Quirky Florist with Winning Ideas…for Every Occasion

Seeing small businesses giving it their all to cope and build themselves up again during this pandemic, I was trying to think of a way I could do something to help. I thought a little competition would be cool, a little outside the box, but I invited quirky small businesses to compete for a chance to win an expose of their business in a bid to give them a little boost in these uncertain times.

I had a great response, many businesses commented on my Facebook post with the quirkiest product they had to offer and I loved looking at them all. I let my little boy (I mean quirky assistant!) dress up as a wizard and he pulled out a name from his magician’s hat. And we had a winner, truthfully, I would have been happy to write about any of the contenders, such a diverse range of businesses, but the winner was Dale Evers from Every Occasion, and this excited me, a chance to explore the quirkiness of a florist business and it’s blooms intrigued me.

The first thing I did after announcing the winner was check out their Facebook page and went for a little wander in their photos. You can imagine how overjoyed I was to see so much quirky on the winner’s page! This was the first thing I spotted and I did a little dance! Ladybirds are adorable creatures, I love them, if you add ladybirds to anything, it just gives them a quirky edge. Scrolling down a little more and I saw more funky fish bowls.
“The fish bowls are all my own ideas and thought would be nice for kids also with fairies or the dinosaurs, I’m also going start doing children’s parties so they can make their own bowls”
I love the idea of these creative children parties, such a quirky experience!

It doesn’t just stop at fish bowls, I saw a whole host of quirky cactus displays. So unusual, unique gift ideas for sure. And for those people who can’t keep plants alive, a cactus is probably a safer bet! Can you spot the one inspired by Tiger King?

Since becoming a fan of their Facebook page, my newsfeed gets brightened up by their beautiful, vibrant, colourful bouquets. I found that they have some unusual ways of displaying their bunches of blooms too. From hat boxes to heart-shaped boxes, but these envelope boxes grabbed my quirky attention!

I was intrigued to know what is the most unusual plant / flower Dale had worked with. There are some quirky ideas floating around here so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I wasn’t disappointed with the answer.
“The most unusual flower would probably be the dyed ones I’m doing at the minute as you can play with them until you get the colour desired and no two are ever the same”
I absolutely love this cosmic range of blooms, absolutely stunning!

“I would most like to work with flowers from tropical climates, India, Thailand ect as they’re more rare to buy over here”
I’m sure they will make their way to this florist, but when you can make your own funky colours and make otherwise simple flowers stand out from the crowd yourself, who needs tropical flowers!!

I would imagine one of the times this process could come in handy would be for weddings, especially when a fussy bride wants to match her flowers to her colour scheme and wants them to be spot on…I may have been one of those brides!! But when I questioned which was Dale’s favourite wedding to work on, it was a lovely response.
“My favourite wedding was the sunflower one as it was for a good friend and she said as long as it’s got sunflowers do what you want”
Sunflowers are definitely the happiest, sunniest flowers to choose for a wedding.

One of the things that stood out the most to me were the pumpkins, and I thought straight away, these must have been table arrangements for a wedding, beautiful blooming pumpkins! But these are an Every Occasion special and I adore them.
“the pumpkins I do every year from start of October and people go mad for them”
I even spotted pictures of a pumpkin arrangement workshop on their page, a fabulously unique experience, I’d love to join in. Shame I live soooo far away or I’d sign up for this experience!

I also saw wreath creation workshops, another fun, unusual experience for the locals. This florist definitely knows how to bring fun, flowers and people together. There were two wreaths I was drawn to for their uniqueness and beauty. The peacock wreath is so unusual, very pretty, and peacocks are bang on trend at the moment. And the other one was the musical notes one, soooo me, I love music, music is life, and I will always be drawn to quirky musical creations and products.
“The musical one was for my own door as my husband plays every instrument going … and they’re my own creations from me”

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I have been so inspired by writing this post, I have already added some ornaments to my flower pots, and I’m about to go plant a rose in my very weedy garden. If you are in the Kimberworth area, support this florist, support this business, it’s been given this Quirky Shopper‘s badge of approval! Oh and news just in, Every Occasion is looking into posting their beautiful bouquets all over the UK come September, so even more of you lovely people will be able to support this wonderful business. So what are you waiting for?… get over to their Facebook page, Every occasion, and show some quirky love…pretty please with a cherry on top!

