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Working in the Fantasy: To Be a Freelance Florist 夢幻的工作: 成為自由花藝師

Avery Yang

Updated: Apr 7, 2023



從小我對於自由工作者這行業就很感興趣。


「自由」,依照自己的意志行事,不受外力拘束或限制。

這不就是我所嚮往的嗎?因為我超討厭被管的。


但是要成為一位自由工作者並非所想的如此簡單;自由工作者要具備的不只是專業能力,還包括時間管理能力、溝通能力、行銷能力....等。簡而言之,你就是一人公司;你得憑藉著自己的能力讓他人看見你。


 

起初學習花藝,是因為興趣使然,而且在 此刻(韓式花店) 創店初期,我就很喜歡 Becky老師的作品,所以才在疫情期間回到台灣並學習花藝技巧;甚至為了能如願上到 此刻 的實習生課程,我辭去了原本的工作,因為這樣才不用趕著回英國。然而在課程結束後,疫情仍然肆虐,我過著無業的生活同時燒著老本,天天渾渾噩噩地過著日子,等待著疫情趨緩回英國的那天。某一天,我轉念一想:「既然我的人生目標不外乎是經營一間店或是成為自由工作者,那何不趁現在嘗試經營花店順便累積作品集?也看看自己的能力是否能吸引到客戶。」順利的,我在那短暫的五個月內認識了很多可愛的客人,也了解到我的美感有人欣賞——這真的是再好不過了。


帶著這股熱情與希望回到了倫敦,我投了許多履歷給大大小小的花店,但不幸的是,我沒有收到任何回音。日子一天一天過去,我被現實潑了冷水。倫敦生活花費高,我的存款也所剩無幾;我不能再這樣頹廢下去,只好開始尋找能讓我果腹的工作。



在疫情之下,很多英國企業都改為遠端工作或是混合型(Hybrid)的工作方式,甚至部分公司還開始試驗「每週四天工作制」。很幸運的,在朋友介紹下我獲得了一份正職工作:大部分時間都是遠端工作,偶爾進辦公室開會。薪水也能勉強夠我在倫敦生活。


但我尚未放棄花藝這條路,繼續在閒暇之餘尋找任何與花藝相關的機會。


在英國大部分的花藝職缺,除了英語能力以及作品集以外,幾乎大部分都要求具備駕照*,並且「真的」會開上路。倫敦的路又小又窄,有些小路甚至沒有路燈,簡直在玩碰碰車。連我以往天天在台北大街小巷穿梭的人,都感到極度畏懼。儘管如此,我還是硬著頭皮持續申請,但是結果仍舊相同——申請無果。畢竟疫情才剛趨緩,職缺也很少;儘管這一切都在預料之中,但不免漸漸失去信心。

*註1:在英國大部分的人都是拿手排駕照,花藝工作室用的車也是手排箱型貨車。


在那之後,除了兼職工作以外,我也同時尋找任何「可能的機會」,甚至還開始想:「要不去超市當賣花的少女?」——真的是走投無路。 #抱歉但英國超市所販售的花真的沒長在我的價值觀上


最後,經過半年的努力,我從我最喜歡的英國花藝工作室得到了「增加經驗」的機會:那是一份無償的工作,不僅如此,我還得利用我的年假與週末去幫忙。但是得以與優秀的團隊進行婚禮佈置,在舒服且尊重彼此的環境中學習,真的是我的榮幸。


在數個月後,婚禮季即將結束之時,我收到一封從工作室寄來的郵件:「我們目前正在為下個婚禮季選擇我們的工作團隊,我們想問問您是否有興趣加入。」那一瞬間,喜悅之情不可言喻。


我成功了! 他們看見了我的努力!


 

在異鄉生活真的很不容易,除了語言能力以外還得在專業能力上證明自己。面對茫然無知的未來,我不清楚這滿腔的熱血會何去何從。我也知道,在成為一名全職自由接案花藝師的路上我還有很多需要學習的,但是,至少我堅持過,也終於有個起點了。



「世界上最快樂的事,莫過於為理想而奮鬥。」—— 蘇格拉底

 

I have been interested in being a freelancer since young.


Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or possessing the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered.

This is exactly what I have dreamed about because I hate to be controlled and told what to do. However, it is not as easy as how it seems on the surface. To be a freelancer, you will need to equip yourself with not only professional skills but also the abilities of time management, communication and promotion, etc. In short, you, yourself, are a walking company. You must create a stage for yourself to shine and let people notice you.


 

At the beginning of my floristry journey, it was out of my interest and curiosity in floral arrangement techniques. I have also liked Tutor Becky’s floral works since “At the Close (A floral shop)” started. These are the reasons why I even quit my job in the UK and went back to Taiwan for the florist internship program in “At the Close” so I didn’t need to rush going back to the UK.


After the program, the pandemic was still raging. I didn't have any income and could only spend my savings muddling along day after day while waiting for the return date to come. One day, a second thought came to my mind, “Since my life goal is nothing more than running a shop or becoming a freelancer, why not try to run a flower shop now and accumulate a portfolio at the same time? I can also test myself to see if I am capable of attracting customers." Luckily, I met a lot of lovely clients within those 5 months and realized that people did appreciate my aesthetic. What a surprise! This couldn't be better.


Back in London with this enthusiasm and hope, I sent many resumes to several floral shops/ studios but unfortunately, I didn't hear anything back. The reality threw me a bucket of cold water. The cost of living in London was high, and my savings were running low. I couldn't be living such a life anymore, thus I started looking for a job that would make ends meet.


During the epidemic, many British companies have switched to being remote or hybrid for the long term, and some companies have even begun the "Four-day workweek trial". I was lucky to get a full-time job referred by a close friend. This job allows me to work from home most of the time. It only requires me to occasionally go into the office for meetings. The salary is also enough for me to live an okay life in London.


Despite having a stable income, I didn't give up my goal to be a freelance florist. I continued to look for any opportunities related to floristry in my spare time.


Apart from English skills and portfolio, most of the floristry-related vacancies require the candidates to have driving licenses, and can "really" drive. The roads in London are small and narrow compared to the ones in Taiwan, and there aren't even any street lights on some of them. For me, it’s like playing bumper cars. Although I used to shuttle through the streets and alleys in Taipei every day, I am still afraid of driving here. Anyways, I bit the bullet and continued to apply (or I had to give up because of this dumb reason), but the result was still the same: No one hired me. Even though this was expected due to the fact that the pandemic just slowed down and there were few openings, I still could not help myself from gradually losing confidence.


After that, I was open to any "possible opportunities", not limited to part-time jobs. It is no exaggeration to say that I even started considering going to the supermarket to sell the bouquets. You can tell how desperate I was.

Finally, after half a year of hard work, I got an opportunity to "gain work experience" at my favorite floral studio in the UK. It however was an unpaid job, and I had to take annual leaves and weekends; Nevertheless, it was a real pleasure to be able to do the wedding setup with an incredibly outstanding team and learn in a comfortable and respectful environment.


A few months later, I received an email from the studio towards the end of the wedding season: "We are currently choosing our freelance team for next season and also wanted to ask whether you would be interested in freelancing for us on events?” You have no idea how excited I was when I read the email. I was feeling on top of the world!


I made it! My effort was recognised!


 

Living in a foreign country is challenging. As I mentioned above, besides language skills, you have to stand out from the crowd in your profession. Facing the unknown, I’m not sure where this passion for floristry will go, and I know there is still a lot to learn. No matter what, I have persisted and finally have a start on this journey.



“There's no greater happiness than striving for one's ideal in the world.” — Socrates


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