2020: Reflecting and Learning to Bloom During Circuit Breaker.
Hello again dear friends, has it already been a month since the previous journal entry? Time flies way too fast, except probably when we were in lockdown earlier this year and lots of things were shut down. Thankfully wedding season is back, although not so much in full swing given that Covid-19 is still around.
With this new season, it kind of feels like we are heading out of a phase of life surrounded by so much fear and uncertainty, I wanted to share and reflect on how Circuit Breaker was like for TBE.
Arrival of Covid-19: Health vs. Money.
It was this big unknown pandemic and pretty much a scary time, health-wise and career wise. The fatalities worldwide as covered in the news, the stories of what those on the frontlines faced was heartbreaking to read and watch.
I’m a firm believer that health is always paramount and being in charge of The Bloomish Eden, I was really worried about the health of my team, my clients and all our families. Back then, there were cases of unintentional ‘super-spreaders’ based off interactions in leisure and professional settings.
Whilst I didn’t want to add to the burdens on our healthcare infrastructure just because I wanted to chase the money, the balance of needing to still have some sort of income was so real. It definitely was a stress filled period where we had to be flexible and think on our feet at every new turn. It was emotionally and mentally exhausting.
The Effects on the Industry —
One of the main reasons for the mental and emotional exhaustion faced was because of how badly our supply chains were affected. As all the flowers in Singapore and imported in, there were so many unknowns to work around. It was not uncommon for shipments to be delayed due to the airline industry taking such a huge hit. The schedule was erratic, flights in were pricier and even though we had to pay more for the flowers, sometimes they just get stuck somewhere. And dealing with fresh flowers, this was disastrous as the whole batch would just be arriving dead or just not arrive at all.
For what little business could go on, this erratic schedule and having to deal with sub-par quality of stocks was a nightmare for meeting our deadlines. And the worst (or best?) part was that everyone involved were already doing their bests, so we couldn’t get mad…everyone was really just trying to survive. This period was a huge looming cloud where things just spun out of my control and spun wherever they wanted to go.
Eventually, with government restrictions on businesses, income was almost a big fat 0. Preparations for Mother’s Day fell flat and had to be halted - I was bummed we couldn’t celebrate as many mums as we wanted. Weddings were postponed, many downscaled if not cancelled. It truly looked bleak.
Taking things one at a time,
When we went into a government imposed lockdown, for both our clients’ and our team’s sake, I decided that until I was certain continuing operations wouldn’t compromise the health of those we came into contact with, the call was made to just halt deliveries and self-collections altogether.
I guess in a situation where things are out of your control, you learn to take things in stride and just make the best out of it. After all, at the end of the day, when shit hits the fan, we can count our lucky stars to be in a country equipped enough to handle the pandemic.
Working around that, when we could establish a proper system in place that will keep all of us safe (i.e., contactless delivery and lots of sanitising protocols), we came up with the Floral Frames that received so much love. It was something beautiful to brighten your WFH (work from home) days that lasted & it helped us better navigate the erratic schedules of fresh flowers.
While things slowed down, I also finally had the time to catch up with those of you who journeyed with TBE from the beginning and had my florals grace your big celebrations. It is something I’ve always wanted to do and finally got the time to take a breather from rushing from project to project and reflect on our journey.
One huge thing I have always been really grateful for was the chance to enter the wedding industry and find my own footing in there right from the beginning. In all honesty, when I first started in 2018, I was just planning to do hand bouquets and never dreamed of crafting for weddings…because well, it just seemed impossible and out of reach!
But just in that first year, there were couples who approached me for small-scaled wedding orders like bridal bouquets, and big scaled ones with dinner tables, aisles, arches, etc. It will always be a fond memory with one of the first 2 couples that entrusted me with a full wedding set up for them (stage, tables, entryway, personal flowers), M & H so very kindly and encouragingly told me they had faith in my skills and saw my potential…when I really had pretty much no portfolio to show my couples, but only my ideas and sketches. Legit, cried on the inside. :’)
While the work side of things slowed, this was the perfect chance. 2020 has not been easy on many of us and I really wanted to give back and lift their spirits even for a little. Kind of like how they lifted me up and helped me get to where I am today, I wanted to spread some smiles. I had so much fun reconnecting with clients turned friends, checking in with them and marvelling at how some of their family sizes have grown.
