Our Community Manager, Jessica Y., had posted a review for Gentle Beast Floral back in December, and I remember marveling at the pictures she provided of the various floral arrangements she had purchased. However, since it was already so close to Christmas, I made a mental note of this business for future reference. And sure enough, when January rolled around, I had three birthdays to plan for, one of them being my Mother's. So I pulled that mental note back into focus and visited the business' website to see what my options were.
What I really love about GBF is that it has this crisp, clean, no B.S. presentation. In some ways, the owner Kai speaks not so much through his words but through his floral arrangements, which you can readily see through the different pictures provided on his website. The ease of access in terms of ordering and selecting arrangements is also a blessing. When I had been in the midst of ordering, I believe the selections were for hand tied bouquets, personalized seasonal flower arrangements (with containers), english garden baskets (with a to-go option as well), and seasonal tropical garden arrangements. There's also options for celebratory additions to floral arrangements as well. Since I had never ordered a floral arrangement from GBF, I figured the English Garden Basket To Go would be a good first purchase due to its size, cost, and gorgeous lauhala box. Once you make a selection, you're then prompted for a delivery date (or date you'd like to pick-up) and then input payment information. There's also a section for notes in case there's a special request you'd like to make. I wasn't sure what to put at the time, so just left it blank. It wasn't until I started following GBF on Instagram that one day, a flower had caught my attention: the Japanese Sweet Pea Flower. It then dawned on me that my Mother loved orchids, so I had emailed Kai to see if it would be possible to add some of those to the arrangements, or have flowers similar to the Japanese Sweet Pea, and he had replied that he would try his best to add them but that they are on the more expensive side, so I told him it wasn't a problem if it couldn't be done, and that if I needed to pay extra, I could do so as well. I then anxiously awaited pick-up day.
Now, I would recommend either putting in a time for pick-up for your orders or talking with Kai before pick-up and/or delivery dates because I had just decided to drive over close to opening hours when I had gotten the call that my order was ready, which was a blessing in disguise because if it hadn't I would've made a major oopsie. Pick-up was also a breeze as well since the directions to GBF is easy to follow and as long as you reference Google Maps, you'll be able to figure out where to park by. Kai was also really sweet in person and the floral arrangement was much more gorgeous than I had ever anticipated. He had even added some Japanese Sweet Pea Flowers because of my previous reference and I remember my husband and I driving away with the arrangement feeling excited for my Mother and anxious to see how she'd react. And sure enough, my Mother was absolutely delighted with her arrangement and had thought that it was actually fake until she had touched one of the petals. I had explained to her about GBF and the owner Kai's experiences, and she agreed that he was a world class craftsman in floral arrangements with a European flair. So I made a mental note to pretty much get flowers from GBF for my Mother on every occasion I could.
Overall, if you're looking for a floral arrangement or bouquet for a loved one or even just for celebratory reasons, I would highly recommend Gentle Beast Floral. If there's anything that the pandemic has taught me, it's that not all heroes wear capes--some of them carry shears, a bottle of bleach, and the knowledge and skills to curate an arrangement that will literally make you stop and smell the roses. I am definitely looking forward to seeing Kai and Gentle Beast Floral flourish in the years to come, and can't wait to see what other ideas and surprises he will come up with in the upcoming holidays. read more