Report and photograph by BWV reporter Marcia Walker
Five years ago, Floriography by Vera Fallacy, which is a sole trader and the Healing Spaces CIC began both a challenging and inspirational journey into the ‘language of flowers’, healing and wellbeing. Vera was born at her parent’s independent fruit and veg business on Church Road, Bristol, where she learnt the value of goodwill, ‘what you offer goes beyond a product.’
Vera has always worked hard and in 2000 while studying for her degree in mental health, she went to work in ‘the rose fields of Colombia’, working 16 hours a day cutting roses alongside women who came from very deprived areas, ‘where if you didn’t work you didn’t eat and women would sometimes quite literally die in the fields of exhaustion’. She has also worked with the women hand dyers of India. Vera continued with her degree and masters and went on to become a Disability and Mental Health Co-ordinator in the education sector for SENCO to include being a safeguarding manager. As well as being dedicated to her career she studied aromatherapy, reiki and Ayurvedic medicine, crystals and many other alternative healing methods. Vera’s main goal in life is, ‘’to be the best version of myself.’’ Which has become best expressed by following her calling to run her own creative business which is communally run with her equally as inspiring team of Alice and Amber and Leo; better known for her ‘pop up bespoke catering service based in South Bristol, namely Fanny Tingle’s Tantalising Flavours’.
There are also valued volunteers who come to help, rest and enjoy! All do what they love, while sharing information, offering a safe space for healing and support to include assisting a young student named Lauren gain some workplace experience. These dedicated women are not only making a difference to themselves but also for others, a very recent example of this was on 7/2/2019 between 12-3pm at Floriography, where a successful afternoon was held in their healing space as part of ‘Lets end mental health discrimination’, Time to Change/Time to Talk’.
Information and stories were shared while enjoying some arts and crafts and refreshments with a group of local women. For more information please telephone 0117 329 2720, or visit www.floriographybyvera.co.uk or please call in, located only a few doors up from the Bristol Women’s Voice Workshop that ‘offers practical skills for women’. 22e534158
