My Recent Works

I did this bouquet for Mothers' Day for my own mother.

There are purple and white two tone carnations, it is my mum's favourite colour.

I tried a little trick with the ribbons by letting it to go round the bouquet, giving it some net structure.

There are also purple statice and white phoenix. Just a simple combination.

This is a lovely pink roses bouquet for a lovely girl.

Huge pink roses, baby breaths, berries and purple pheonix.

A little trick done to the paper wrapper, to create a puffy, folded effect.

A simple, bright, cheerful table arrangement.

Gerbera, carnation spray, a piece of leave, that's all.

Suitable for dinning table, washroom, office table....

Just something that brightens up your living space.

You can do it yourself too!

Appreciation Dinner @ Conrad Hotel

That day, I received a SMS from Chris inviting me for an Appreciation Dinner out fo the blue. He said it is a dinner to show his appreciation to all those who helped him one way or another. Come to think of it, it is quite true that many people around are helping him from time to time. So here we are, 30 over of us, friends, students, staffs and designers gathered at a private room at Conrad Hotel for an evening of good wine, good food and laughters.

A centre piece arrangement provided by the hotel florist. Not bad.

There are green apples for decor.

This is Sally, a student of Chris who involved herself in many major projects. One of the active member of Christanio.


It was also an birthday celebration for Chris, turning 50. Still young and energetic as always. This is the first cake.

Floral Courses @ Kent Vale (NUS)

Dear residence of Kent Vale,

If you love flower, why not join us for an afternoon of floral designing class? We are looking for flower and nature lovers to come together to share this beautiful hobby. Classes are taught by our experienced and friendly instructor and you can bring back your work pieces at the end of the lesson to show your friends and family.

Kent Vale Residence Block B
Wednesday morning
Thursday morning and afternoon
Saturday morning
Sunday morning and afternoon

Registration at 90702137
http://floralavie.com/signupnow.html
flora_la_vie@yahoo.fr

Colour of Asia

The Ritz-Calton Hotel Singapore

Wedding @ St Teresa Church

Plans have been made weeks ago and the preparation had been on going for the previous week. Yes, a wedding planner indeed has to plan ahead and preparation takes hell lots of time. Nevertheless, it is all the same for a florist overseeing the floral and decoration part of this grand event.



These corsages are made for the Groom, the Best Man, Parents of the wedding couple and other special guest. The above and below ones are made of small rose sprays, hyperican berries, combination of tea leaves and filers.



For the men, bigger flower such as this Cyberium Orchid is used. Sometimes it is more tedious in making a corsage then some other arrangements because of its small size, wire work and other mechanics.



It is pretty challenging craft for my fat fingers. I have to hold the small flowers and leaves in place, secure them together and make sure it remains presentable after all the works are done.



Sometimes, it will get out of shape or proportion after all the tying up, or I missed a step or forgot to add this leave or wire. Then the whole thing have to be done all over again.



Mini white rose spray



Mini pink rose spray



Steel Grass



Wire work







The Bridal Bouquet



It is mainly consisted of white lilies, pink oriental lilies, Cyberium Orchids, Miniture rose spray, wax flower and more...



An angle from the side



The Bride's maid's possy



Bright Cheerful Orental Pink lilies with steel grass and babies breath



These are mini rose spray, they are super cute!



This is for the flower girl to carry while she makes her way down the red carpet in the church. You can see there are rose spray, white Crysantemum, baby's breath in pink and Ivy leaves.






This is really cute. It is a head band for the flower girl to put on her head. How nice are the tiny flowers and berries.







This is a wrist band for the ladies, the mums, sisters and friends.







A simple yet elegant decoration made of ivy leaves, white orchids and anthuriums







Butterfly Lovers?



May the husband and wife live happily ever after.......

