Flowers by G blooms for Gillian Caesar

LEAVING a stable and well-paying job to follow her creative passion was a terrifying move for certified floral designer Gillian Caesar, but she trusted in God and her skill, and has since made a name for herself in the local floral industry.

Caesar, the owner of Flowers by G, worked in the corporate sector for over 25 years, holding senior and executive management positions in the banking, retail and credit, and construction industries.

She said her mother did floral arranging as a hobby and would usually involve her young daughter so, as she grew older, when Caesar needed to de-stress, she did so by creating floral arrangements.

She particularly loved Christmas so she made wreaths, garlands, centrepieces and permanent botanical floral arrangements for herself. Those who knew of her hobby would ask her to do pieces for them, so, one year, she took a few of her pieces into the office and, to her surprise, her colleagues bought them all.

The move led her to start a part-time flowers and events business in 2009.

Then, in 2012, she decorated her Orange Grove, Tacarigua home with Christmas pieces and invited her family and close friends to lime. One friend said she wanted a Christmas tree like Caesar’s, and that was the start of her Christmas decor service for home and corporate clients.

That lime evolved into an annual Christmas show which, through word of mouth, expanded both her guest and client lists. By 2016, the event was so big she moved it to the Normandie Hotel as a Christmas Show and Tea Party. And, in 2022, she invited other female entrepreneurs and it was held at the Raintree Plant and Wellness Centre in Macoya as a Mini Christmas Pop-up and Tea Party.

In addition, she successfully bid to decorate the Prime Minister's residence in 2016 and 2017.

Caesar said as her love for the craft grew, she wanted to educate herself more so she started looking for floral design courses.

In 2014, she earned her accredited event designer designation from the Institute of Wedding and Event Design in Miami, Florida. Realising she preferred to focus on flowers, she immediately started a course at the Yola Guz School of Floral Design in Miami which offered private sessions.

She attended classes during her vacations, since she was working full-time, and did her final practical exam in Seattle, Washington, with the American Institute of Floral Designers in 2017. The next year she was invited to be an accredited designer with the institute.

“After I did the exam, I felt I could no longer sit in a boardroom and put on a suit and be in meetings and deal with corporate because my heart was now all in the way of flowers. So I guess I took the leap of faith and switched from corporate to creative. And, in essence, that's how I came to a full-time business.

“I was not just concerned, I was terrified. But I always had a desire to open a flower shop and I guess I decided I wanted to pursue the passion. I felt the fulfilment I was getting with my floral design was worth it.”

She left the corporate world on July 31, 2017, and opened her floral boutique and design studio two weeks before Valentine’s Day in 2018.

At the time she had a few clients but no retail presence, and she had bills to pay. In the end, she "let her faith be bigger than her fear." She believed the move was part of God’s plan for her life and she continued to trust God to guide her.

She added that her husband of 11 years, Ian Walke, has been very supportive of her passion.

“When we met he knew this was something I wanted to pursue so he was, and continues to be, very supportive in terms of the business. And it’s the same with my family and close friends, which has been one of the biggest areas that has made the process as comfortable as it has been, notwithstanding the challenges. I just trusted in God for the rest.”

She started the business in the garage of her home 18 months before the pandemic struck. She said keeping the business afloat during that time was difficult, and her business was still recovering from the impact of the pandemic. But she had no regrets as it allowed her to develop different and creative ideas.

Caesar said it was a “culture shock” going from a steady income to waiting for the phone to ring but she built great business relationships and created many happy moments for people using flowers. She said nothing in the corporate world could give her that kind of satisfaction.

“It's about offering a service that touches people’s lives and makes them feel special. That really is the key. People remember how you make them feel. And it is always so gratifying to me when, whether it's a single flower or huge arrangement, I see some someone’s face light up. The emotion that evokes... it is so perfect.

“You can't put a price on that, particularly when it happens with my funeral floristry line. It’s the saddest day in their lives yet people come up to me and say, ‘Wow. Your flowers. It so touched me. It was just like mom.’ That gratification that you get is priceless.”

Her funeral floristry line started with her own grief when her father died in 2016, a year before she did her final exam with the American Institute of Floral Designers. She said she “went all out” for his funeral using many roses.

Several people approached her to comment on the beauty of the arrangements, saying her father would have been pleased. She realised funerals could be a revenue stream and, as she lived close to Belgroves Funeral Home, she approached the company to supply floral arrangements. Since then she has worked with other funeral homes.

She said she created pieces to reflect people’s lives. This was illustrated by her floral arrangements for the funeral of theatrical performer Marlon De Bique at the Naparima Bowl on June 24 in which she included a clapperboard or film slate. Also, for the funeral of Leroy “Black Stalin” Calliste in January 2023, she used only local flowers and, as requested by Stalin’s family, included a crown with five arches representing the five times he won the Calypso Monarch competition.

Caesar also revels in the creation of floral jewellery or flowers to wear in which she manipulates aluminium wire to create corsages and shoulder pieces.

She said she learned the skill at the institute and had been creating them for herself for a while as she saw designers abroad using statement pieces in their fashion pieces. She decided to experiment with different pieces including wrist corsages with a ring attached,
boutonnières for men and shoulder pieces.

“Our Trini women love to dress and we love things that are different and unique. So, of course, you won't be able to walk into the shop and purchase one of my pieces. It's very custom-made because everyone has their own style and preferences. And they're all done, unless it is requested otherwise, with permanent botanicals so people have it to wear over and over again like any brooch.”

When she wore her pieces at events they always invited attention as they were a way to look different and make a statement. She said they were also great for weddings and graduations as they allowed people to express themselves and made women feel beautiful.

“People rarely wear flowers except at weddings or maybe a flower-shaped brooch. I don’t think we realise we could wear flowers every day. There is so much we can do with flowers.

“One of the benefits of being able to study abroad is it really expanded my view and understanding of how dynamic and vast the floral industry is.”

Another of her products is the sympathy basket which was perfected and relaunched during the pandemic when there were no funerals. It is now popular with cremations. It included fruits and a flowering plant people could replant in a pot or in their yards as a reminder of the person who died.

She also, in collaboration with another designer, had available a “flower and tea box.” The custom-made box could be slid open to reveal tea bags, sweet and savoury food items and, of course, flowers.

She said every one of her arrangements was custom-made so her shop did not have ready-made pieces waiting to be bought. If a client brought a picture of what they wanted, she would use it as inspiration rather than replicate anyone’s work. The only exceptions were items for Valentine’s and Mother's days.

Caesar said her training with floral and event designer Preston Bailey, known for his extravagant floral designs, as well as the minimalist styles of the Yola Guz School of Floral Design, taught her to appreciate different ways of doing things and allowed her to develop her own style and creativity. She said that was important because the floral industry was always evolving with new trends or colour pallets.

Some of the most recent trends was that of using different shades of a colour in an arrangement or bouquet design. Also, she said over the years she had seen bridal bouquets change from the structured, round design to a more organic design that mimicked nature in that they were free-flowing and asymmetrical.

Boutonnières had also evolved from the single flower pinned to the lapel of a jacket or pocket or lapel
boutonnières that look like mini bouquets.

“Even for the one on the lapel, it’s no longer a single flower. Some more adventurous or showy men have
boutonnières that cover the entire lapel. The single flower
boutonnière now is very
passé.”

While her business focussed on flowers, Caesar still planned small events catering for less than 150 people including weddings, baby showers, birthdays and corporate events. She has also expanded into training over the past 18 months, working primarily in one-on-one sessions.