Plantasia…we’ll be back!

One thing I have learnt over the last few months is that children definitely bring adventure back into your lives. Our four-year old has a massive hunger for all things exciting and new, he embraces every new environment with open arms, and I just knew that he would absolutely love this gorgeous little place called Plantasia in Swansea, Wales. It looks like a massive greenhouse in the middle of a retail park, so random, but step inside and you step into another World.

Plantasia had a massive £1.1 million re-development and opened it’s doors again in April this year (2019). I have no idea what the old Plantasia looked like, but with this re-vamp, I’m sure it’ll be a hit with families looking for an escape from the mundane!

They have even started introducing some new additions like the adorable little leopard cat, it was one of the reasons we visited, but she was still very new and very shy. But maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see her settle into her new home as she gets more comfortable with her new surroundings.

Our little one had a zookeeper experience, and he had such a fab time, he started off feeding the animal he was most looking forward to seeing, the cutie little meerkats! One preferred grapes and the other preferred mini corns, so funny to watch them roll their food in the sand before they ate them. I guess we all have our quirks, but if anyone knows why they do this, I have a very inquisitive munchkin here who would love to know!

He also got to feed live locusts to the most adorable little monkeys, these ones are called marmosets, and they have definitely captured my heart and are now up there in my top 5 favourite animals! I thought munchkin would have an issue feeding them live creatures, but he seemed unphased, which made for a much more positive zoo-keeper experience that’s for sure!

Meet Rainbow the beautiful parrot, she is definitely the most funky animal in Plantasia, she’s got beauty, she’s got multicoloured feathers and she has got a fiery attitude. Here’s our boy feeding her some pistachio nuts, her favourite snack. Rainbow certainly left an impression on him, he chose to buy a parrot teddy in the gift shop because it looked like Rainbow.

I was really looking forward to seeing the crocodiles, they were quite dinky for crocs. I couldn’t stop watching them. I love how they just float in the water, arms and legs (do they have arms and legs, or just four legs??!) anyway, they would just lie there floating, very strange but compelling viewing! They even have a turtle living with them, the turtle seems to get on better with the crocodiles than with other turtles, interesting to hear all their different traits and characters.

As our boy threw in loads of live crickets for them to chomp on, one of them came right up to where I was standing and just stared at me for what felt like ages, so glad there was something separating us, I don’t think he liked me papping away with my camera…or maybe he did and was just posing, who knows?!

Believe it or not, out of all the animals he fed, the fish were the most viscous of them all! They went mental, fighting for their grub, thrashing around as if it was a Black Friday sale in Asda! They were huge too, possibly the biggest fish I’ve ever seen! They did add a beautiful splash of colour to this tropical paradise.

As part of our special visit, munchkin was also allowed to hold some of the animals. This place is fab for allowing children to interact with and hold various animals, they have handling sessions where children can hold snakes and dragons etc. It was a precious moment to see such joy on our boy’s face as he held a little tortoise for the first time.

He also chose to hold the red corn snake, he is so much braver than I am, you wouldn’t find me anywhere near it. I was holding my breath hoping he wouldn’t drop it…hence why I don’t have a pic of him actually holding it!!

I had been harping on about the place have dragons so there was some excitement to holding a dragon…he did ask first if it would eat him. We had to explain that it’s not like the dragons in fairytales, it doesn’t breathe fire or eat people! It latched on to him with his feet though so he was quick to give the dragon back! Yet another failed photo opp grrr!

He loves his bugs and creepy crawlies, so holding a slimy big African Snail was right up his street. So much bigger than I’d expected it to be. I would be squirming at the feel of that sticky, gooey, slimey creature crawling on my hand, but I guess children today are obsessed with slime so not too different to a little tub of dinosaur poo slime!

