Bloom in love
At 23, Diane Yap believes in the power of love. It is that energy that inspires her in her journey as owner of Petalier, an onlinebased shop that specializes in luxury boxed blooms. It is the hopeless romantic in Diane that fuels the entrepreneur in her. It is her taste for things that are luxurious and sophisticated that gives the distinct clean, sleek and elegant look of the shop’s unique boxed fresh flower arrangements.
“Flowers have a special place in my heart. It started when I received f lowers from my boyfriend Mike Fernandez, who is fond of ‘monthsaries.’ His way to make our days special is he gives me f lowers every 28th of the month (our ‘ monthsary’). He gives me roses that correspond to how many months we’ve been together and every month, they would be a different color. When our an niver sa r y came, he gave me these rainbow Ecuadorian roses and I got curious where these came from and how to get them,” says Diane, who, by extensively researching about these prized roses, came across elegant boxed f lower ar rangements that she hasn’t seen before. Upon seeing how beautiful these roses were and learning that boxed f lower arrangements were still unheard of in the Philippines, Diane decided she would bring this idea to the country and “revamp the bouquet scene in Manila.”
Diane graduated from the De La SalleCollege of St. Benilde with a Bachelor of Arts degree major in Consular and Diplomatic Affairs. She previously worked at the Senate in the office of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV but with her love for learning new things, she opted to study further before putting up Petalier. Diane took a one- on- one box arrangement course in Singapore under the mentorship of renowned Japanese f lower artist Dan Takeda. She also attended a fast- track program at the Hong Kong Academy of Flower Arrangement, where she got certified for creating trendy bouquets prescribed by renowned Belgian f loral designer Tomas de Br uyne and the International Academy of Floristry.
As of the moment, Diane only arranges Ecuador ian roses but she is slowly incorporating new types of flowers in her arrangements. For Valentine’s Day, Diane and her business partner Lauren Silverio came up with an arrangement of boxed Ecuadorian roses with a cute drawer filled with French macarons, a different take on the f lowers- and- chocolates Valentine’s staple. These arrangements are now sold out and Petalier is fully booked for its services until Tuesday.
Diane also credits Petalier’s appearance at the Eat Bulaga!’ s record- breaking Tamang Panahon concert as one of the turning points in her business. Alden Richards carried Petalier’s grand white box of red Ecuadorian roses as he walked on stage of the Philippine Arena to meet Maine Mendoza a. k. a Yaya Dub. From that concert, Petalier has received numerous inquiries and followers on its Instagram account.
What is this beautiful, hopeless romantic going to do today when she has her hands full making sure other people’s Valentine’s Day celebration is absolutely perfect with those precious flowers?
“Mike and I had an early Valentine’s celebration. We don’t only celebrate Valentine’s for what it is. We celebrate it because it was Feb. 14 when I first met him. I’ve never believed in love at first sight until I saw him. Mike was the one who encouraged me to go to church and that’s where my relationship with God strengthened. He is everything I prayed for in a guy,” Diane shares.
Diane is in love with life — that gives her a certain glow that’s hard to miss. Her lips only tell stories of great love and simple joys. She draws inspiration from the power of her emotions.
This season of love of fer s ever y woman the opportunity to love and be loved. That is why leading all- Filipino cosmet ics brand Ever Bi lena helps women stay inspired and look good every day by offering products that will make them feel good.