Why work’s a gift for master florist
ANDREA FALVO fore opening his shop, Ivy Florist on Sheridan St, in 2006.
“I like to work with seasonal material, nothing fake,” he said.
“I haven’t done anything else in my life – I started working with flowers when I was 12 years old on weekends and after school and I never left the business. This is me.”
Now, after more than 30 years in the industry, Mr Meulendijks said while male florists weren’t very common in Australia, there was nothing else he would rather be doing.
“I think a lot of people forget that people give flowers to somebody because flowers are almost the only thing that’s going to express what they want to say,” he said.
“Other gifts don’t even come to mind and that’s the nice thing about flowers, that they can express some emotions or feelings.
“That’s what I like about my job, too – you don’t really sell a gift flower, but you sell an emotion.”
Mr Meulendijks said the industry was always evolving and he liked to think outside of the box to create unique pieces.
“People will always buy flowers and there’s always a demand,” he said.
“I like weaving things and I’m always learning, it never stops because there’s a lot of trends always happening.”
Mr Meulendijks said he hoped to start running workshops for beginners later in the year, sharing his passion for flowers and plants with others.