They make life beautiful for Mums on Mother’s Day

Flower Addict founders, Sandi Sadek and Kerry James, talk flowers, motherhood and bringing families closer on Mother’s Day.

Housed in an old colonial-style building built in the 1940s, Flower Addict’s floral studio has constant buzz every day – and it’s not just from the brightly lit refrigerators that store their beautiful fresh flowers. Every morning, a team of florists faithfully conditions and trims the flowers to prepare them for the day’s orders.

Flower Addict is a Singapore florist that offers breezy bouquets and high-end floral arrangements at reasonable prices. The company prides itself on offering same-day flower delivery as well as island-wide express flower delivery.

For its founders, Sandi Sadek and Kerry James, who are Australians and long-term residents of Singapore, the upcoming Mother’s Day on 9 May 2021, is an especially busy period as many customers usually place orders for Mother’s Day flowers well in advance.

Showing appreciation for mothers

Sandi says, “This is absolutely my favourite time of year at Flower Addict! Seeing the outpouring of love, being able to play a small role in the lives of families, sharing in the gratitude, being amongst all those flowers and beautiful messages… it truly doesn’t get much better.”

On the same note, Sandi reflects on her own experience as a mother to two girls:

“My youngest leaves the sweetest notes around the house, letting me know how much she loves me, whereas my older daughter is more of a do-er. She anticipates when I need help and is just ’there’ when I need it.”

Even so, being a mother does come with its challenges.

“Until last year, the challenge for me was ‘time’. Working for investment banks I was often travelling and working late hours. My kids came up with a solution to this. They proposed that I keep two nights a week free and work as much as I needed to, for the other nights. This meant we could regularly enjoy the quality and uninterrupted time together as a family,” Sandi shares.

Being a working mum, Sandi is inspired by memories of her mother growing up.

She says, “My mum was such a strong role model and was living proof that women can do anything. She was in the Australian sky-diving team, she jumped horses over ridiculous large jumps, she ran the X-ray department of Royal Perth Hospital – and did all this while being the most brilliant, selfless, fun and available mum.”

Agreeing with Sandi, Kerry also describes her mother as the ‘strength of the family’.

“My mother was the one who drove the migration of our family from the UK to Australia. She empowered both my sister and me to believe that we were the ‘destinies of our own lives’. This coming from a woman who had lived through a war, was a piece of advice that I never questioned,” Kerry shares.

Today, Kerry feels lucky to have six children and to be able to live in Singapore where it is safe.

Kerry says, “I am blessed to have helpers who are like mother figures to our children. Balancing work life and being a mother is not easy especially at the end of a long hard day. I actually go through a little ritual in my own head before entering the house, which is a physical movement, but it signifies a change in the headspace from what has happened throughout the day.”

On whether she feels appreciated as a mother, Kerry responds, “Appreciation on any level is always well received but when it comes from my children it gives me an amazing sense of validation – validation that I am getting it right, and that I am not failing in this privileged role of Motherhood.

“My son always tells me he loves me whenever he goes to bed, gets out of the car, and says goodbye on the phone. I treasure this and it never fails to make me feel appreciated.”

Bringing families closer on Mother’s Day

When Covid-19 hit our shores in March last year and Singapore had to enter ‘circuit breaker’, many residents in Singapore found themselves stuck indoors and unable to meet with family or friends. To overcome the lack of socialising and missing loved ones, many turned to flower delivery to send some cheer to those dear to them.

“Reading the messages that customers wrote to their family members and friends really warmed our hearts during a difficult time. Many of them expressed their gratefulness that we were able to deliver flowers and gifts during Covid,” Sandi shares.

Adding on, Kerry says, “Both Sandi and I were working every day during the lockdown. One of our tasks was printing the message cards. The messages had a profound impact on me, not just for Mother’s Day but simply people supporting people during that period.”

This year, the pair hopes that flowers can help bring families closer, especially for those who have been affected by Covid-19 travel restrictions.

“My father turns 80 this year. We’re really close and I’m his only family. I used to go home every 6 weeks to see him, so this past year has been really hard. To get around this, we talk every day and I also do little gestures to let him know how much he means to me… like sending a basket of eggs at Easter, or bright, cheerful flowers ‘just because’. It’s the small things that go a long way,” Sandi shares.

As for Kerry – whose family is in Singapore – she felt the impact of separation by those around her.

“My husband, who is from Northern Italy, has not seen his parents or siblings for two years. Italy was one of the original epicentres of the pandemic and his parents have been in lockdown for over a year. We speak to his family every night which I know is the highlight of their day.”

Despite this setback, Sandi and Kerry actively remind themselves of how fortunate they are to have friends in Singapore who are also like family.

“I’m such a strong advocate of women, and to all those strong, supportive, passionate, caring women out there, who hold us all together by being our Singapore family, I wish you all well!” Sandi exclaims.

And to all kinds of Mums, Kerry affirms, “Regardless of whether you are a grandma, a same-sex couple, a teacher, a widowed father, a helper, a neighbour etc. We thank you for carrying out the most important role in life: Motherhood.”

Flower Addict wishes all mums a Happy Mother’s Day! Watch our tribute to mothers on YouTube.