Sentosa- a new look

Having not visited Sentosa for a while, I decided to pay it a visit. First of all, I was craving for a good tan on the sunny beach of Sentosa. I have been getting fairer and fairer after half a semester of schooling in air conditioned lecture halls and classrooms. The skin-peeling tan I have got during my bicycle trip to Desaru just before the semester started has already faded.

Secondly, I guessed it was time to check out what is new on the island. I heard the new monorail was already in service at Vivo City, and I also wanted to check out those construction I saw during my last visit.



The new Sentosa Monorail: Sentosa Express



The view from inside the brand new monorail. The outlook of Vivo City is pretty cool. I guess it is too big inside that we forgot how it looks outside.





A huge ball of flowers!



It was a nice, swift ride with nice view of Harbour Front.

We alighted at the beach station. These are my first encounters.







I cound not stop shooting all these tropical flowers with my camera as I headed for the beach.

Valentines' Day 2007

Valentines' Day is finally done and over with. Which also means that Flora La Vie is one year old. Happy Birthday!!



After a few months of preparation, the big day came by while I work 36hr non stop, in getting everything done plus delivery.



The night before V-Day, I spent the whole night making sure all the orders were ready, especially those special requests from customers and sort them into different boxes for different delivery locations.



Hours passed by as me and others work non stop in the dark, quiet shopping centre. It was the first time I started to sweat in that freaking cold shopping centre.



It was really a tough task making sure all the orders were done properly, no more and definitely NO LESS. It is Valentines' Day, the flowers to all the girlfriends of my customers in NO JOKE. Who knows if he were rejected in the proposal just because of the bouquet, then I am going to have trouble...



Anyway, one of the most encouraging moments were those happy faces I saw on the girls' faces. Some busted into a ear-to-ear smile upon receiving the bouquets. Some were trying very hard to with hold their excitement, while some appeared indifferent.

After all, it was another V-Day for Flora La Vie, another year ahead for Flora La Vie. Thank you for all your support.

Floral Competition at Heerens

In conjuction with Chinese New Year, the Heeren held a few floral design competition. The pieces will be displayed in the mall to spice up the place for the festive season.
Me, being the "new age" floral designer...How can I give it a miss? So I participated in all categories - student, male, and open, except the women's category for which I do not qualify

Here is my 2nd priced piece that won me $300 Heerens shopping vouchers.

Here is my 2nd priced piece that won me $300 Heerens shopping vouchers.


What I did i do with the money? Oh well, It went to my Levi's jeans and some gifts for my parents and friends.

Here is another of my work: a cute pig covered with chrysanthemums. All ready for Chinese New Year.




I only won consolation price for it, some $50 voucher at the Vilage. I Ate there like a pig.

Here is another of my pieces for open category. The competition was very tough and I only got Merit for it, thou I think it was qite a good job done.




The flowers used are our Singapore local flowers. You may find them along the road etc, they are the Singapore version of bird of paradise. They may be smaller but their colour is brilliant, flaming orange. I also used two tone pink and purple carnation for the base and covered all up with water to create a water feature. Big bird nest fern leaves are used for some curving effects and the flowers penetrate through the leaves.

Below are the rest of the pieces by other participants.

This Valentine........

National Inter School Floral Competition

I did not intend to include this in my blog but come to think about again, I guess I should. This was my first ever floral competition since in stepped into the world of flowers. This floral competition was held at Sngapore Garden Festival, organised by Nanyang Promary School and I was in the tertiary categary.

I had been preparing myself for this competition since a few months back. There is this previous blog entry that features my master pieces, they were all part of the preparation for this competion. Here are some of my other works.

















And this is my 2nd runner up floral piece at the competition that won me $100 popular book store vouchers. I was only given 1 hour to complet it, and I would'nt know what kind of flowers will be given to you that day. Well, I shall say it is okay for a first timer.


This is the champion piece, what you guys think?


Juding was done by a few reputable floral designers from Japan (Sasaki Naoki), Hong Kong (Solomon), Australia (Richard Go).

