Good question. It often feels like something is always neglected after all. Thank God I have a beautiful daughter that gives me a lot of strength. Her father and I have found a very good way of supporting each other so we both get to have times for ourselves when necessary, that's a great relief. Also, both our families and friends are always there for us and happy to help out. I feel very lucky in that way. Ideally, I would like to take more time for Botanique. When you start a new business it consumes much energy, so at the moment it is moving slowly. But that’s fine - as soon as I have finished uni I can put my full focus on it.
Were you born with a green thumb or how did you get into gardening?
Not really, even though my grandfather was a gardener and I loved to help him out in the garden as a kid. But before I started my degree I did not have much of a clue about gardening. My plants never used to survive for a long time back then. When I started university I did not really know where my path was going. Before Alma was born I had started studying law but that really didn’t feel right. I knew I wanted to keep on studying but was unsure about which direction to take. Horticultural sciences suddenly entered my world by chance, it sounded exciting and fulfilling since I have always been very connected to nature. So I was lucky and got accepted and my botanical journey began. Now I know I am on the right path and am very happy I decided to go for it.
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Where do you get your inspiration from? Can you recommend some good literature?
I often go to the library and borrow all sorts of books about gardening: how to design gardens, about healing plants and their benefits, about Japanese gardens, about English gardens or also more technical books about the right way of pruning plants and much more. Whatever I can find!
I can recommend especially the following books:
- Urban Botanics by Emma Sibley
- Urban Jungle by Igor Josifovic
- Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers by The Royal Horticultural Society
- New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency by John Seymour
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Cactuses and succulent plants don’t need a lot of care - that makes them ideal for a busy lifestyle. Often cactuses actually die from too much water rather than from too little because they begin to rot.
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For people who like to bring the jungle into their homes - do you have a hot insider tip for an out of the ordinary exotic plant?
I love bird of paradise flowers, they immediately bring a jungle feeling to the room. I also find the white leaves of spathiphyllum beautiful - additionally, they clean the air, which adds a better climate to the apartment. Calathea is also an incredibly beautiful plant with purple and green leaves! A must-have! For the balcony I recommend canna indica - they transform your balcony immediately into a little oasis and make you feel like your on holidays.
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I love the HIITU design and that you care for fair-trade fashion and jewellery. It's nice to see that the people that you work with still master traditional artisanal skills and that you manage to combine their creativity with yours in a very harmonious way. In today’s world, it’s all about cheap prices - fashion and accessories don’t carry much emotional value anymore. That’s why it's great that you put your emphasis on handmade quality and uniqueness in your products. Besides your Kikoi clothing, which I basically live in, I love all your African style jewellery especially the cool rings. I wear my blue pearl ring every day and get many compliments on it. The laptop briefcase accompanies me to uni and the Xani bag is my favourite one shoulder bag - the vegetable tanned leather is simply amazing!!
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