to have a flower enrobed听tea pot suspended in the air pouring petals into a cup. Up for the challenge, Amy experiments with a myriad听of ways to construct this defiance of gravity and succeeds. And听she's been doing this ever since. Last year she designed the most听beautiful and sentimental bridal bouquet for me, building听my father's handwritten poem and grandmother's necklace into the bouquet so I could walk down the aisle with both nearby.
The garland听I created for wasn't bad either. According to Amy, it held it's own at the wedding it was destined for too.
If you want a taste of being a floral designer yourself, Garden Party Flowers hosts 听. And of course, you can always go visit Amy and her team anytime the shop is open. The orchids, air plant terrariums and Fat Cat are reason enough.
