Local mums unite to bring fresh look to floristry

A new business is in bloom as two local mums come together to collaborate with their creative skills, and birth a business set to bring a fresh new look to floristry, as they reach out to the younger generation, inviting them to share a WTF moment. 

Natale McDonald, 43 and Gemma Buntain, 34, from Blackpool have just opened the doors to their new florists, setting out to create ‘WTF -  What the Flower Moments’ with their bold blooms and fun brand, set to attract the younger market, and they are encouraging their customers to share their #yourwtfmoment with a picture or video on their socials.

Natale, a mum of 4 and Gemma, a mum of 1, have both worked in the florist industry for the last 20 years, it being their career choice straight from leaving school.

Often coming together to collaborate on projects the time has now come for the powerhouse duo to join forces in business, as both are passionate about changing the face of the industry.

Following maternity leave and her 20 year role in a local florist shop, after years of dreaming, Gemma finally decided to follow her heart and has embraced self employment with her BFF (best florist friend).

Known around the region having hosted workshops and demonstrations around Lancashire, Natale and Gemma have already had orders prelaunch for their ‘postal flowers with a punch’ as they embrace their playful side of floristry to focus on expression, uniqueness and creating moments of wonder, with their bright bold bouquets, tapping into trends predicted to be the future of floristry.

Friends for more than 10 years, they’ve worked together but now their audience is different - as they get playful with a new brand in the hope of attracting Gen Z clients.

The business launched online on Sunday with a celebration party and the showcasing of the new business and its offers via www.whattheflowers.co.uk, including boxed, bunched or letterbox arrangements as well as subscription options for home and offices.

Gemma said: “This is super exciting as we make a great team! We love to have fun with business and have worked together as florists, on and off for over a decade and we have never had a crossed word (YET!)

"Natale is a free spirit who likes to wing it, whereas I love a plan but we have always been connected by our big passion for flowers (and music) and there’s always been a strong friendship there that is more like sisterhood.

"With our similar values but chalk and cheese personalities, it was a given that one day we would team up and create something —and we were never going to be a ‘traditional’ flower shop.”

 Natale added: “Being around fresh flowers and plants every day is expressive, fun and uplifting, and it is also proven to improve mental health - we’ve both felt these benefits and we got to wondering one day why it hadn’t really gained popularity among the younger generations - either as a career path, or a popular gifting option, as a consumer.

“As we explored this we found that lots of younger people felt that receiving flowers was seen as old-fashioned or icky so we made it our mission to change that.

"We decided that in a world craving uniqueness, it was time to move away from conventional and generic styles. This flows into our bold and quirky bouquets, but the focus is on how the recipient feels in the moment of seeing their flowers for the first time - this is where the WTF moment was born. Flowers are art and art is a feeling, not a thing."

“We believe that the unconventional is becoming mainstream and the younger generation are leading the way in digital adoption where floristry is no exception.

"Online flower delivery services, social media marketing, and the ability to design creative, instagrammable bouquets are becoming central to the modern florist’s toolkit. Mass-produced is becoming “generic” and embracing what was once considered alternative or offbeat is now gaining momentum.”

For months they disagreed on a name until inspiration struck when they both realised they liked a laugh, and ‘passionate’ language.

Their hope is that in making flowers appealing to future generations this will also sustain the longevity of the industry, and encourage more career choices into this industry too - an industry which is reported to still be rapidly growing. 

As part of their launch Natale and Gemma will be providing their own WTF moments, with random acts of kindness to local businesses and individuals within the community, so keep your eyes out as you could receive your very own WTF moment.