Was braucht man eigentlich für ein „eigenes Unternehmen“ – vor allem keine Angst, das richtige Konzept, gutes Verhandlungsgeschick mit Investoren oder Partnern und eben diese eine Vision, einen Traum und ein Ziel. Vor allem aber muss man die richtigen Fragen stellen und genau das tun wir ab heute in unserer neuen „Creator Stories„-Rubrik. Erfolgreiche Frauen, mutige Frauen, all die, für die wir die #girlboss-Fahne schwingen, gehören hier her. 

Und weil sich Dienstags meist noch immer schwer an Arbeit denken lässt, fangen wir heute mit einem ganz besonders schönen Thema an – Von Träumen und Traumjobs mit Ruby von Mary Lennox. Ruby – 26 und ein waschechtes Blumenmädchen aus Australien hat es geschafft aus einem Gefühl heraus etwas ganz Großes aufzubauen, als Floristin ihren Weg zu gehen und aus einem Traum, Realität werden zu lassen. 2009 startet Ruby mit Mary Lennox, dann vor drei Jahren, entschließt sie sich dazu, Berlin zu ihrer neuen Heimat zu machen.

„When I left school I pursued a number of dreams, which I quickly realized could never been professions. Sometimes it’s nice to keep interests as interests. I never imagined working as a florist as a child but nature has captivated me for years now. I can’t imagine ever working in another field.“

„Berlin hat sich einfach richtig angefühlt“, verrät und Ruby. Berlin fühlt sich für die meisten richtig an, doch ohne genauen Plan, von dem, was man hier überhaupt machen möchte, kann Berlin sich auch ganz schnell falsch anfühlen.

Einen Businessplan hatte Ruby nicht, aber vielleicht war es viel mehr ihre Leidenschaft und ihre Überzeugung, die sie dahin gebracht haben, wo sie heute als erfolgreiche Unternehmerin steht. 
Sie hat viel lernen müssen und hart arbeiten, um mit ihrem eigenen Unternehmen „Mary Lennox“ ihren Traum nun endlich auch als ihren Traumjob bezeichnen zu können.

Mary Lennox hat inzwischen ihren Platz im The Store im Soho House Berlin gefunden, zudem arbeitet Ruby an verschiedenen Auftragsarbeiten in ganz Berlin, stattet Hotels und Restaurants mit ihren wundervollen Blumenkreationen aus, Hochzeiten sind dabei ebenso ein Thema, genau wie die tägliche Freude an wundervollen Blumenarrangements.

 „Flowers are used a gesture of love and kindness and they are present at the most significant moments in life.“

Ruby war nicht nur mutig, sondern auch verdammt fleißig – nach verschiedenen Jobs bei anderen Floristen, einer großen Portion Erfahrungen, hat sie es geschafft ihr eigenes Unternehmen zu gründen und inzwischen ein kleines Team dahinter halten zu können. Wo sie ihre Motivation hernimmt, worauf ihr achten müsst, wenn ihr etwas eigenes beginnen möchtet und wo Vor- und Nachteile liegen, all das hat uns Ruby letzten Samstag bei einem kleinen Treffen zwischen viel Farbe und traumhaft duftenden Blumen verraten.  

Du kommst eigentlich aus Australien – warum Berlin?

My grandmother was Hungarian and I was lucky enough to be eligible for an EU passport. I visited Berlin in the Summer and was blown away by grand parks and the beautiful overgrown green spaces dotted around the city. My boyfriend was also already living here. I wanted to try something new and it felt right.

2009 hast du dein eigenes kleines Unternehmen gegründet, dich selbstständig gemacht und deine Träume verwirklicht? 

The more inspiring florists I met, the clearer it became that I wanted to work in this field. In the beginning, I was working as a freelance florist in Sydney for a number of years and at the same time taking on a number of small personal projects. Eventually those projects became bigger and more frequent and I had to devote all of my time to Mary Lennox. I still really enjoy freelancing for other florists, it keeps me inspired and I love being actively involved in the florist community.

Wie sah dein Businessplan aus, gab es den überhaupt? 

I am embarrassed to say that I never successfully completed a business plan. Mary Lennox has been driven by random opportunity. When I started Mary Lennox I could have never predicted that I would be here in Berlin with a workbench somewhere as beautiful as The Store. I just try do each project to the best of my ability and hope that people appreciate it.

