‘Flowers and Garlands by Vedo’

Feb 11, 2024 News

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“Young entrepreneurs serve as role models in society. They inspire others that they too can do something meaningful and worthwhile with their lives no matter their age.”

By Allyiah Allicock

Kaieteur News – With Valentine’s Day right around the corner and you are thinking of surprising that special someone with some beautiful fresh flowers, then ‘Flowers and Garlands by Vedo’ have got your back.

Offering fresh flowers (which are imported), fresh floral arrangements and garlands, ‘Flowers and Garlands by Vedo’ which opened its doors in September 2018, is owned by Vadewattie Ramkhelawan, a mother of one who hails from Triumph Village on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

In a recent exclusive interview with The Waterfalls, Vadewattie said from as long as she can remember she always loved working with flowers. It is something she has had a deep admiration for, from a young age. The young woman shared that she has been making garlands (malas) for religious functions at home and for mandirs since she was a girl. Eventually, she became a pro at it and started to experiment with different styles and flowers.

She recalled that what had inspired her to launch her business back in 2018.

Ramkhelawan noted that it was the huge encouragement she got from her family especially her husband, to turn her skills into a business. “They saw my talent, creativity and of course, my love for flowers and inspired me to start,” she stated.

At ‘Flowers and Garlands’, they offer fresh flower arrangements and garlands for any occasion. According to Ramkhelawan, when the business started, they did flower arrangements in vases along with garlands for Hindu religious functions (pujas). After this she said, they expanded to doing fresh flower jewelry, wedding bouquets and boutonnieres and wedding garlands.

She noted that doing this for over five years now would not have been possible without the tremendous support from her husband, who she said has her back in her whether it is getting the raw materials, looking after their son, or even doing the deliveries.  Ramkhlelawan mentioned that it is the support from family and customers who have made her business blossom to where it is today.

Additionally, she said, ‘Flowers and Garlands’ would not have been standing tall today if it was not for the lessons learnt and challenges endured along the way. Speaking of challenges, she related to The Waterfalls, “At first when I started, I found it challenging to source some of the raw materials to do my work for example vases at a reasonable price but now more businesses are importing things like that. I can easily walk into stores now and find what I need. Also, it has become easier to import your own stuff from online.”

She added that when she first started as well, the business started to see sales which were ‘few and far apart.’  She said this did not discourage as she “kept at it” and eventually started to get more orders regularly.

Another challenging part she recalled came during the pandemic, when her business slowed down drastically. “Flowers are a luxury many people weren’t bothered with. I also had to take a step back since I was pregnant during that time,” she stated. Nevertheless, she was able to overcome this and come back bigger and better.

When asked what is in store for her business and future plans, our featured entrepreneur disclosed that her long term goal is to have her own walk in flower shop because right now she does mostly pre orders from her Triumph home.

As the young woman continues to inspire and contribute to our society through her business, she is of the firm belief that young entrepreneurs are an inspiration to others. In her own words, she asserted “Young entrepreneurs serve as role models in society. They inspire others that they too can do something meaningful and worthwhile with their lives no matter their age.”

She suggested that to help young business owners grow in society, a lot more can be done. For example, she said there needs to be “easier access to start-up capital and loans” in order to boost small businesses locally. According to her, this would be a great help and encourage youths to become financially independent.

Persons who are desirous of utilising Vadewattie’s floral services can contact her on WhatsApp on telephone number: 592-645-0430. She is also available on Instagram at flowers and garlands, on Facebook at ‘Flowers and Garlands by Vedo’, and on Tik Tok at ‘flowers and garlands’. Note, orders are still open for this Valentine’s Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• East Coast of Demerara, Flowers are a luxury, The Waterfalls, Vadewattie, Vadewattie’s floral

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