"I need to feel the flowers”

Although Joke Maat-Vellekoop (born 1953) has not had her own shop for years, she is still regularly addressed as though she does. Florists apparently still see her as 'one of them'. That is the result of nearly 30 years behind the counter at home and abroad.

After advanced primary education and Floral Design Vocational College, Joke soon ended up in the floristry trade. She was not averse to adventure, and by the age of 19 was working in flower shop in London. When her brother needed her help with his flower shop, she returned home. In the Eighties she had a fresh adventure, this time in San Francisco (US) where she spent a year working at Bishop & Harper. When she then returned to the Netherlands she opened her own shop in Monster.

Feeling and experiencing
Joke speaks and thinks in English as if it was her mother tongue. She is also good at German and French, partly because her freelance work has taken her to more than 20 countries as far away as China and Taiwan. Closer to home her linguistic skills also come in useful during the demonstrations which she gives every spring at Keukenhof. She still gets the best inspiration with the flowers physically in her hands. She literally has to see, feel and experience the product. "Looking at pictures on a computer does not do much for me."  Practical approach Her diary is filled with demonstrations for florists, transformations of existing shops, and workshops for employees of flower shops, supermarkets and garden centres. For a trade fair in England she literally furnished a whole house with plants. From nothing, since Joke even chose the furniture and the wallpaper with a couple of colleagues. "That was a fun assignment. All the more because it fits well with my philosophy and my approach; I like working very practically."

Right spot

Joke does not have a preference for one or more favourite flowers. She is not concerned about the variety or the colour. What she does look for is that the right flower is used in the right place or the right combination. "Then I can enjoy 100 gladioli in a vase. But one gladiolus in the right spot can make me very happy too." And what also makes her happy is sailing on the Friesian lakes. In an open boat, quite literally head into the wind. "Gorgeous!"