Just Fantastique

Jul 15 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

SELF-trained florist Tina Steinmetz is no shrinking violet. In business less than three months she says: “I’m not shy. I want to be known as the best florist you’ve ever seen.”

The 36-year-old single mum of three is about to move her home-based Fantastique Flowers to a retail outlet in Yarm Lane, Stockton, where she intends setting about capturing the conference and wedding markets.

Helped by grants from Redcar and Cleveland Council’s enterprise-boosting LEGI fund and Pertemps People Development Group, which helped with business training, Tina - an exhibited amateur artist - has turned her natural eye for unusual design into a distinctive commercial style.

“It’s that which sets me apart from the others. Even if I’d received formal training I don’t think I’d have done anything different,” says Tina, who juggles looking after a family aged from two to 14 with the demands of a growing business.

Before launching Fantastique Flowers, Tina was unemployed. “The first wedding I ever provided flowers for was the best day of my life,” she says. “The kids know it’s tough, but they’re proud of me.”