I still can’t quite believe that he did try to hold this big cockroach!! It tickled so it was a short-lived hold but he did hold it! So impressed with his readiness and total willingness to hold and touch everything he was allowed to, he seemed completely at ease with the animals. I am so glad, because I am a massive scaredy-cat!

So after feeding and handling, we had a little walk around ourselves and I think this here is one of my favourite features. Children can crawl under the meerkat’s enclosure and literally watch them close-up and personal through this dome. Such an amazing idea, these type of things are the features that make it a special day out for children, they really do add to their adventure.

I was quite impressed myself with the weird and wonderful plants that surrounded the place, from giant cacti to this avocado tree, it did give you rainforest vibes. It beat visiting the garden centre, that’s for sure.

And I loved seeing the poisonous and deadly bits and bobs that had it’s own section too. These are called rosary peas, they are toxic, but their vibrance caught my eye. Luckily all poisonous plants and creatures are safe out of reach!

And check out these golden poison dart frogs, so cute but so deadly! Found it quite a calming experience to watch them though. They’re bodies look a bit like plucked chickens, really strange skin, closest I’ve seen to human, apart from them being a bit green!

From one weird-looking creature to the most weird-looking thing I’ve ever seen in my life! Can’t believe it smiled for the camera, so chuffed! This here is the quirkiest creature in this place for sure. It’s an axolotl, a type of salamander. I was mesmerised by it, kooky little thing! Not sure I’d want to touch it or hold it or anything like that but such an unusual creature, you can’t help but appreciate it.

And here’s a good shot of the marmoset, even if I do say so myself! No-one could pull off a funky hairstyle like this, paint the white bits green and you’d have Krusty the Clown! Joking aside, they have the tiniest of faces, the kindest of eyes, and I fell head over heels in love with all four of them.

I loved that there were many interactive parts that helped encourage a child’s imagination, and opportunities for fun and colourful photo opportunities too. Surely everyone needs to have a picture taken being eaten by a venus fly trap?! It is the quirkiest, most interesting plant in the whole wide World, so this totally makes sense in Plantasia.

And this sloth is an amazing feature. We had to pry our boy away from there, he just kept wanting his picture taken as a sloth! Now, I have always joked that I look like a sloth in some pictures , even some from our Wedding Day! Soooo, this had to be done. Sloths are my favourite animal at the moment too, they’re so cute and cuddly.

I think the waterfall is a stunning bonus feature that really adds to the rainforest effect. We of course needed to take a picture of our boy on the top of it. From this view, you get to see the whole place beneath you, I was so focused on getting a good picture of our boy, I don’t think I appreciated it enough at the time. Next time we go, I’ll need to spend more time there taking in what the view has to offer.

And I love that there’s a little tunnel underneath the waterfall too. Felt like a real adventure trail, as if you were in a secret world within a jungle. The imagination put in to this place is stunning, a lot of research must have been done to get the place looking and feeling so authentic.

Towards the end of our walk around, we came across a wishing tree. Our boy’s first wish was to have all the toys in the shop, but after asking again for a sensible wish, he said he wished he could be a sloth. I absolutely love this wish, I love the wishing tree, I think it’s such a special idea, hope it stays there for years to come. We all love a chance to make a wish don’t we?!

Our awesome time out in this fabulous little gem of a place ended in their Canopy Cafe. Munchkin loved his mushroom toastie, it did look amazing, he just keeps asking for toasties most days now! And we had the most delicious stone-baked pizzas. I recommend The Garden Club pizza, tasted just like the ones you get in Italy. It was a real treat and a lovely end to a magical day.

As soon as we left, our boy’s first words were “oh, I miss all the animals, can we go back tomorrow?” This is definitely somewhere we would like to visit again in the future. It’s reasonably priced, and has definitely got the thumbs up from our very busy 4-year old. Seeing our boy’s eyes light up so many times in so many hours was the best thing about this unique experience. We left with a stuffed parrot, stuffed tummies and our hearts filled with memories to treasure.

Only quirky plants make it in this house!