 So einfach? Wie kam es zu den ersten Aufträgen? Und wo finden wir deine Kreationen heute überall?  

In Australia, I started going to the Flower Market with a friend to decorate our dinner parties and to buy special gifts. This quickly turned into us sourcing flowers for friends and family, the response was so positive and people began recommending us to their friends. Word of mouth turned out to be really powerful – we operated for years without a business card. It was slightly more difficult in Berlin as I only knew a few people when I moved here. The first thing I did was send out small gift bunches to people I admired and eventually the word spread. There are now three people, myself as well as Olivia and Paola, working on Mary Lennox and everything is functioning very smoothly. These days, you can find Mary Lennox bunches in private homes, restaurants and our special installations all around Berlin.

 Gibt es denn noch Mitstreiter der ersten Stunde? 

I started Mary Lennox in Berlin on my own but as the business grew I built up a team of two other girls, Olivia and Paola. We work together on all our projects now. Olivia and I went to high school together and Paola was the first person to contact me regarding an internship. I am so happy to have such a dedicated and talented team. Mary Lennox would not be possible without them!

Was ändert sich, wenn der Traum zum Beruf wird und hättest du Dir das je träumen lassen?

When I left school I pursued a number of dreams, which I quickly realized could never been professions. Sometimes it’s nice to keep interests as interests. I never imagined working as a florist as a child but nature has captivated me for years now. I can’t imagine ever working in another field. 

Sich selbstständig zu machen, ein eigenes Business zu starten, ist ein großer, aber vor allem mutiger Schritt. Was hat dich davon überzeugt, dass zu machen, was du heute als deinen Job bezeichnen kannst? 

I have always had my own creative pursuits but I spent a lot of time working for other florists in Sydney and New York. I really loved it. I met so many inspiring people and worked on some really fun projects. When I first moved to Berlin, I actually unsuccessfully applied to work at a couple of different florists. I wanted to learn more about the industry here, in Germany. I was kind of forced to focus all my attention on my own business and I’m so glad I did. I couldn’t be happier with the way everything turned out. 

Warum Floristin? 

 After trying out a few different career paths, I decided that flowers are the creative medium I feel most comfortable with. Flowers are so beautiful in their own right it is so rewarding to be working with something that is so closely linked with human emotion. Flowers are used a gesture of love and kindness and they are present at the most significant moments in life. It is really nice to be exposed to these moments on a daily basis. 

Wie sieht dein Tag als Floristin so aus? Was gefällt Dir daran? 

Olivia, Paola and myself drive to the wholesale market at 4:30 am and source the most beautiful flowers we can find. In spring and Summer, we also visit farms and plant nurseries to try and find unique, local produce to work with. 

Coffee in hand- we spend the first few hours of the morning preparing the flowers and by 10am we are ready for the working day. 

We are either at The Store selling plants and flowers from our workbench, delivering special bouquets, meeting with clients or setting up events.

I love that every day is different and that each job is romantic and special, even wrapping a single stem for someone to give to their loved one is satisfying.

Was inspiriert dich? Suchst du gezielt nach neuen Inspirationen oder woher nimmst du die viele Kreativität für deine Arbeit?  

I draw inspiration from so many places. The florist community, my friends, family and nature itself… My favourite design process is when I cut the flowers directly from farms. I feel so much more in touch with the produce and that always inspires the arrangements I find most beautiful. 

Vorbilder: Wer gibt Dir Kraft, motiviert dich und zu wem schaust du noch heute auf? 

The florist community is endlessly inspiring. I am really inspired by farmer florists and people growing their own produce. It’s a whole new level of commitment which I really respect.

Deine drei Business-Tipps, für all die, die ihr eigenes Projekt starten wollen: 

1. Work for as many inspiring people as possible. This helps you understand the standard of work you have to deliver.
2. Have faith that If you work hard enough at something you love, the right clients will find you.
3. Be confident in the value you of your work. It’s so easy to be convinced to work for free. 

Wo nimmst du die Leidenschaft her, wenn der Traum zu einem Kontinuum, sprich zum Alltag wird oder ist Mary Lennox nur ein zeitlich begrenztes Projekt für Dich? 

