Floralina & Co

My journey started in 2019 when Covid swept the country and the world.  One of the industries to be hit the hardest was in Hospitality.   It was the kick start that I needed to pursue a dream of working in floristry.  A few years prior I started looking at tafe and what floristry courses they offered but the price was always out of my reach so I never took it any further.  In 2019 the government started offering subsidies in various industries for people to retrain and one of those industries was the Floristry Industry.

My husband knew that I wanted a change and it was something that we had discussed many times prior.  He was always very supportive and said that if it was what I wanted to do, then “just do it”.  That was all the encouragement I needed.  I signed up with GC Floristry and Management here on the northern Gold Coast and attended class one day a week as well as working as a casual in hospitality.

I graduated after 30+ weeks and found work as a florist for a large company.  I always had in mind that I wanted to work for myself doing what I love and so here I am on my journey into floristry.

I remember when I was young, my mum would grow roses and dahlias in our front garden for passer-by’s to admire and being on a major road there was always plenty of people looking.  I never liked Dahlias but I was always intrigued how they would just grow back every year.  I always thought of them as Old peoples flowers…not anymore!  I think they are beautiful and they are now one of my favourite flowers. 

In June 2021 my mum turned 80 and while I was online booking flights to NZ for her big birthday, it came to me like a light bulb moment.  I wanted to honour her for all that she is, the woman who moved our entire family of 10 from a small pacific island to New Zealand, for a better life.  She loved flowers and she loved to grow them.  On her birthday, I told her that I had started a small business and I called it Floralina & Co.  She was so happy and overwhelmed and absolutely loved the name.  My mums name is Lina.