VZW Quartier Dansaert ASBL
Rue Antoine Dansaertstraat 182
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Name: Laurent Gemenick
Profession: Florist
Lives in: Brussels
More than 12 years!
A bit of nature in the city center. Because it really needs it!
More seriously: all kinds of flowers and plants, both to offer to oneself, as to loved ones, and for all occasions. We have been able to preserve the concept since our opening of the free creation, which means that we leave customers a wide choice of flowers and they can even imagine the bouquet they want. We help them of course to design their bouquets, but the first inspirations come from the customer themselves. Some are baffled by this approach and ask for ready-made bouquets, which we have very little in store. We rather compose at the time according to the occasion and the person to whom the gift is intended.
Dansaert has always inspired me. It is a neighborhood filled with energy, a lively and good mood, fashion and creation have a great place here, which ultimately fits well with our job. It is therefore natural that Dansaert has become first in the choice of places for the opening of the shop. Also, it's a multi-faceted, cosmopolitan neighborhood, and it will always fascinate me. You never get bored in this neighborhood of downtown Brussels.
Complex question... I would say in a first the contact with customers, what leads them to go through our door and discussions that we have. After that, I think that it would be the seasons, because thanks to these, we can have different varieties of flowers each time... the spring with its subtle and delicate flowers, the summer with the flowers of the fields and this wild side, autumn with its warm colors and full of promise and to finish the winter with the scents of foliage and the force of nature.
Unfortunately, I do not have many free moments ... and my colleagues in the street often tell me! But it does not mean that I'm not paying attention to the life of our neighborhood ... I would say rather, that if I had free time, I would settle down willingly to one of these beautiful terraces that abounds our neighborhood and enjoy a good espresso.
I see it as radiant! We are in the neighborhood that suits us and we have a good customer base; it has been more than ten years since we were here in Dansaert, and to tell you, I would not change absolutely anything about it. We adapt to the demands of our customers, and to the changes in the profession of florist; I think these are the keys to success.
For my part I wish for a neighborhood that opens to others but do not lose its authenticity; I think we, the shopkeepers of the Dansaert street, have to face in unity the major challenges of the city center of Brussels; and we must think together about the development of the neighborhood.