“I knew this was the time [being furloughed] when I had to grow up and take things in my own hands.”
I first met Roka (Roksana Trzencinska) of RokaBringsFlowers when I lived next door to her former workplace, Scooter Caffe, in Waterloo SE1, where I discovered she was a hardworking, creative soul. But I was less aware of her resourcefulness and enterprising talents until I heard about her bicycle flower stall, which she set up after she was furloughed from her floristry job at the time, following the first lockdown in England last year.
Roka now takes her pedal-powered stall to locations local to her in South East London. Today I share her story of self-reinvention and flowers. We also talked about finding her passion and inspiration to set up her business; coming to London and finding her tribe; growing tulips in her neighbour’s garden; Roka’s customers; and her future floristry dreams.
I met Roka outside Cable Bakery in Kennington, her regular Friday pitch, and over a coffee got her full story. Please join us for the conversation, as I'm sure it will put a smile on your face, as it did mine.
“I think when I was four years old I kept calling myself the Mother of Flowers.”
“I decided just to be open for the adventure and I moved to London for that reason.”
“This is someone who gave me that chance because I asked.”
“My response to Brexit was to get the finest bulbs from the Netherlands and plant them in Camberwell.”
PEOPLE AND PLACES MENTIONED
RokaBringsFlowers on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rokabringsflowers/
Cable Bakery (Kennington SE5): https://www.cablebarandbakery.co.uk/ RokaBringsFlowers Fridays 9-3pm
Camberwell Green Farmers Market (Camberwell SE5): http://www.urban-farmers-market.co.uk/RokaBringsFlowers Saturdays 10-2pm
New Covent Garden Flower Market: https://www.newcoventgardenmarket.com/flowers
Camberwell neighbourhood: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camberwell
Scooter Café: https://www.facebook.com/scootercaffe/
Flowers by Van Twisk: https://fbvt.com/
Lille Black Pants Club: https://www.lbpclub.co.uk/
Pedal Me: https://pedalme.co.uk/
ABOUT MARRIOTT'S SIDE TRIPS
An overview and further information on Stephen Marriott can be found at the show's website: https://www.marriottssidetrips.com/
A quick way to find the latest episodes: https://www.marriottssidetrips.com/podcast
Marriott shares images and videos from his travels, but rarely sunset shots, at Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenrmarriott/
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If you have any questions or comments, Marriott always loves to hear from his listeners. You can reach him at: [email protected]
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The show’s theme music is by Hanna and Julius, thank you.
Thanks to Roka and Cable Bakery for hosting the podcast on 05/03/2021.
The episode is dedicated to Tigs, who loved flowers.