Meet Vancouver’s New Sustainable Florist (Win!)

Your next bouquet doesn’t have to cost an environmental price. Bloomiér is a new Vancouver florist that’s bringing sustainability to floristry, creating beautiful arrangements without the use of non-recyclable materials, blooms shipped around the world or piles of organic waste (all common in the mainstream flower industry). We chatted with founder Kamila Alikhani about her blooming business, and are giving you a chance to win! —Vita Daily

Hi Kamila! When and why did you launch Bloomiér? What makes it, as a florist, unique?

My dream of working with the flowers was born nearly three years ago when I took a leap of faith and took a part-time job at a beautiful local flower shop. I was always passionate about flowers, so I had the most wonderful time working there. But it broke my heart to be part of a system that didn’t consider waste management as a priority. Very soon after leaving the shop, I decided to create my own flower studio, a space where I can have a mindful sustainable approach to floristry. Something that I could offer to people looking to add the beauty of flowers and maybe a bit of the poetry to their home, but without adding the landfills.

Can you tell us more about your discoveries when it comes to the floral industry’s large environmental footprint, and about Bloomiér’s steps to help resolve that issue?

Our goal is to avoid and eliminate the large level of waste that is typically created by flowers being flown from across the world, by plastic wrapping paper, by single-use items. So, to meet this goal, we are mindful about how we design our bouquets and manage our processes:

• We choose not to work with single use materials, like floral foam (you might know it as green, chalky block of toxic chemicals) and plastic floral water tubes.
• We do not use plastic in our packaging.
• We recycle all organic matter, as well as any packaging that comes to us directly from the growers.
• We strive to source flowers locally, whenever possible.
• We are passionate about spreading kindness and cheer with repurposed flowers. For instance, we gather gently used flowers from large events, slip them into beautiful bedside bouquets and donate them to hospitals, hospices and long-term care facilities.

What are your top tips for decorating with flowers for the holiday season?

Few things make the heart sing more than a festive table dressed with fresh flowers and foliage. It’s easy to make your own arrangement with water-tight container. Half-fill with water and arrange stems of flowering eucalyptus or foliage from your garden. Add springs of berries and finally blooms such as roses, amaryllis and hellebores.

If you had to choose just one, what’s your favourite floral or botanical species for all the holiday feels?!

It must be juniper. Not only it smells divine and looks festive, but it also can be medicinal. This evergreen conifer can have a range of cones (what look like berries). The juniper cones are known to the indigenous community as antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory healers.

bloomier.ca

Win! A 3-Month Subscription To Bloomiér!

Congratulations Mary Y. of Vancouver, B.C., who will receive a 3-Month Subscription To Bloomiér!