Stephanie Doussal left interior design to be a floral designer in Ireland. With friend and fellow French Karine Beuzon, she established The French Touch floral designers in 2005, giving the Irish flower market something it was lacking: a French finishing touch.
After finishing her Art studies, Stephanie Doussal got a job as interior designer only to find that it wasn’t after all her vocation.
She then decided to change Brittany for Ireland and interior for floral design. She arrived in Ireland seven years ago to work for some prestigious hotels in Dublin. .
Her Paris-born friend Karine Beuzon joined her in Dublin a couple of years later and they worked together for a year before setting up The French Touch floral designers.
The French Touch team works on a freelance basis from its base in County Kildare, taking bookings mainly from wedding fairs and the business website www.thefrenchtouch.ie.
In their first year in business, The French Touch got into a wedding fair to assess the marketplace, “It was a huge success,” says Doussal, “We did another two fairs and manage to get 33 weddings in that year.”
The business is now blooming: The French Touch team does three wedding fairs a year, while service five hotels and they have been booked for 78 weddings nationwide only for this year!
“We build a very friendly relationship with brides. Some people have no idea of what they really want, so we advice them on the type of flowers they need, what’s on season, what suits†¦ and bring a bit of taste, sometimes,” explains Stephanie Doussal.
“People say it’s a very French style, very different to what they are used to seeing in Ireland, that is what makes us unique.”
The French Touch is a young dynamic company where flowers are an artistic medium for the creativity of the two designers. “Flowers are a very nice job and we are very passionate about what we do,” she adds.
She would also like to expand into wedding coordination while getting more designers to work with them. At the moment The French Touch covers the whole country from its base in County Kildare but there are plans to open an office possibly in the West of Ireland.
“We do one wedding at the time as things done quickly are not done properly. Flower designing takes a long time,” she explains.
For more information, you can visit www. Thefrenchtouch.ie or contact Stephanie Doussal and Karine Beuzon on 0861704784.