Mary Lennox is so engrained in my everyday life. My interests are plants and flowers and they are also my job. It’s so hard to draw a line where Mary Lennox stops and my personal life starts. The things I do to relax also inspire me to get back to work. I love going to the botanical gardens and looking for new and interesting plants to work with and nothing is more exciting than finding a new place to source flowers.

However, I often think about whether I could keep up with this job when I am 50. It is fast paced, the hours are long and the work is very physical, which I love now but it doesn’t seem realistic that I could do it forever. I think its safe to say that I will always work with plants and flowers but I look forward to my interests developing and taking my work in new directions.

Was sind für dich die Vorteile vom Selbständig sein? 

I love having the freedom to decide what I want to work on and whom I want to work with. Being self-employed also allows me to choose my own schedule, which is great. Sometimes after I have been to the market at 4:30am and finished all my hands-on flower work by 9am, I spend the rest of the day writing proposals in bed.

…und die Nachteile?  

This disadvantage is that I’m not formally trained in running a small business. All my work experience in flowers didn’t prepare me for all the administrational tasks and everyday upkeep of a business. There’s so much to think about. I have to focus all my time and energy on the creative work and at the same time keep everything organized. I’ve had to learn a lot.

Worauf muss man immer und jederzeit gefasst sein?  

Working with perishable produce really keeps you on your toes. It doesn’t matter the scale of the job, it has to be completed in one day to ensure the flowers look their most beautiful. I have to be so careful about the quality of the produce I am buying and monitor it constantly. 

Du scheinst deine Pläne konsequent umzusetzen. Was kommt als nächstes an die Reihe?

 We are so excited to be working with The Store at the moment! There’s a great energy here and we are looking forward to all sorts of great projects in our new space. We have also just launched a collection of Mary Lennox seeds. In the past 5 years I have been working a lot more with plants and have been experimenting with growing some flowers on a very small scale. I would love to have a Mary Lennox cutting garden one day in the future – fingers crossed! 

Hast du manchmal Zweifel daran, dass das was du tust auch das richtige ist? Wie kann man Zweifel aus den Weg räumen? 

I think doubts like that are very normal. I had so many doubts about running a flower business in Berlin. The produce was so different to what I was used to working with and I missed having the option of locally grown cut flowers. Unique produce is the most important thing to me and it is so hard to find here.

These circumstances have pushed me to rethink the way I find flowers and I have ended up really enjoying the hunt. I guess you just have to find ways to change things you’re not happy with and hope for the best!  

Zukunft – wo siehst du dich in 5 und in 10 Jahren.

Its really hard to predict where Mary Lennox will end up. I am still learning so much about the flower industry in Germany and exploring different ways of operating my business. I have so many goals for the next 5 years; growing my own flowers, special collaboration with other design disciplines and also travelling to work in other parts of Europe. I have absolutely no idea what I’ll be doing in 10 years time! Lets talk again in 2020 when I have worked through my current 5 year plan.

Vergangenheit –  welcher Moment macht dich noch heute stolz?

It was such a big decision to start my own business in Germany. Every little success I have here fills me with pride. 

Wenn du noch einmal ganz von vorne beginnen könntest, würdest du etwas anders machen wollen?

 I wish I started learning German earlier! 

Mary Lennox ist nach einem Mädchen aus Frances Hodgson Burnett Buch The Secret Garden benannt! Ein Mädchen, das als Waise aufwächst und in einem geheimen Garten ihre Leidenschaft zur Natur entdeckt und zu einer wundervollen Persönlichkeit heranwächst, in dem sie sich nur noch dem alten verwilderten Garten widmet. Daher auch der Namen – wie schön romantisch kann so etwas denn bitte sein!

Liebe Ruby, wir danken Dir für so viel Mut und vor allem für die Einblicke in deine Arbeit, wünschen Dir weiter viel Erfolg und wundervolle Blumen, die dich weiter zum strahlen bringen! 

Besuchen könnt ihr Ruby Donnerstag, Freitag und Samstag im The Store im Soho House Berlin und natürlich auch täglich auf ihrer Website. 

Zu guter Letzt noch ein Einblick in Ruby´s Arbeit, viel mehr Ruby´s kreativen Schöpfungen via Instagram.