Amie Bone
aims to continue to exceed expectations. A wedding is often described as the most beautiful day of your life. With her company, Amie Bone does everything she can to turn that expectation into a promise. As a floral designer and wedding stylist, she tries to exceed the expectations of the bride and groom and herself every time.
Queen of Blooms
With every assignment, Amie Bone makes it a sport to dress up the event in question even more beautifully than the people concerned consider to be possible beforehand. How does the English entrepreneur do it? The 'Queen of Blooms' herself answers these questions in a personal interview.
Coincidental beginning
Today, Amie Bone is internationally known as a gifted floral designer and stylist for her elaborate and rich floral arrangements. A status she did not think possible when she opened a modest flower shop in a garden shop in February of 2006. "I actually got into creating and delivering floral arrangements for events 'by accident'," says Amie. "One day, someone came up to me in the shop and asked if we also did flowers for funerals. I decided to try it and it went well. Then I thought: if we can provide flower arrangements for funerals, we can also offer flowers for weddings."
One shot at perfection
Amie laughingly continues by saying that she soon realised that there is a big difference between flowers for funerals and for weddings. "Still, more orders kept coming in steadily and I learned from each job. I chose to always go off the beaten track in terms of creations and cater well to individual wishes. That has paid off." Asked about her plans for the future, it is clear that Amie does not plan to take it steady. "I want to keep growing and make our creations even better. I want to keep exceeding expectations. Because - if all goes well - you only get married once, everything has to be perfect the first time around. That's why I'm always on location on the day itself to make sure everything runs smoothly."
Seeking perfection
For Amie, unveiling the decorated event venue is the best part of her job. "The reaction of the clients when they get that wow sensation at that first sight, that's why I do this job. You only get that reaction when you pursue perfection. This is also my advice to all other floral designers and event organisers. Always try to exceed your own expectations. You should always keep trying. After all, that's what sets your business apart from entrepreneurs who do not dare to try. In the end, what you deliver is your business card which creates that word-of-mouth advertising from satisfied customers."
Fantasia
"A great moment was the three-day masterclass Fantasia. During this event, our team taught floral designers, event stylists and event organisers from all over the world to create gigantic and beautiful floral works of art."
Perfect partner
Of course, Amie also faces challenges in her work. The logistics factor sometimes creates a challenge. "We get all our flowers from the Netherlands," Amie explains. "To have the flowers on location on time at short notice is sometimes difficult. Fortunately, with Van der Plas we have a reliable supplier who always delivers. I have regular contact with the sales staff and notice that they are really involved in my projects. I also know in advance with every order that things will go well, because the flowers are always in perfect condition. Van der Plas once saved me from an awkward situation when another supplier delivered flowers of very poor quality. Since then, I have only ordered from Van der Plas because the flowers always look great. In the end, you do want to create the perfect wedding venue. I won't do it for less."