It sits in the middle of the pretty village of Kew, home to the fabulous gardens and a lovely central square of shops and restaurants that have made it a real destination. But Pot Pourri started life in Chiswick and where Dominic Hughes first started his career in floristry over 30 years ago.
A management trainee for John Lewis, whilst he loved … and excelled at … customer interaction he wanted more creativity. His partner suggested he tried floristry; he did a short course and fell in love. Realising he needed practical experience he wrote to 60 shops he identified as being the type of place he wanted to work and the then owner of Pot Pourri invited him in for interview.
Fast forward to 2024 and not only is he now owner (and chief designer, floor sweeper, bucket cleaner and everything else that goes with running a shop) but – as a direct result of Covid and some seriously business destroying super cycles highway outside the old site – has successfully navigated moving without losing any of the core clientele and at the same time adding in a whole new layer of business!
“At one point I wasn’t sure I needed a shop as so much business is online … but I needed the interaction of real customers and when I saw this site I just knew it was perfect. Now I have more space, can have a far better range of plants and the whole ‘village’ feel works brilliantly. I could have earned a lot more if I had stayed at John Lewis, but would I have had as much fun and job satisfaction? Absolutely not!”
