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About us
Well, actually we don't look like this although that is a mighty fine moustache, a nice line of fresh violets embedded in that fluff and we could have ourselves a rather dandy moustache logo.
What we do
We are primarily a local, seasonal cut flower company based in beautiful Suffolk. But we also have a love of all things to do with flowers and vintage. We think flowers are at their best when grown naturally. This does of course mean we are at the mercy of beautiful Mother Nature with all her challenges and oh boy does she throw some challenges at times. But who said life should be predictable and controlled.
Our business was conceived some years ago from a disappointment in the lack of variety of flowers available on the high street and the urge to provide a product that did not overuse resources. Many flowers sold in the UK are transported huge distances to our shores and in growing these flowers, excessive energy is used to heat polytunnels/greenhouses and power cold stores. We wanted to be more sustainable.
Seasonality was also a huge issue for us. The excitement of seeing the first bulbs appear in early spring, then the abundance of mid summer flowers, contrasted with a relative flower abstinence during the winter months, feels so natural and right. A beautiful deferred gratification and celebration of the ebb and flow of the flower seasons, what could be nicer? Of course this does make it difficult for our customer base who are now used to picking and choosing the specific flowers they have and when they have them. However, more and more people are putting their faith in locally sourced, seasonal flowers and awareness of the issues of sustainability appear to be more at the forefront of people's minds before they buy.
Our love of all things to do with growing flowers is our raison d'etre. From the practicalities of sowing seeds, spotting the first tiny flower seedlings (in amongst the weed seedlings) the joy of harvesting the mature flowers, the aesthetics of arranging them into appealing bunches and finally, the wonderful handling of flowers for drying, seeing how well they maintain their colour and character, only in desiccated scaled down form. It couldn't be a more delightful product to work with.
Why ForageFor...?
Many people ask why we have chosen the name 'ForageFor', so here is a brief explanation of why we felt it was the perfect name for our business. The definition of 'forage' is to search over a wide area for something and sometimes one is delighted and at other times disappointed when foraging. So it all feels a bit of a gamble. This definition feels particularly appropriate in all three tiers of our business: (i) growing seasonal and unusual flowers, (ii) sourcing vintage items related to flowers and (iii) finding materials to make handmade items. All three areas bring a 'foraging' challenge: searching numerous seed companies and nurseries looking for unusual seeds and plants, scouring auctions and charity shops for our vintage and handmade products and learning new crafts and skills for all three areas. This will often feel like a forage; sometimes we are delighted with finds and other times disappointed but the thrill of the search is always there with the added advantage of sometimes finding something quite unexpected and something extraordinary ... a little like finding that hidden cluster of blackberry bushes on a country verge. So 'ForageFor...' it became!
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