Feeling lost during the pandemic, corporate human resources trainer Vivian Mak found flower preservation as a way to nourish her soul. What began as a stress-relieving hobby soon became her new life.
Mak’s friends were shocked when they learned she quit her job, became a floral designer, and started a floral studio.
“You were never a fan of flowers. What changed?” Her friends asked.
Mak said her dedication to becoming a florist was because of her excellent floral art teacher in Taiwan. In just two years, Mak went from being solo to having ten employees, proving she was serious about being a florist.
While studying floral art in Taiwan, Mak learned the skills of becoming a florist and the essence of being openhearted and genuine.
When Mak returned to Hong Kong, she decided to share the knowledge she had learned in Taiwan, but with a human touch.
A Secret Garden
When you set foot in Liām Liām Workshop by Vivian Mak, you will first see the twinkling of water drops on dozens of flowers. The sun beaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows gives the open space a heartwarming glow.Mak’s students love sitting by the window to soak up the sun. “The glorious sunshine brings the students joyous feelings!” Mak said.
Liām Liām Workshop is a secret garden of joy for Mak’s students.
Why Preserved Flowers
Flower preservation has become popular in recent years. According to Masterclass.com, preserved flowers are dried and de-stemmed blossoms that keep their fragrance and color vibrancy in the sharpest condition.Unlike fresh flowers, preserved flowers do not require watering and maintenance. There are various ways to dry flowers, such as air drying, microwaving, or pressing.
The finished products can last up to five years.
Vivian never liked flowers when they withered because of how they looked. But now that she has learned the craft of preserving flowers, her flowers always stay fresh-looking and vibrant.
Soul Searching During the Pandemic
The world suddenly stopped because of the pandemic in the past few years. Businesses shut down, laid off their employees, or struggled to survive in the economic decline.Before the pandemic, Mak’s career was at its peak, as she had been in Human Resources and corporate training for ten years. However, Mak’s motivation to stay slid down with the recession.
Mak also felt tremendous stress as her old company was in the process of drafting layoff policies.
Many people found traveling a way of relieving stress before the pandemic. Endless lockdowns made people feel stuck and trapped like birds in cages.
Mak was one of them.
“I had to find something to nourish my soul, so I decided to learn something new.” Mak looked back.
“I went to classes during the weekend, so it was a weekly relaxation plan for me.”
She found her fulfillment when she began to learn flower preservation. To Mak, the concentration that flower arrangement requires helped her forget about everything troubling her at that time.
Finding Tao in Taiwan
Taiwan was Mak’s next stop after she searched high and low for various preserved silk or dried flower workshops in Hong Kong. She felt as if she could not advance further in the classes that were offered in Hong Kong.Mak was stuck in the bottleneck. She decided to leave for Taiwan and fill her journey with different flower art programs.
The new learning experience gave her a profound insight into preserving flowers.
Later, she quit her full-time job and became her own boss.
Being a sole entrepreneur also meant that Mak had to take care of everything from production, class design, and enrollment to promoting the classes by herself.
“When I compare the study culture between Taiwan and Hong Kong, I find Taiwanese are more willing and open to sharing. It does not matter if you are a stranger on the street.”
Mak found Taiwanese people are more open and approachable as they don’t mind sharing their knowledge or experience with someone they barely know. “The same experience goes for my study in Taiwan. My mentor was genuinely teaching us without holding back.”
The positive and heartwarming learning culture in Taiwan inspired Mak to recreate the tao of flower perseverance for students in Hong Kong.
Mak shared that her teacher for the CFCCA Dried Flower Certificate Course was dedicated to teaching composition skills. “Taiwanese teachers believe that everyone can develop their own style and skills even though we study in the same program.”
The floral art teachers in the program were not concerned about whether their students would “copy and paste” or become their competitors. Mak learned to open her heart in her teaching as well.
Mak says she always encourages other students to design something that speaks to them.
“I especially invited a local illustrator to help with the illustrations for the class notes. In the study notes, I also added many key points and the production process, so students can minimize making mistakes.” Mak was proud of being able to bring students the same learning experience she had in Taiwan.
Students are thrilled with what they learn in the programs. Mak’s workshop currently provides two certificate programs: the Japanese AUBE Flower Preservation Certificate and the Taiwanese CFCCA Dried Flower Certificate.
Surviving During a Recession
It was a challenge to have in-person classes amid the pandemic, let alone start a business. So Mak and her team developed an online flower preservation and design course. They make DIY kits and mail them to students. When students receive the package, they simply follow video classes and create dried floral art themselves at home.“Other than the online classes, every student has three in-person consultations. If students find the classes challenging online and require help from a teacher, they can also visit the workshop for pointers.”
Why Liām Liām
The name of Vivian’s studio comes from Taiwanese words.“The first Liām means belief, which represents ”believing and persisting,“ my motto for success. The second Liām means ”missing,“ I could not travel during the pandemic, which made me miss Taiwan very much.”
Holidays and festivals always keep Mak and her colleagues’ busy. Whether it is a Christmas wreath, Valentine’s Day bouquet, or Mother’s Day flower basket, her workshop is full of students intrigued by the art of flower preservation.
By no means is flower art exclusive to girls.
“A group of men came to learn to make preserved flowers to accompany their girlfriends or wives. But some come alone.” Mak recalled.
Since launching her workshops, Mak has greeted many brides and grooms. They want to prepare the wedding flowers themselves.
While wedding bouquets and flowers wilt, handmade dried flowers are meaningful and not wasteful, as guests can take away a piece of memory of the wedding.
Seeing Students Blossom
Mak enjoys her new career as a floral artist because she loves teaching and preserving flowers. But seeing her students succeed makes her whole journey more worthwhile. She said some of her students become teachers and set up shops.In Mak’s workshop, everyone is welcome. She once had a student from Taiwan. After joining Mak’s course, the student decided to pursue a career as a preserved flower artist.
The student is currently a trainer for the CFCCA Dried Flower Certificate Program.
Seeing her students succeed makes her very proud. Mak expressed how fulfilling she feels in her current job compared to the one she had been working for the past ten years. “It feels different when I am doing something so meaningful.”
Looking back, Mak has no regret about quitting her corporate job.
Some might feel she made a wrong choice or gave up something financially rewarding for preserving flowers.
But Mak says she found herself through flower art and teaching, “I hope that I can continue to develop the flower preservation market in Hong Kong.”
Mak’s dream is to keep developing the flower preservation art market.
So inflorescence will always keep blooming.
