Verlocal Diaries: Carpo Fleuriste
Each week, “Verlocal Diaries” records the Verlocal team’s adventures to various classes conducted by our hosts. From the narration of our hosts’ stories to the thoughts of our fellow participants, we piece together everything we have experienced to create a long lasting memory in the form of a diary entry — that is both personal and shareable.
Dear Diary,
We headed over to founder of Carpo Fleuriste, Kumiko Ishii’s humble apartment located at Bukit Timah. She welcomed us in with a warm smile. We were also greeted by her customers for the day and … two very special guests, her Shiba Inus! One of them was Momo-chan, a two-year-old girl, and the other was a handsome seven-month-old boy, Fuku-chan, all the way from Japan.
They were held firmly by a leash so that they wouldn’t pounce on any of us, at least for the time being. Kumiko then began her demonstration to her customers, Eiko, a Japanese national, and Eunmi, a Korean national who was incredibly fluent in Japanese.
Conducting the class in Japanese, Kumiko taught them how to arrange a bouquet of flowers in a vase.
Eiko was very keen on learning how to arrange a flower bouquet in a vase, as it was her first time doing so. The demonstration session was very interactive, with Eiko and Kumiko engaging in a friendly conversation throughout. It felt as though they have known each other for a really long time. And it turns out that they do!
“Kumiko has been to my class before to learn [French] cooking. So she knows my style and chose good flowers for me [from the flower market]” — Eiko
We learnt more about Eiko, a chef specialising in French cuisine, with a great interest in flower arrangement
Before moving to Singapore four years ago, Eiko had been living in Paris with her husband, a French National, for 15 years. She recalled that in Paris, there was an abundance of flower shops that made beautiful bouquets so she did not have to make one herself.
“But in Singapore, I couldn’t find French-style bouquets in [flower] shops so my friend recommended me to [go for a] flower bouquet class” — Eiko
To Eiko, flower arrangement is just like painting or drawing. Having finished a fine art class in Japan, Eiko sees the similarities between drawing a flower bouquet and arranging one.
“Many French families like [having] flower arrangements in their house. In France, flowers are really common and we display it in our homes. So [flowers] are part of our lives.” — Eiko
We also met Eunmi, whose interest in flower arrangement led her to pursue a diploma
The day when we went over to Kumiko’s place was a very important day for Eunmi. It was her final test for the diploma course on flower arrangement, which she was taking under Kumiko.
Walking down memory lane, Eunmi told us that while there aren’t that many flower shops in Singapore, in Japan, she was always looking at flowers displayed in the shops.
“I didn’t want to just look at the flowers or buy them from shops. I wanted to have hands-on [experience] on how to make bouquets myself.” — Eunmi
The desire to make her very own bouquet prompted her to take up Kumiko’s diploma course, which is “quite tough to pass” as Kumiko says.
To make her own creation, Eunmi followed Kumiko to the flower market located at Thomson and picked out the flowers by herself. There were so many flowers to choose from that Eunmi faced some difficulty picking out the best ones for her. Nonetheless, she enjoyed the process of choosing the flowers.
“It’s my own creation since I chose it myself.” — Eunmi
After successfully attaining her diploma, Eunmi has the capabilities to conduct her own flower arrangement workshops.
“My diploma is not recognised in Japan or in the world, but it gives people the confidence that they have finished the course. It proves to them that they have been through [and completed] the process.” — Kumiko
Final thoughts
After many years of flying with Singapore Airlines, Kumiko quit her profession 2 years ago and started her career as a florist. Being so new into the business, Kumiko says that she is still in the process of setting goals for herself.
“I don’t have a very big ambition. But there are people coming in everyday and going back with a smile. That’s what I want. In that sense, I have already achieved what I want.” — Kumiko
Sure enough, we saw Eunmi and Eiko leaving happily with their creations, harbouring a sense of achievement.
Whether you are looking to pursue flower arrangement as a casual hobby like Eiko or you would like to go deeper by attaining a diploma like Eunmi, you can do so at Carpo Fleuriste!
Feel free to sign up for Kumiko’s classes here!