Singapore Garden Festival Part III - The Final Show Down

Singapore Garden Festival Part II - Nanyang Primary School Foral Art Competition

You all may not know that floral art can actually be a CCA in our primary schools in Singpore, but there is one in Nanyang Primary School. And today all the children are going to compet with one another in creating the most beautiful flower arrangement.

In fact there is a big community of floral art passionists in Nanyang primary formed by the PTA. Needless to say, the competition is organised and conducted but the mothers of the children. Let us take a look what the children had created.






Here are the pieces by parents of Nanyang Primary School.

Singapore Garden Festival Part I - the setting up

Singapore Garden Festival is the first big scale exhibition event in Singapore related to plants, flowers, hoticulture and floral art. This is to further promote Singapore as a Garden City and attract more visitors to this island country. The official opening is being held this evening 15th Dec by President Mr Nadan at Suntec City. It will be opened to the public from 16th to 25th Dec.

Singapore Garden Festival has two parts to it; being simoutaneouly held at the 4th and 6th level of the convention halls in Suntec City. 4th floor consists of the orchid show and vendors from the related businesses. The highlight will be at 6th floor where invited floral artists from all over the world came to set up and display their breathtaking works.

We are one of the exhibitors at 6th floor together with the rest of the floral artists. Chris together with 4 other designers represented Ikebana Association Singapore. The head master Mrs Kazue Kato Kim was there too to work on her pieces.

I was very fortunated to meet Mrs Kim, the head master from Ikebana Association Singapore while in setting up of her structures. Mrs Kim is a very nice lady and I am pleased to have conversed with her in Japanese. She is a very well respected master in Ikebana as I can tell how her students and other designers had shown respect to her.

Once again I met Ms Park Jin Young Jinny as she was working on her display area. I am really glad that she actually rememebers me even I was just a boy carrying flowers and pails of water during her last show in Singapore in May. I also met Mr Naoki Sasaki from Japan, Richard Go from Australia and many other reputated designers from around the world.

Singapore Garden Festival was a really rare and priceless opportunity for me to explore the floral design world. It opened up my horizon further and being part of the effort backstage allowed me to understand and experience more of the whole process. Let us take a look at how it is being built in this 2.2 hectre of exhibition area.

Singapore Botanic Garden

Many times I heard people asking: Why buy cut flower when they are going to wither in a week's time? Why spend so much on getting your girlfriend bouquets when you can buy her more practical things?

I guess the reason to all there is: the beauty of flowers cannot be substituded by anything else.

Almost everyone knows flowers are beautiful. But living in a city, an urban area like Singapore, who will have the time, the luxury to visit orchid nurseries at ulu Lim Chu Kang, or keep a beautiful garden full of blooming flowers. A few lucky ones may be able to go oversea to see lavender fields of France, tulip filed of Holland and Sunflower field of Japan. So after all, it is a florist's job to bring flowers into our daily life. It may not last for long but the prescence of pretty flowers is better than nothing at all.

Cut flowers, bouquets and arrangements aside, today we will enjoy some beautiful flowers and plants from our very own Singapore Botanic Garden. http://www.sbg.org.sg/index.asp













































One thing about this world is that beautiful things do not last. Flowers bloom and wit, that is part of a life cycle. Or maybe it is beacause knowing that their beauty does not last, that we are about to appreciate them more. What is important is probably to show in their best during their life time and treasure those precious moments, then let them go when they have to. Because after which the next flower will be ready to bloom.

Floral Fantazia

Last May, we were very honoured to be able to invite Ms Jin Young Park to perform at a live show in Singapore and to conduct two days of floral workshop in Manadrin Marina Hotel. Ms Jin or 'Jinny', as she is affectionately know to many, is a foral designer and a floral artist. She is well-known in Korea for her diverse works of creation.

