A ‘froufrou’ flower girl named Joee
Every day is Valentine’s Day because every day is an opportunity to love—and be loved in return.
That’s the belief of my college friend Joee Mendiola-Manalo, lover of everything “froufrou and flowery.”
From flowers that fill up her travel photos, to her love for receiving and giving flowers; from floral designs that dictate her fashion sense, home décor and love for vintage teacups—this self-confessed froufrou lady is indeed a flower girl.
Last year, joyful Joee turned her passion for anything floral into a business venture. Since then, she has transformed her lifetime love affair with flowers and started creating her own arrangements for family and friends at first, and now for others, too, when she launched her own online flower shop called Froufrou Florals.
After finishing Communication Arts at UP Los Banos, Joee first built a career in the advertising world. Then she successfully transitioned to fulltime motherhood. While taking care of her two girls, Meg and Moira, she also dipped her hands in the businesses of her husband Mike.
“In all the tasks that I did—and still do— never abandoned my love for flowers. I always make sure to have some at home and never fail to have special arrangements made for my mom and daughters with or without an occasion,” Joee says.
Like in Sweet Earth, her business venture about everything homemade, handmade and handcrafted, launching Froufrou Florals on Mother’s Day last year was her way of dedicating yet another beautiful endeavor to the most special women in her life.
“What started as a hobby is now a habit that gives me a true sense of joy. It does not feel like work when I happily leave a piece of me in every flower arrangement I make,” Joee says.
While every flower has a meaning in various floriculture books, for Joee, anyone can own whatever feelings they get when they receive flowers and define them as it suits them. For her, colorful flowers such as lisianthus, tulips, sunflowers and gerberas can also be used in weddings and funerals, in as much as traditional white flowers like chrysanthemums, lilies, carnations and anthuriums can be given anytime and should not be limited to conveying peace and purity of intentions.
“Sometimes, it’s all about the receiver’s preferences, favorites, personality and even birth month. That is why it is important for me to ask a little bit more about the recipient of the arrangement and feelings of the giver,” she says.
Joee is also a firm believer in sustainable floristry so she uses materials in her arrangements that can be reused, recycled or re-purposed— “no-no for me is the flower foam.” She also advocates for natural flower preservation and hopes to include this in her offerings soon.
For now, aside from bouquets and vase arrangements—which she calls “Sweet” for one dozen mixed flowers, “Sincere” for two dozen, and “Sentimental” for three dozen—Froufrou Florals is also perhaps the first to offer flower arrangements in vintage pots and tea cup and saucer sets. She calls these High Tea Flowers. She also believes that every bud and bloom that comes in a bunch is special and should be treated with utmost gentleness and care. This is the reason anyone who receives her arrangement will feel all the love she pours into the floral creation. Having said all these, when asked about what va
rious flowers convey for her, she has this to say:
“Roses in any variant or color, and no matter how thorny they are, are still the most romantic of blooms.”
“Flowers with small but abundant petals such as dahlias, hydrangeas, and ranunculus overflow with sweetness.”
“Orchids, plumerias, snap dragons, peonies, poppies, lilies and lotus are exotically beautiful, mysterious and enchanting.”
“Giving and receiving flowers go beyond special days and events because spreading happiness needs no occasion. It is said that flowers are not meant to last forever as they bloom and die with the passing of the seasons. Flowers are created to remind us to enjoy the present, to take time out and be in the now,” says Joee.
Joee has no formal training in flower arrangement. She has bravely conquered the ins and outs of Dangwa in Manila and on the beds of roses or clumps and clusters of other blooms, she finds the inspiration to create something magical.
Looking back, Joee now realizes why she was overly giddy whenever she was a flower girl in the wedding of a relative or family friend. It now feels like an echo from childhood that one day, she is truly going to be one.
Joee, the froufrou flower girl, truly blooms where she’s planted.
