Grace Walter is the founder of Juniper Blooms, an online flower subscription service in Canberra that launched April this year.
With the rise of subscription based products — with anything from TV, to wine, and even to toilet paper — Grace says she “felt a subscription lends itself well to flowers, because it’s something people love to have, but they often think seems frivolous”. She says receiving fresh blooms for your home is “a lovely way to continue your love for someone or yourself”.
For Juniper Blooms, one of Grace’s focuses was flexibility — “it’s something people can sign up to very easily and then they can pause it, or even redirect it to mum or a friend” to “keep sharing that love”. I think everyone can agree that flowers are such a simple and wonderful way to spread joy, with Grace saying “I have never, ever delivered flowers to someone who doesn’t smile” (and even her customers who order for themselves often say “I know it’s coming but I’m still so excited when it gets here!” — we’d do the same).
We wanted to ask Grace specifically about the importance (both personally and sustainably) of buying local blooms, as opposed to those sold in supermarkets. She explains: “Being a natural product, you can imagine that when you’re getting flowers from overseas, they would have had to be harvested well in advance of it going on an aeroplane, and then coming over, going through customs, landing at the wholesaler, landing at your florist, and then landing at you”. “So by the time you get it, you’re actually not getting a super fresh product.”
Purchasing blooms that have “come from within Australia, and then if possible, even a little bit closer to home” not only help “cut down on all the air-miles that have been flown”, but “make a lot more sense to seek out on a practical level” because they stay fresher for longer.
The other beautiful aspect of Grace’s business is her commitment to the community and social enterprise. She donates $5 from every bouquet to Black Dog Institute, and runs flower sessions for well-being twice a year free of charge at the Perinatal Wellbeing Centre. Grace says “I set up the business so that it could fulfil those social purposes, because I feel for me that’s just as important as the flowers”.
To further her mission, Grace has partnered with us here at the CBR Gals Network, along with Clothes Swap & Style in collaboration with Je Fleur, to create a Spring Clothes Swap event, complete with local blooms and like-minded gals. All ticket sales from the event will be donated directly to Black Dog Institute to support mental health research, and any leftover clothing will be donated to local charities.
Grace says that she’s especially excited to find some new pieces for her wardrobe, whilst showcasing some beautiful native blooms. We wholeheartedly agree that this event where sustainable fashion-meets-florals will be the perfect way to celebrate the change in season.
From the perspective of a business-owner in Canberra, Grace also says: “I think [organizing] this clothes swap has really made me realise that Networking is so important… it’s been such a lovely process reaching out [to local business owners]”.
She says “If you don’t make it happen, it’s not going to be there”, and that “a great way to do business in Canberra”, in her opinion “is just to be open to new opportunities and go outside of my comfort zone”.
If you’d like to attend tickets are still available on the event page.
We can’t wait to KNOW you!!! Xxx
When: Sunday 23 October
Time: 11am – 1pm *(Arrive at 10.45 am for an 11am start)
Where: Je Fleur Bespoke Botanicals, Provan St, Campbell
For tickets, click HERE.
Author: Krishaa Tulsiani
Krishaa is the Operations Officer at the CBR Gals Network. She is a regular contributor to the Network’s blog.