Therese Lopez Florals

As a little girl in the Philippines, Therese Lopez, of Therese Lopez Florals, remembers scooping the seeds out of a papaya and planting them in her backyard amongst the guava trees and dendrobium orchids that covered the wall like a colourful blanket of blooms and cocoon-like buds. While she isn’t certain the papaya tree in that yard was the one she planted, as a child, she proudly claimed it as her own. After moving to Canada, Therese’s parents filled their house with tropical plants – perhaps an homage to their homeland – and their verdant home, lush with greenery, resembles a forest.

While flowers and plants have long been a constant in Therese’s life, it took her years to find her way toward starting Therese Lopez Florals, her true creative calling. Instead, she experimented with every handmade activity she could think of, starting with chicken wire ornaments and paper crafts as a child, and then moving on to scrapbooking, needle felting and cake decorating as an adult. Amidst her search for a hobby that came easily, one that spoke to her natural talents, Therese began a part time job at Bunches Flowers. She enjoyed the work but wasn’t initially passionate about it. “I did a lot of craft stuff before I found what I’m good at,” she says. “But I always went back to flowers.”