Childhood friends turn passion into floral art business

Their desire to be creative and work with natural materials led them to create unique floral art.

In their 18 years of interacting with flowers, they noticed that while flower arranging had become popular, ideas were limited to live plants with a short lifespan. Identifying the gap in the floral design market, they founded Flowers Naturally in 2019.

“We started during the Covid-19 pandemic, when people couldn’t meet in person, but they still exchanged gifts. So we sent bouquets to people by placing orders,” says Arti.

An online shop with a workstation in Nairobi’s Kitisuru, the partners have brought nature’s catchy melodies to life with masterpieces created by two creative minds working with fresh and dried flowers.

“We switched our careers to flowers because we love it. We really enjoy what we do and look forward to being creative every day,” says Rupal.

The duo rely mainly on flowers from their home gardens and a few purchased ones to create their unique designs, using plant materials that are either fresh or dried.

“We avoid plastic or artificial materials. Our work is never monotonous because we are constantly creating, and each design is unique,” says Rupal.

When they start a dry arrangement, they usually have a concept. idea or theme they are trying to create. They work together to brainstorm the theme and how they can use the plant material to convey this idea. If the arrangement is to be displayed at home, they will consider factors such as colours and size. Once they have these details, they begin to mentally plan the arrangement.

“We appreciate it when customers share their ideas with us so that we can understand their vision and avoid duplicating designs. This helps us to create arrangements that are tailored to their preferences, whether they are for display at home or for a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary. The specific colours, occasion, and budget all play a role in determining which flowers we use,” explains Arti

When the BDLife arrives at their workplace, they had just completed two beautiful designs.

“We want to create something unique every time. We experiment with different materials,” she says.

In their arrangements, they use materials such as wood, bamboo, rings, rolled leaves, and paper.

“This is wood. These are all preserved materials, like bamboo again. Those are sticks there. That’s a palm leaf. We have to collect a lot of things,” says Arti, pointing to a design on the table.

With all the materials ready and the idea in mind, it can take a day to put together a single arrangement. But the process of gathering materials, brainstorming, visualising and drawing can take up to two weeks, depending on the design and size required. The process of creating a dry arrangement involves cutting the flowers at the right stage, dipping them in chemicals to preserve them, and finally dyeing them.

So what keeps them going? “We do everything together. I think that’s something that works for us. We bounce ideas off each other and learn from each other and grow,” says Rupal.

Unlike freshly cut arrangements, which last up to three weeks in water, dried arrangements can last up to seven years.

“Apart from hanging them in a safe place away from children and pets, the only maintenance they need is dusting. No watering is required. That’s why it’s become so popular with us,” says Arti.

So far they have created hundreds of designs, including Savannah Sunset, Perfectly Poised, Green Wall, and many others that they have not given names. These designs feature a variety of flowers, such as hydrangea, presidia, palm, anthurium, and peace lily.

“The names don’t have a specific meaning. It’s more about what someone prefers. For example, if it’s for Diwali, people prefer bright colours like red, orange and yellow. For Christmas, we use more green. For weddings, lighter colours and pink are more popular,” says Arti.

Their breakthrough came when they created a four-metre wall arrangement for a client for about Sh120,000. Wall prices vary depending on materials and size. Some cost between Sh25,000 to Sh35,000.

“It gave us the confidence to take on large projects and the motivation to make significant arrangements. It also taught us valuable lessons that helped us become more efficient and improve our work,” says Arti.

“The walls have become very popular as some people want different art in their homes. It’s like a 3D piece of art, but it’s natural,” she adds.

The price of the arrangements starts from Sh4,000, depending on the flowers used. Some, like the anthuriums, are expensive compared to roses.

“If you have a preference, for example, the anthuriums, these flowers are more expensive. If we replace them with the roses, the arrangement will be cheaper. So someone might say we like this, but we want it for less,” says Rupal.

“When a customer comes in, they tell us they want more red, more green, more flowers. So once we’ve put in what they want, we put a price on it. If the flowers are imported, for example, the price will go up. That’s why we always ask the client to give us a budget to work with, so we know which flowers are going to be good.

We can play around, and there will be times when something they’ve asked for is cheaper, so we can put in something a little more extravagant because their budget has allowed us to,” she adds.

Working from 10am to around 1:30pm every day, the number of arrangements they can make in a day varies depending on the design.

“If it’s a fresh flower design, we can do up to four in a day. But if it’s preserved, it depends on whether we have all the material,” says Rupal.
Like any other Diwali celebration, the upcoming one is expected to be very busy for them.

“Fresh flower jewellery is becoming a huge thing, especially in the Indian community. For example, for one of the functions, the bride would wear fresh flower jewellery. So we make the necklace and the earrings. People want flowers in their homes. Christmas, we do Christmas wreaths and Christmas decorations. So that’s quite busy for us too,” they say.

Their biggest challenge is sourcing the preserved flowers.

“We depend on a supplier to deliver the flowers. If we don’t get the flowers, the design process grinds to a halt. While our suppliers of fresh flowers are usually reliable, there are occasions when we don’t get top quality Grade A flowers. These flowers are all exported,” says Arti.

“When a customer requests a specific design using natural plant materials, it can be a challenge to reproduce the same look. Natural plant materials, such as leaves, may not bend or look the same every time. It’s difficult to explain this to a customer who wants a replica. We try our best to explain to the customer that we will strive to create something similar or even better than what they have in mind,” adds Rupal.

“And we also find it difficult to copy our own design. We make a design once. So we find it hard to do the same, but we can do similar things because the materials are different. We can’t get the same size, the same shape,” she says.

Despite the ups and downs, Arti and Rupal are happy.

“We are happy with where we are because we can do more creative work. Many clients now trust us to do what they want without constant supervision. We also have some loyal clients who keep coming back to us. Over the past five years, it has become a pattern that they return to us every time they have a family birthday or anniversary. Now we can predict when these orders will come in, often in the same month,” they say.

Members of the Kenya Flower Arrangements Club have participated in local and international competitions, winning awards both as a group and individually. They credit their growth to the club, where they continue to learn new ideas.

And how has it affected their lives? “I feel free. I love what we do and it doesn’t feel like work,” says Arti.

“I love it. I enjoy it. So I look forward to doing something every day,” says Rupal.

Do they regret giving up their jobs? “I don’t think there’s ever a day when we feel like oh… I wish I could go back,” they agree in unison.