A pair of green-fingered florists have been officially crowned the best bouquet-makers in the North West.
Janette Manville and Tracy Gornell brought home the Best Florist award at the Englands Business Awards in Manchester last week thanks to their spectacular blooms painstakingly hand-crafted in their shop, Bluebells and Butterflies in Huyton.
But the pair said they could never have won without the help of their close friend, Collette Thompson, who died of breast cancer in August 2020 at the age of 47.
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Tracy, 50, said: "She built the business up with us, and she was a very dear friend. One of our most popular bouquets that we sell is named after her: The Colette. It's an enormous bouquet with the biggest seasonal flowers we have in stock.
"She was one of the first people who ever put us forward for the Business Awards. We made it to the final three last year. To win now, after all we have been through, feels like a big achievement."
Janette and Tracy founded Bluebells and Butterflies in March 2019 in the former Bluebell Taxis office building, which they transformed into a forest of flowers complete with real butterflies with Collette's help.
Tracy said: "We were called the Three Amigos. We were absolutely the best of friends. Janette and I wouldn't have had the bravery to take it on along, but Colette was 100% behind us and she said she would help us whenever she could.
"It was tough trying to find our way at first, because we weren't in a shopping centre or city centre. We didn't have any shops around us so we didn't get a lot of footfall. It was through word of mouth, Facebook and Instagram that we built up our client base, and we have become very busy.
"We do everything, from birthdays and anniversaries to full weddings, bridal bouquets and funerals.
"In the winter we do a lot of Christmas wreaths and garlands for home decoration, so we're really busy on that. Valentines Day in February is another really busy time. Mother's Day is the hardest of all. Summer is wedding season, and then after that we come into autumn, when we're preparing yet again for Christmas."
Every bouquet sold by Bluebells and Butterflies comes with a butterfly decoration which has become the florist's signature. Its most popular bouquets include The Colette and The Butterfly, which contains a mixture of hydrangeas and roses.
Its success at the Englands Business Awards ceremoney means it Tracy and Janette will go on to represent the North West in the national round of the awards in London later this year.
Janette, 54, said: "Business has just gotten better and better. We have got amazing customers, good staff. It's a lot of hard work and long hours, but me and Tracy work really well together and that's what helped us set up the shop in the first place.
"I wasn't expecting to win at all. It's unbelievable. We went in with no expectations of winning because we know there are so many other florists out there, so to actually win is just unreal.
"This place was once an old taxi office, and it was very run down. It was a tough few weeks of setting up and Colette helped us all the way, coming in and helping us paint and decorate. We have definitely done her proud. She's still a big part of this place and always will be."
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