May 13, 2023, 01:17 PM
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This Mother's Day, you'll probably be buying bouquets of flowers for your mum.
Not this mother-daughter duo though.
Instead, they'll be making the bouquets together.
Mothership spoke to Cara Loh, 28, and Lily Ong, 58, who are the pair behind the floral design studio, Auntymakeflower, on Instagram.
How it started
As a retail associate, Loh was required to brainstorm ideas to promote the shop.
Recalling that Ong had taken a floral arrangement workshop in 2020, the daughter decided to ask her mother if she was on board with the idea to conduct a floral arrangement workshop.
After conducting a successful workshop in February 2023, the pair spontaneously had an idea to turn this one-time workshop into a full-fledged business to sell bouquets of preserved flowers.
"It came naturally to me... Just try for fun and see where it goes lah," Loh shared.
Spontaneity aside, this venture was mostly for Ong, who had always dreamt of owning a florist business.
"She procrastinated [starting the business] for the longest time due to work and family. So I said 'You know what? Let's just go ahead and do it,' which is why I kick-started it for her," Loh continued.
Balancing full-time jobs with the business
Since February this year, both Ong and Loh have been balancing their full-time jobs and Auntymakeflower.
Loh works as a retail associate at a record shop, while Ong works in the field of project management.
"I have to be responsible [for] my full-time job, [so] priority will be given to my full-time job. So if we have an order coming in, I will do it at night," Ong explained.
Research and development (R&D) for their bouquets and orders are usually done at night when both Ong and Loh have returned home from work.
Loh added, "Initially we were less confident in making bouquets, so we made our bouquets until 3am. But right now, we are a bit more confident so the time taken to make bouquets also reduces."
Managing the logistics and social media account for the business, Loh initially did not intend to dabble in the arrangement aspect of the business.
However, after learning the basics from Ong, she discovered the fun of floral arrangements and decided to enrol herself in another floral arrangement course.
Mother-daughter dynamics
Of course, there are always bound to be obstacles when operating a business, even when working with a loved one.
Photo by Cara Loh.
An example would be having differing opinions on the arrangement of the bouquets.
"There [are definitely] arguments [regarding] the way we arrange the flowers. My daughter is on the art side [but] I'm not," Ong explained.
Loh, who has a background in graphic design, has a tendency to get technical when analysing the use of colours during the arrangement of the flowers, which led to disagreements between her and her mum.
A reminder that the ultimate objective of the business was for her mother then guided Loh to have a less rigid approach.
"I think this has helped me to be a bit more patient with myself and my mum," Loh shared.
Ong added, "Both of us are closer now, in a way. We have more topics to talk about."
Building something to look back to
Two months after launching Auntymakeflower, Loh and Ong decided to expand by moving their home-based business into a studio.
"We decided to take this seriously with this whole business, not knowing if we would receive any orders for Mother's Day. We [thought] that maybe in order for us to grow, a space may be needed," Loh mentioned.
The price range of their dried flower bouquets ranges from S$40 to S$180.
Loh also shared how many people have the misconception that flower bouquets are overpriced.
"When I went through the [flower arrangement course], I realised it is expensive because it takes a lot of time, it's very laborious and also not forgetting the materials we use. At the same time, you're factoring somebody's creativity and their eye for design."
While the business currently focuses on smaller projects, like conducting workshops and creating bouquets, Loh has aspirations to create larger-scale commissions, like floral installations.
For now, both Loh and Ong hope to "have fun" and "not be stressed" about the business to prevent it from seeming like something they are forced to do.
"I guess [my mom's] at this age where she's [ready] retire in a few more years. But what does she have to look forward to after retiring? I think for me, that's what I'm working towards too. Hopefully, this business will be the successful end product that we all can look forward to."
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