Ms Jin is among the top ten Interfloral World Cup winners, a recipient of the Seoul Metropolitan Mayor Award and is also the top prize winner in the Chung-a Flower Cup, Korea. You can visit http://www.singaporegardenfestival.com/jin_young_park_korea.htm to find out more about her.

The preparations for Floral Fantazia were pretty action-packed. As floral works cannot be done too early, ( they will not be at their prime during the show ) alot of man power was needed to set things up. Thanks to the students of Christanio and the crew that Jinny brought along, the setting up was nicely done, awaiting a good show ahead.

On the big day, the hall of Mandarin Marina was filled with people. Among them were fellow florists from all over Singapore, floral passionists and guests of honour from embassies etc. Every table was decorated with a center piece which of course were Jinny's creations.

The whole event was made even more interesting by an opera performance by Dr Wong Su Sun and a calligraphy demostration by Master Yong Cheong Thye. One of the highlights for the afternoon was the floral fashion show, featuring wearable pieces of floral art by our top local floral artists.

Floral Fantazia was a big success. With beautiful flowers displayed from the reception to the entrance to the dining tables, it definitely left an impression on all our guests. It had also opened my eyes to the art of floristry at an international level. Having the chance to observe the whole process of the event and seeing top floral artists in action was a very good oportunity for me.

Jinny will be coming to Singapore again this month for the Singapore Garden Festival. Take this rare opportunity to catch her innovative creations and witness her charms at Suntec City.

21st Birthday Party

That day we went to set up a party decoration for the daughter's 21st Birthday. It was a three storey semi-detached house located in the east of Sunny Singapore. It was a beautiful house with a big garden, a pond and at the gate was the father's Harley, one of his passions. Our job was to set up the garden with beautiful flowers and plants, a few water features around the house and the interior of the house. Mostly importantly we created a video presentation of the daughter, featuring her life journey from the day she was born to present, from a baby to a 21 year old young lady.

First we worked on the garden which is right infront of the house. The garden is a crucial part as all the guests and friends will first enter the garden before anywhere else. It has to leave an impression and start the party mood going. There was a small pond where many big kois and other fished live. We worked around the pond by removing old ugly plants and replace them with fresh flowering ones. We plant them into the soil so that they can keep flowering season after season if good care is given. We speacially chose orchids which hang down from above over hanging the water surface to give it depth and a 3 dimensional effect. This took up the entire afternoon. Alot of job had to be done, bu the final outcome was pretty satisfying, well...at least our customer did.

Heading back to the house another day, we then worked on the interior of the house. We put in flower arrangements, decorations, and the most spectacular were those 2100 helium balloons that filled the ceilings and around the house. we chose white, red and pink balloons to match up with the event. Pink balloons were pretty eccential, after all it was a girl's 21st birthday party and differentiated it from a Nation Day celebration. The balloons need to be up just before the party, if you were going to leave them up for a few day before the party, be prepared to welcome your guests with strunken balloons.

A Lovely Wedding on a Sunday morning

It is a peaceful Sunday morning. We arrived at this condominium in the north-east part of Singapore which is also the new home to a pair of husband and wife to be. A moment later, an exchange of vow will be held at this cosy roof top of the club house where the groom and the bride will exchange rings and announced husband and wife.





Wedding themes are usually white, this one is no exception. I guess the purity and nobility of marriage could not be represented by other colours but white. Afterwards, there will be a exclusive lunch buffet party in the club house, where everyone celebrate this special occasion with fine wine and food.





Pillar like this is decorated by large white ribbons with off white roses and white orchids to give a sense of freshness to the morning event.




Afterwards, fine wine and lunch buffet is waiting for them in the club house where everyone celebrate this special occasion with laughter and congratulations to the groom and bride.


The entrance of the club house is of great importance. It welcomes all your guests and kicks off the party with its given theme and atmosphere.

A delicated flountain at the entrance is the best monument to have. We decided to put in some rose petals and let them float on the water and flow with the splashing current.











