The Flower Girl Josefien Goethals

A Portrait of Josefien Goethals

"Flowers can bring comfort and relaxation in dark times."

How Do You Decide on Your Type of Designs?

“Flowers tell me a lot about your life.”

"I am always sincerely looking for that piece of authenticity, the story, and the emotion behind the people.  Or for the DNA of a company. I really like to take the time to do so. The right translation of that story creates enormous added value. It is for me a kind of green thread, with which I love to write, that makes the unspoken tangible. And that in turn creates admiration for the pure product I work with. ”

What Was Your Profession Before Floristry, and How Do You Use That Now?

“The human knowledge that I have built up over the years in remedial education is certainly a great surplus during the many different meetings I have. I am a woman with a lot of empathy, and usually sense quickly where the intention, soul, and messages are hidden. But sometimes it happens that I have  to make compromises, and maybe sometimes these compromises that are asked of me, are just too large. Sometimes what people want, is too far off, and does not resonate with me anymore. With moments like this,  in all love, I tell the client I cannot help. I better refer to another floral designer.”

How Do You Look at Yourself?

“The older I get, the more I notice that everything is connected. I increasingly take into account all the elements of my life, and try to find a healthy balance in it. More and more  I come to the same point where I feel that everything eventually becomes a whole.  And I take that into account in my being as an atypical business manager and in my personal style of entrepreneurship. I like a holistic approach. Life for me, is therefore one big learning process. That is why I sometimes dare to wonder how I had been in the business today, had I followed a marketing course, for example. But maybe I am asking myself that question from a perfectionist streak.”

What Is Your Advice Regarding Plants and Flowers Through Your Life?

“You cannot explain the added value of a touch of nature at home. Or at an event, that can be a milestone in your life, at the office, or in a public space. You just have to experience nature, feel it. Support your local florist. Ask about the seasonal flowers or sustainably grown plants. Let us advise you as experts. If you can't spend (or don't want to spend) money on it, go out into nature and pick those flowers - or that greenery - that you get to pick and put them in a vase at home or at work. Then observe for a few weeks what it does to space and therefore unconsciously also to yourself and others. Experience the difference."  

Your Flower business is Located at your House?

“Yesit is. And in the meantime, we are continuing to build our little paradise here. I don't have a physical store and that has its advantages, but I still notice that I'm at my best in close contact with people. My big dream for the future is to develop a safe cradle and my own place to be. A place where we can invite and welcome people, and where nature can play a very important role. A lively place. Bio-diverse. Where people are welcome with their story. A unique place, say, where both me and others can work and live. Where people can order and collect items and where I can involve stories from other creative people. Creative people who make traditional products, or give interesting workshops. But especially those who give people/brands a platform who want to pass on the importance of writing their own story as a source of inspiration for others.”

So You Tell Your Story Through Flowers?

“Actually, I am a true storyteller. The combination of the genes of my creative mother and grandmother on the one hand and on the other, the collaboration I experienced with the florist on our wedding in the Drôme, were the sparks that lighted that fire. But I am also convinced that if it weren't flowers, I would have chosen a different medium anyway to translate how I or someone else thinks about life. Beautiful right?"