Treat yourself, it’s on us -
On days where you’re your worst critic,
On longer days that are just exhausting,
Here’s a reminder to be kinder to ourselves.
You’ve got this, keep going and hang in there. You will bloom in your own time. And when you do, the struggles will be all worth it for the beauty that you’ll be.
There were a few things I was sure these perk-me-ups had to be:
1) this gift spoke about what The Bloomish Eden is - organic, caring, good quality aesthetics and products,
2) #supportlocal,
3) the gift to be as eco-friendly as possible.
organic, good quality products -
Staying true to my love for organic aesthetics, I wanted everything to be kept as natural as possible. I wanted it to not just look good but also do its job in rejuvenating you in the best ways possible. Initially, I was considering gifting food because who doesn’t love food surprises! But then after pondering about it, I realised aside from it being tough to coordinate logistically because I wanted to pair it with other items, what I really wanted above all else was to showcase what TBE meant. This perk-me-up was not only going to be good in aesthetics, but also having the best quality. So although uhm, yes I do love my bakes (hello cookies come to me), this had to go beyond that.
After reconnecting with you guys, I really wanted to take things up a notch in sharing more of me as we journey on together. So, I thought this would be the perfect chance to share my personal favourite things when it comes to unwinding and coping with long days. When imagining a truly relaxing spa experience, I think of my senses getting tickled / assaulted in the best ways. So to do just that, these gifts had the elements of smell, taste, sight and touch all packed into one. With consumption on multiple levels, I dug deep into my sourcing (and also into my wallet) and ensured that every item purchased was clean, ethically sourced, organic and crafted with pride in the details. Because well, that’s what I love to do too!
#supportlocal the brands, the items -
Covid times are tough on small businesses and I wanted to do my part to help other local business owners as well. Here are some I personally love and wanted to introduce:
TSPOFLOVE - sharing the magic of beautiful, modern tea time rituals
Perfect as wedding favours as well, these came in little cute tins that had brewing instructions underneath specific to the tea blend! Lydia and her team introduces high quality tea experience through their carefully sourced pure, authentic tea focused on craftsmanship and character. They then create tea-blends and tea-infused confections (their CNY pineapple tarts and Mid-Autumn mooncakes are amazing and highly raved about)!
And because I like to portion & taste control my tea according to my mood (am I the only one), I opted for loose tea leaves for these gifts! And by portion control, I mean like sometimes I like it really gao and sometimes I want it lighter tasting according to how relaxed I need to be hahah. So you know, there’s lesser tea wastage this way. But either way that works for you, 10/10 recommend sipping good tea on stressful days to relax a little and be that little breather moment of zen! It’s essentially there beside me as I work on my administrative stuff or when I am crafting flowers, my little cuppa you-got-this-mich hahah. And I hope these teas help bring that little zen into your lives too!
RIAU CANDLE COMPANY - hand poured premium soy candles
I was on the fence if I should include candles with my gifts because scent preferences can be quite personal and well not everyone burns candles hahah. But candles are something I absolutely love - not only for that beautiful flickering light but also oh my, the scents. So good at creating the perfect mood for unwinding and when you want that little romantic feels * winks *. And the best part of Riau is that 100% of the proceeds from each candle goes to charity. So, hey burning candles isn’t just burning money (as I always joke about) but you get to do good!
