David Ragg Florist Ltd

a business owner and with that comes certain responsibilities; to my clients, to my team, to my family and also to myself. I have been trading from my central Bournemouth store since 1991 and before that with my parents in a bustling little flower shop in Berkshire. In all these years I have seen enormous changes in our industry, but in fact you could apply the same thinking to any industry sector and particularly where retail is involved. It's certainly not without it's challenges, but isn't that what life is all about? I'll meet a challenge head on and do my best to conquer. However, in the light of day, my main priorities are those responsibilities above. My clients are the backbone to all I do, my team are my support even when the going gets tough, my family are my rock, keeping me grounded and realistic; and for myself, I make it my responsibility to keep the wonderful craft of floral design inspiring and exciting, not just for me but for everyone I work with. I was born into a world of flowers and at a tender age realised that working with flowers was actually pretty cool! I remember the first floral demonstration I ever saw (wow...these people were like rock stars to me!); I remember the first design I ever made (a very simple wreath I believe) and I remember the moment when, with tears in my eyes, I won the UK Florist of the Year title in 2000. Over the years I have travelled the world sharing my passion for floral design, I have exhibited at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show no less than 15 times and under various guises have won 6 Gold Medals for my work. I have made hundreds of brides and grooms realise their dreams with my wedding designs and help put the finishing touches on their big day; decorated hotels, offices and multi-million pound Super Yachts with flowers all over the country. I have had my own book published, I have competed at a national and international level, I have been chosen to represent numerous industry bodies to help promote their products and shortly I will be heading up several exciting ground breaking projects that could, in theory, change the face of the street level floral sector. In essence, I am a flower man through and through...even after all these years I am still as passionate about something as simple as a beautiful stem of Muscari as I was when I was a child. Give me flowers, some tools and a little bit or freedom and I will create...it's what I do.