Bringing joy with flowers that last forever | Vicky Meets

• What’s the Fauxget-Me-Not Flowers back story?

My dad passed away from Covid. Lockdown meant it was a very small funeral, but afterwards lots of people sent me flowers. Talking to my friend, fellow single mum Luci May, I said how nice it would be if flowers lasted forever; that you could keep the sentiment going. We had been brainstorming ideas for a business venture and suddenly there it was. So really Fauxget-Me-Not Flowers was born out of friendship, shared creativity and a wish to do something that brought joy.

• What is your professional background?

Amanda Duquenoy, left, and business partner Luci May

My background is in sales and marketing and interior design. Luci’s is in public relations. In both cases it’s about creativity and people. We’re totally different in our styles; Luci is more classic and simple elegance, while I’m more eclectic. The combination works really well as we’re able to offer our customers a different range of ideas and styles.

• Faux flowers are much more realistic nowadays, aren’t they?

Absolutely, faux flowers have seen an incredible transformation. We spent a lot of lockdown researching the very best stems and our collection brings together the most life-like, realistic faux flowers on the market. We focus on real-feel and luxury silk flowers which look and feel so real, we still find ourselves smelling them! There are many benefits to faux flowers: they need no watering or maintenance, they never wilt and they won’t make you sneeze! They are an ideal solution to inject colour and texture to your home and they work in those tricky areas with less light. Best of all, they last forever!

• What sort of occasions do people tend to buy your flowers for?

Any and all – Mother’s Day, birthday, baby shower, anniversary, thank you, congratulations, condolences, weddings and ‘just because’. We put together beautiful, personally curated, everlasting fauxquets for any occasion, and we hand deliver locally, too. With weddings, many brides choose us because they want to keep their bouquets. Some brides also order bridesmaid posies that then double as a gift. Proposals Wedding Boutique in St Martin’s Street in Chichester is featuring our flowers in their window display at the moment. We do everything from little doorstep posies to huge installation pieces. You can even bring a vase to us to fill. We also host Faux & Fizz parties in people’s homes. People get to assemble their own bouquets and wreaths while they enjoy a glass of fizz!

• Have you always loved flowers?

Yes, always! Flowers make you smile. They give you a lovely warm feeling every time you look at them. But everlasting flowers are not only a really lovely way to send a sentiment of any kind, but they keep it alive, too.

• Where can we find out more?

Find out more at www.fauxgetmenot.co.uk or find us on social media: Instagram: @fauxgetmenotflowers; Facebook: @fauxgetmenotuk – plus we will be hosting a pop-up at Draper’s Yard in Chichester on October 2.