And being an avid candle consumer (I think that’s what I can be called haha), quality of the candle is important because I’ve tried paraffin wax ones and just not that great quality ones, and honestly, either getting a headache / the smell just has something off putting to it! Or you get not clean burns and hella lot of soot…eww. So yes, check out Riau if you haven’t already, because they’re amazing at what they do! And clearly the strength of the scent leaves a lasting impression because quite a number of brides asked me for scent recommendations for them to buy hahah (and that’s also when I realised uhm how much I’ve been buying for myself oops). But yes, moral of this is not how much I’ve been spending but more of Riau being that good!
MIRA - artisan soaps & skincare
If you’ve been following our 2020’s Mother’s Day collaboration, you’d know that this is one of the brands we worked with and love simply because its all natural, handcrafted nature! And made to be sustainable for your skin and the environment with luxurious butters and essential oils! I love taking my showers with these bar soaps to have that spa feel…although I open my eyes and yup, definitely not in a spa. But hey, one can try and imagine with my eyes closed ok. They smell divine too so you don’t wanna miss out!
I chose Wild Rose Facial Bar and Calendula & Lemongrass for the gifts for something feminine and something not too feminine for the dudes! They’re both floral-y in aesthetics and super pretty and I love it when the soaps are all lined up side by side - OCD happy! MIRA do craft other scents as well for different purposes for your skin so go hit them up. I personally love that because it’s made from natural ingredients, the soap has abit of a rough texture to it which kinda works as a gentle exfoliator too!
HEYHAPPYPUFF - quotes by Goegezegd
B L O O M I N Y O U R T I M E… uhm can I say mantra for 2020??!
It’s without a doubt that when I halted my operations, I had more time on my hands which meant having time to scroll through IG and because I was not where I envisioned 2020 to be for myself, I entered a dark place filled with doubts and just overall became more recluse. It was a time of being unkind to myself amidst a harsh reality. And as I struggled to ingest this quote and live my life the best I can everyday, I know that I would definitely not be alone and wanted to extend some kind words to you too. Which is also one of the main reasons why I wanted to have a spa like experience with my gift. Together with this quote, I wanted you to take time out from working from home and really give yourself little pockets of spaces to breathe and to know it’s more than alright to grow at your own pace, in your own time. * hugs *
But back to this gorgeous black & bronze quotes, these decorative pieces are flown in all the way from Belgium by Heyhappypuff! They are the perfect adhesive quote to stick on different surfaces at home, be it by your bedside as a reminder before bed, or anywhere else you want! They also have the magnetic option! Head over to heyhappypuff to get different quotes / customise your own! And for those who got them in bronze colour, yay to us getting limited edition ones (mine’s in bronze also) because they now only produce the quotes in black and gold hehe.
eco-friendly & reusable gift wrap -
It’s a no brainer that parcels and deliverables often generate so much waste in carton boxes, plastics and paper, this was something I wanted to avoid completely. And so, after brainstorming and searching high and low for the perfect materials that can achieve just that, I decided to bundle the gifts with a furoshiki wrap! Literally translated, furo means bath and shiki means spread. First used in the Nara period to protect valuable goods, it evolved into a popular practice to carry items and is perfect for holiday gift-wrapping! There’s many ways to tie it so…google it if you’re interested hahaha. The biggest struggle with this was finding the correct texture for this cloth that had the correct colours and thickness! Legit, these were gems! :’)
With specially sourced cloths that match TBE’s colours and had that perfect touch of rustic, this was how the gifts were presented - organic with a touch of fern & reusable cloth that can be upcycled!
bloom in your own time, x
And with that, that concludes the biggest thing that happened during Circuit Breaker for TBE…ok to be more accurate, this project kickstarted during CB and only concluded last month! So yes, a good half a year (thereabout) to coordinate, source and prep all the details above. I hope those who got the gifts loved every bit of it, and if you’re curious about the items, do go check out the brands because they’re legit good. No lies.
Oh did I also mention I aim to make this an annual thing? So if you’re a local brand who want to be part of this, slideeee into my DMs! Check out The Bloomish Eden’s IG story highlights for more captures of this precious little packets!