I have a serious problem with keeping plants alive, they just don’t survive a year in this house. But recently, we have adopted a rather fascinating cactus and I am trying to best to keep this one alive!! Our son has called it ‘Spikey’ which I think is an awesome name for a cactus! Spikey is going to have a better chance at life than any of the other cacti that have been and died before it because, I hate to say it, please don’t judge me for my shallowness in regards to cacti, but it has pretty flowers! This shade of pink is one of my favourite colours.

Spikey is a rhipsalidopsis cactus and was purchased at Wilkos for a reasonable price of £2.50, this was the only one with this particular colour blooms at the time. There was another one with red flowers which would have gone better with the pot it’s sitting in but who cares, it’s not here to win any prizes!

The pot deserves it’s own post, it is so cool. It has three legs which makes it unusual anyway, but the cute kitty cat face and colouring sets it apart from other pots I’ve had in the past. This was bought in TK Maxx which is one of my favourite high street shops to rummage through for quirky treasures. You can always find some unusual pieces in there which makes it a good place to go hunting for quirky bits and bobs. My Mother in particular is obsessed with this shop, she buys so many things from there throughout the year, she doesn’t even know who she’s going to give things to when she buys them, she just likes them and buys them just incase. I guess quirky shopping is in the genes!

Why quirky gifts are so much better to give…

As you get older, the number of gifts you get decreases, massively! Which is why it is so important to make the gift you give stand out from the crowd. As a gift recipient, I much prefer (obviously!) for them to be different to the norm. Most people buy what they want when they want them these days, so buying normal-looking things will more often than not make them forgettable.

Take this candle holder as an example. My sister gave me this a few years ago for Christmas and I adore it. It is so kooky, explodes with character, and best of all, it is so me! Now I have had many candle holders as gifts in the past and although I keep most of them hidden away in the candle cupboard for emergencies (yes, I am a bit of a hoarder!), I can’t remember who gave them to me or for what occasion. But this quirky and cute little witchy-looking cottage has pride of place in our living room. It will never be hidden away, and I will always remember who gave it to me.

I know that it was purchased at the Bath Christmas Market, but that’s as much intel as I can give you regarding where to get this exact one. It seems hand-crafted to me too so may well be a one-off, which again makes it more special to me.

There are two things to bear in mind when choosing a gift for someone. Make sure it’s something they will actually like and that it suits their personality, and secondly, make sure it’s something you like too. Fruit baskets wouldn’t be something you’d necessarily think of to give as a gift, but when it’s quirkilly shaped as an Owl, it can be a much appreciated fun and practical gift! This was one of my Christmas gifts from Mr Quirky and I think it is so cool, in all honesty though it has probably held more chocolates and biscuits than fruit! We both love forest friends’ themed items so it fits well in our kitchen. He bought it off Amazon and the cheapest I can find is £9.99.

This fruit basket shows that quirky doesn’t have to be crazy, over-the-top flamboyant, quirky can be classy, quirky can be in-keeping with a more subtle environment too. I just think that if you’re going to give a gift, make it count, make it a gift to remember, you might as well make it a little bit quirky!

My kind of Quirky…

So, as this is a brand spanking new blog, I think it’s important that you get to know what kind of quirky makes me tick!

I am not a materialistic person as such, but if I must have something, it needs to be special and worthy of being owned by me! Christmas 2017 I was given one of my most prized possession by Mr Quirky, a Vendula London handbag.

The one I’ve got isn’t even listed anymore, but I have this stunning purple book store bag. They still have a coffee version. It is gorgeous, so unique and I love it. I’m almost too afraid to use it because I don’t want to ruin it or hurt it in any way! I have always loved the Book Store one, I love books, my second choice would have been the Toy Shop, so cool.

There are so many new styles on the website now, I can’t believe how they come up with such funky designs, they’ve even got a red Post Box bag and a Tiki Bar! The Chocolatier and The Sewing Shop are amazing too.

They do purses, wallets and make-up bags as well as bags in different shapes and sizes. This website makes me smile every time I have a look. It is quite possibly one of my favourite websites to visit, and I am so incredibly happy that I have my very own bag to adore at home too.