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28 March 2024

Dump the card this Valentine's: Abu Dhabi florist will put messages and pics on real roses

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai

Looking to propose to your Valentine this February 14?
 
Here’s your chance to pop the question printed on the petals of a delicate rose, with an Abu Dhabi florist making this fantasy a sweet smelling reality.
 
The capital’s Florabella introduced this concept to its store a few months ago, allowing customers to print private messages or even images of their loved ones on single stems or a bouquet of flowers.
 
Speaking to Emirates 24|7, manager Ahmed Duhair said: “We introduced this idea to our store four months ago, offering simple messages such as ‘I love you’ or ‘Get well soon’ printed on the flowers itself, along with allowing customers to print portraits of their loved ones on the petals too, if they wish.
 
“In fact, we can print whatever you want on the flowers,” he added.
 
Duhair said a special machine facilitates the printing on the flowers, with its only limitation being that single-tone colours are used on each imagery.
 
He said these are in fact real flowers, “which are much easier to print on, as opposed to artificial ones.”
 
Special occasions have popularized this idea of printed flowers, with the manager saying they were flooded with orders for the UAE’s 41st National Day celebrations on December 2, with the company printing roses with an image of General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
 
“We were inundated with orders for bouquets with prints of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, along with a floral map we created, with pictures of each ruler printed on the petals of their corresponding emirate,” Duhair said.
 
With Valentine’s Day just a few weeks away, here’s a sure shot way to impress the woman you love.
 
“I think it’s a perfect declaration of love by those men who are shy and are unable to express how they feel. I mean, a simple ‘I love you’ on a beautiful flower is all one really needs,” he said.

Kenyan roses retail for Dh15 per stem with printing while American ones sell for Dh20 per printing.
 
Located on Khalifa Street, the small start-up is now looking to expand to Dubai and other emirates shortly, but until then, those looking to get their hands on these printed flowers would either have to drive over to Abu Dhabi or fork out  an additional Dh150 for delivery outside city limits.
 
When Emirates 24|7 suggested the idea to a few Valentine hopefuls, everyone was eager to place an order.
 
Said Colin Mathers, a 36-year-old Dubai resident: “February 14 is always a struggle to live up to, considering my wife’s birthday is in January and I have already exhausted all the gift ideas by then.
 
“This is something I am going to try, but maybe I will have a friend of mine bring it over to me from Abu Dhabi during his daily commute,” Mathers said.