I came across one of those Instagram feeds this week that immediately blew me away with its stunning images of super modern floral posies and simple Eco packaging.
Imagine how giddy I was then to find out that that Instagram feed belonged to floral designer Caitlin McGinniss, owner of Best Buds Belfast, a company offering seasonal bunches of flowers delivered daily across Belfast.
I was desperate to know more so I gave her a shout to ask her a little about her background; what inspired her to start Best Buds; and what her plans are for the future.
+ SO WHEN DID YOU START BEST BUDS?
Starting my own business had been a long time coming. I had made halfhearted attempts at starting businesses in the past, but never with the gusto and enthusiasm I have for Best Buds. I started Best Buds in February 2015 and spent a year working two jobs before deciding to give my everything to it in February of this year when it became my full time job.
+ IT ALL SEEMED TO HAPPEN QUICKLY! HOW DID IT COME ABOUT?
I'd been working for my cousins Catherine and Patricia who own Maven. They've really inspired me by turning their passion for interiors, design and retail into a successful business so, whilst working for them, I started looking into gaps in the market to see what I could create for myself. I'd worked assisting landscape gardeners whilst at university so I had an interest in flowers and gardening, but I had honestly never ever thought of turning that interest into a business. I have some friends in the floral industry in Belfast and abroad and I knew that no-one was doing daily posy deliveries, so I saw a gap in the market and decided to go for it.
I was lucky that I was able to retail through Maven so very quickly my business was able to grow. Within a few months I was doing the flowers for cafes and shops in Belfast and realised that if I wanted to make a real go at this, now was the time; I needed to strike while the iron was hot!
+ TELL US ABOUT YOUR USUAL DAY.
My alarm can go off anytime from 5am - 6.30am depending on what I need to do for the day ahead. I check orders for the day, head to the flower market and come home to create the daily posy. Then I photograph the posy, get it up on social media and sit back for the orders to roll in (or not, I'm not always that lucky).
By about 11am, I have a pretty good idea of how many posies I'll need to be escorting around town so I start writing the messages onto cards, mapping out a route and condition the flowers before jumping into the car and setting off.
Flowers are usually delivered between 12.30 and 4.30 so I can avoid the rush hour traffic. By 4.30 my productivity has begun to diminish so I normally settle to a cafe for an hour or so to do some paper work, or more often than not, go home and start vacuuming up the leaves and stems that I've left all over my house.
+ IT SOUNDS LIKE A BUSY DAY!
It is but, there is no better feeling than seeing the look on people's face when you deliver flowers to someone who isn't expecting them!
+ SO, DO YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE PLANS FOR BEST BUDS?
I'm trying to just focus on daily posies at the moment. I often get asked about wedding flowers and event flowers, which I happily pass on to other contacts within the industry as I just really want to grow this part of my business. Ideally I'd like to get to a point where I can work with a small team of floral enthusiasts, so I can learn from others and grow the business so I can spread more and more floral joy around Ireland.
You can find out more about Best Buds Belfast over on their website and follow Caitlin's Instagram feed here. I highly highly recommend it for daily thumb scrolling pleasure!
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