Meet The Petal Pro. A boutique flower shop owned by Christopher Deonarine. The brand started as a bespoke flower shop with every piece being unique but has now evolved as customers see photos and want exactly what they see. “Currently the brand has taken on a life of its own. It’s modern, yet elegant, while still being affordable. Everyone likes to feel fancy, without the fancy price tag, so my aim was to offer floral arrangements that look like they cost a fortune, that anyone can afford without having to go overboard.”
The brand was born in November of 2019 and has had some serious growth over the months. “Our main focus is to ensure that anyone, with any budget, can get a full, gorgeous floral piece for any occasion. Reliable, affordable and early delivery of pieces is also something we strive for as we offer a standard delivery fee to anywhere in Trinidad for only $50.” Christopher says quite simply that “Our mission is to make something as effortlessly beautiful as flowers affordable again, without compromising quality, or outrageous prices.”
When it comes to the name of the business, Christopher admits that The Petal Pro wasn’t the original name. “I was at a loss for a name, and my brother, Ryan, actually came up with The Petal Project. I have a math and science background, and just delved into the floral world, so the name seemed appropriate. We operated with this name for about three months and then registered.
While registering the business, due to some legal challenges, we had to change the name, and so The Petal Pro was born.” For Christopher this is his full time job. “Still a lot of long hours, some days are 18-20 hours, others are shorter, but it’s all worth it when you see the hard work paying off.”
So what inspired Christopher to start The Petal Pro? “The first reason was had just left my job, and I figured I have the experience already, so why not try my hand at the flower shop game. It was originally supposed to be a part time thing, but again, it just took off so fast, that this is now the full time job. The second reason, and a major reason, was my favourite cousin, Nikita who is like a sister to me, had been trying to get me to build on my creative talents for years. She actually pushed me into doing it, and gave me so much feedback and encouragement. To this day, every day she reminds me, “I’ve been telling you to do this for so long, and you finally listened.” I make no exaggeration when I say that she tells me that every day.”
When it comes to milestones, Christopher says he survived two major occasions in the floral world, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. “Also keeping that working relationship with my customers and keeping the business afloat during the Covid-19 lockdown period and just making the business into what it is today. Sometimes I look at the social media pages after the rebranding and I just feel an immense sense of pride like, I did that! That’s my business!”
Apart from milestones, Christopher has also learned many lessons along his journey with The Petal Pro. He chose to cite two in particular. “Lesson 1. Never be afraid to ask for help or feedback. Some days it’s hard, and emotional help sometimes is needed, or just words of encouragement. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve been blessed with so many members of my family who I can bounce ideas off of, test out new pieces on, get their feedback on what they like and don’t like, and the majority of times they’re usually right. Lesson 2. Always, always, always, follow your gut instinct. Buy that vase, buy those flowers, don’t go down this road as yet, do the rebranding now – all things that I followed my gut with, and it always worked out in the end. Your gut instinct is God trying to tell you what to do, through the universe and that little voice at the back of your head, as annoying as it may be.”
When it comes to advice Christopher may have for budding entrepreneurs, “Do it. Take the leap. I wanted to do this at the beginning of 2019 and was always unsure, and questioning if it would be successful or not. Just take the jump, but start off part time. You’ll never truly be ready for anything life has in store for you, including opening your own business, but you won’t know just how resilient and successful you can be, until you just hold your breath and take that jump!”
Christopher says the unique parts of his business is doing structural pieces. “I’ve been doing more modern, avant garde types of arrangements to bring a different look as opposed to what we know about. Another unique thing I’d have to say is that my first question to a customer is always “what’s your budget” so I can work backward to design a piece from scratch while meeting their expectations of a piece that wows them. There’s not that many flowershops that would do that. We also deliver to places as far as Mayaro, Toco and Maracas!”
Check out The Petal Pro for all your floral arrangement needs.