Of course, not forgetting about the reception where you and your family and friends exchange greetings and put down their wishes to you on the guest book. A small arrangement of white Gerberas at the corner is the best Hello to everyone.

Les Fleurs de La France

Sometime earlier, in June, I had a little Europe tour around London and Paris and 3 weeks of immersion in Lyon, France. Along the journey, I took notice of all the flowers I came by. Actually, I did not really have to deliberately look for them because they are just everywhere. As it was the beginning of summer, the flowers were already in full bloom - reaching out to everyone. What impressed me most was the countryside of France, La compagne de La France. I went to a place near the Alps where I could see Mont Blanc! Not the shop where they sell super expensive pens and please don't ask me if I bought any pens there. (Many people actually asked me that!!) There were so many wild flowers that were just growing out from the ground!! The mountains, the blue sky, the water fall; they are really beautiful. what's more, I also visited Provence where there are lots of purple Lavander fields. The fragrance of Lavander filled the air. Their florist shops are nice and cosy as well. I really hope I could set up a florist shop like those, with a rich European style. Here are the photos. Relax and enjoy!!

Preparation For Floral Design Competition!

Guess what. I am on my way to becoming a Floral Designer. There will be this Singapore Garden Festival organised by the National Parks council in December to promote Singapore as a garden city. And I will be representing the school in a floral design competition. In order to get myself ready for that, I have been doing hands-on for the first time, getting my hands busy with stalks of flowers and leaves. Here are some of my creations. It is not easy for me to go down to the shop to learn floral design as the holiday is already over and tons of work are pouring in on me! Yet, I wish to get myself familiar with the fundamentals of floral design and come up with my own style and innovative creations some day.

A Day of a Flower Delivery Boy

This is just as expected. Because of my busy life - Personal matters; preparations for school; travelling; Flora La Vie administration etc, I don't really have time to update this blog. Anyway, I am a Flower Delivery Boy for this couple of days because the driver is on vacation in Kuala Lumpur.

The day started with me going to the shop to load up the company van with all the flower arrangements that were prepared last night. They mostly consisted of table arrangements for office reception counters and vase arrangements. They were to be placed at reception counters, on coffee tables and in meeting rooms to freshen up spaces where people spend most of their day working. It will definitely lighten up the tensed and stressed working environment. what nice bosses!


It was not too difficult to find all the places i had to deliver to as I already had an orientation with the actual driver days before and I was studying the street directry on the way to the shop. I was just like a student doing his last minute studying on the way to an exam. By half past noon, I had already done all the office deliveries and I headed back to the shop for lunch. Chris had bought me lunch. I gulped down my lunch as there were already a few other orders waiting for me to send - some bouquets, some wreaths and a hamper.

It went on like this and the day finally at 10 plus at night. I was all tired out. I never expected driving to be this tiring. Not only did I have to drive the whole day, I still had to figure out how to get from one place to another. The street directory was my text book for today. It was printed in 2002. A lesson learnt - you should always get the latest edition for text books. Who says the textbook content does not change. At least for the street directory, it does!!

It was a meaningful day after all. I was able to deliver flowers to the hands of the receivers. I did not merely deliver flowers. I also brought along the love and the message from people who really appreciated them.

Finally, My First Blog

I had always thought that a blog is not at all for me. I do not have the patience, the time, and the openess to blog about my life or discuss any personal issue. I think I will also have problems uploading pictures on the blog.

However, for now, I have decided to start a blog like many others. It will be a blog that is not for myself, but for my flower business that I have stumbled upon. I think it would be nice to keep a record of its birth and its growing process. There will be a lot of problems, well, it already has a lot of problems, but hopefully there will be some good news soon as well.

Sometimes I wonder how some bloggers become celebrity bloggers. I have no intention to be one, but I do hope some people will stumble upon this blog. Maybe some of my customers will as I will link it to my business website.