About Joan Stam
From my childhood I have always known that I wanted to become a florist, I was 12 when I started my education to become a professional florist.
On the age of 21 I got the opportunity to teach floral design in Japan, I accepted the opportunity and stayed there for two and a half years. This was certainly one of the most inspiring times of my life.
Coming back to Holland I decided to take the offer of becoming a general manager of a shop. The urge to get my own place was too big and after one and a half years, I bought a flower shop in Leiden.
Hard work, a clear vision and a bit of luck brought me a successful business that after 7 years had 5 employees and no time for my family. Children do change your life, so I sold the company to one of my employees.
From then on, I have been working as a freelance florist in a wide variety of disciplines from lecturing and demonstrating to shop work and garden design. Decorating stands at trade fairs and large-scale decorations for weddings and events around the world are also part of my activities
So the love for my profession hasn´t faded but actually widened and deepened into a type of work that is now so much more than just floristry.