LEAVING a stable and well-paying job to follow her creative passion was a terrifying move for certified floral designer Gillian Caesar, but she trusted in God and her skill, and has since made a name for herself in the local floral industry.
Caesar, the owner of Flowers by G, worked in the corporate sector for over 25 years, holding senior and executive management positions in the banking, retail and credit, and construction industries.
She said her mother did floral arranging as a hobby and would usually involve her young daughter so, as she grew older, when Caesar needed to de-stress, she did so by creating floral arrangements.
She particularly loved Christmas so she made wreaths, garlands, centrepieces and permanent botanical floral arrangements for herself. Those who knew of her hobby would ask her to do pieces for them, so, one year, she took a few of her pieces into the office and, to her surprise, her colleagues bought them all.
The move led her to start a part-time flowers and events business in 2009.
Then, in 2012, she decorated her Orange Grove, Tacarigua home with Christmas pieces and invited her family and close friends to lime. One friend said she wanted a Christmas tree like Caesar’s, and that was the start of her Christmas decor service for home and corporate clients.
[caption id="attachment_1093858" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Gillian Caesar: "It is always so gratifying to me when, whether it's a single flower or huge arrangement, I see some someone’s face light up. The emotion that evokes... it is so perfect." - ROGER JACOB[/caption]
That lime evolved into an annual Christmas show which, through word of mouth, expanded both her guest and client lists. By 2016, the event was so big she moved it to the Normandie Hotel as a Christmas Show and Tea Party. And, in 2022, she invited other female entrepreneurs and it was held at the Raintree Plant and Wellness Centre in Macoya as a Mini Christmas Pop-up and Tea Party.
In addition, she successfully bid to decorate the Prime Minister's residence in 2016 and 2017.
Caesar said as her love for the craft grew, she wanted to educate herself more so she started looking for floral design courses.
In 2014, she earned her accredited event designer designation from the Institute of Wedding and Event Design in Miami, Florida. Realising she preferred to focus on flowers, she immediately started a course at the Yola Guz School of Floral Design in Miami which offered private sessions.
She attended classes during her vacations, since she was working full-time, and did her final practical exam in Seattle, Washington, with the American Institute of Floral Designers in 2017. The next year she was invited to be an accredited designer with the institute.
“After I did the exam, I felt I could no longer sit in a boardroom and put on a suit and be in meetings and deal with corporate because my heart was now all in the way of flowers. So I guess I took the leap of faith and switched from corporate to creative. And, in essence, that's how I came to a fu
