– Joanna Teo, second-generation owner of Floral Magicįor Linnette, she was about 10 years old when her mum started the business. I loved being able to shape Floral Magic’s portfolio and I wanted to continue doing it. Eventually, I saw myself speaking to her clients and I decided to take the plunge. I’d park myself at the flower shop, taking photos of my mum’s work reviewing her website. Joanna in particular, has been working under the guidance of her mother and aunts since her teenage days.įloral Magic’s store used to be just two streets away from her school, so she often dropped by to lend a helping hand. Joanna Teo, 2nd-gen owner of Floral Magic / Image Credit: L’Armoire Although Joanna and Linnette only came onboard much later, they were already familiar with floristry since they practically grew up at the store. Out of the three, Josephine was the first to join the family business in 2012. Biz Now Helmed By The 2nd Gen From left to right: Linnette Lau, Lucy Siah, Josephine Lau, Joanna Teo / Image Credit: Samuel Gohįast forward slightly over a decade later, the business has since been run by their daughters - Josephine (31) and Linnette Lau (28), as well as Joanna Teo (34). They were “second-guessing” themselves, but they had “invested too much to not make it work,” said Lucy’s daughter. They weren’t sure if they should continue pursuing it, or keep it strictly as a hobby. With back-to-back funeral gigs, it came to a point when they toyed with the idea of winding up the business for good. Within the first month of the business, they were thrown into a deep end of dressing a wake in a private residence - doing fabric drapes and large arrangements on the spot, under the eyes of the grieving and overlooking the deceased. They looked through the obituary, cold-calling recently bereaved family members to ask if they needed flowers at the wake or funeral. While being a florist often meant being a part of happy occasions like first dates and weddings, the first week of the business was rather bleak to say the least. A Bleak Start: Doing Flowers For Funerals Image Credit: L’Armoire On the other hand, Annie took up a course to hone her floristry skills. Lucy loves to recreate floral arrangements that she saw in church, while Patricia had always loved gardening. In the early days, Lucy single-handedly manned the shop, while the other two would come over and help after they are done with their day jobs.ĭespite their overlapping commitments, Lucy roped them in because the three share the same love for flowers. It was started by 55-year-old Lucy Siah, who bought over an existing floral shop for S$10,000 with her sisters-in-law Patricia and and Annie. “The backbone of our business is our family, fronted by daughters” - this statement sits proudly on Floral Magic’s website.įloral Magic is an all-female family business that has been in the floral industry since the year 2000.
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