The history of Lady Gnarbo Floral Atelier began in early 2017. Whilst facing some personal challenges, I chose to focus my attention on what I believed I do best – be creative.
Following eight years of working in Fine Jewellery I decided to branch out and create something I could call my own. I studied Floristry whilst working at a local florist, and within four months I established my own business. I attribute this ability to my mother and late father who succeeded in
small business for longer than I can remember. They inspired me, and I suppose you could call it a common case of ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’.
My search to find the perfect location for the launch of my first florist led me to Dulwich Hill. It was a small store of no more than 30 sq metres. I recall viewing the space and knowing ‘this is it’.
Following much planning, the black paint and gold signage was applied, the doors opened on the 6th March 2017 and Lady Gnarbo was born.
The Dulwich Hill florist was launched on the basis of being a store I thought I could manage mostly on my own, but ‘Dully’ had different ideas. With overwhelming local support and admiring brides and grooms visiting from faraway places in Sydney, the Lady Gnarbo team grew to five in what felt like almost overnight.
By the end of 2018, Lady Gnarbo had well and truly outgrown the available space in our Dulwich Hill store, so it was time to set off and find a suitable site for ‘LG 2.0’.
A St George girl since birth, I had my sights set on Kogarah as the next stop. I felt the unique style we had developed in the Inner West needed a home coming to the St George area and the 5th of February 2019 marked day one of Lady Gnarbo Kogarah.
Since launching in Kogarah, we’ve been fortunate enough to have been a part of countless occasions together with our customers and clients. Many joyous, others not so much, but by no means less significant. I am very grateful for the opportunities we have been given by our trusting clientele. They have facilitated our growth and allowed us to diversify into areas previously unimaginable.
In Kogarah, we also discovered a niche in the local market. With the vast local community being of Greek heritage, I decided to delve into offering a curated collection of unique Greek Artisan Products created both locally and overseas. The popularity of this collection exceeded beyond expectation and has become a significant motivation behind launching our much anticipated online store – one I hope brings you great pleasure!
In all, the Lady Gnarbo team are dynamic, committed florists and support staff who thrive on presenting our clientele with something special and a little out of the ordinary. The fundamental component is that all designs are created with ‘flair’ and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
For me personally, it seems that all paths have led to Lady Gnarbo. When contemplating what my business represents in my life, I become moved with emotion. It is my childhood, my past and my future amalgamated into one.
Lady Gnarbo is so many things, but above all a story of creativity, change and perseverance.
Stav Petinellis
Lady Gnarbo