Kim Anstey, owner and operator of All Events, is regarded as one of NL’s most sought after florists, planting her ideas and building an empire from the ground up
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What do weddings, graduations, home decor, and Valentines Day all have in common? You guessed it, flowers. With a wide range of phenomenal florists around Newfoundland and Labrador, there’s no shortage of beautifully designed arrangements from bouquets, vases, wreaths and centrepiece elements.
Having been in the business for eight years, All Events, based in St. John’s, is regarded as one of the top and most sought after florists within the easternmost province, frequently serving business across the rest of Canada as well. Booking approximately 300 weddings a year, amongst graduations, recitals, home decor and more, Kim Anstey, owner and operator of All Events, has built a floral empire.
Business Plans
“I started off decorating and incorporated flowers. I was engaged myself and I really enjoyed the whole planning process. I planned quite a bit of my own wedding. Myself and my friends did a lot of the decorating and I did my own flowers, then we did her flowers. So, it kind of started from there and then a friend of a friend would hear about it and then I said; okay well, you know what, I’ll open up a business,” Anstey shared in an interview with The Newfoundland Herald.
“My mom and I, we would always plant flowers in the garden, but I’m self taught. I never did any floral courses or anything like that. When I went to college I got a diploma in business, and I went to work for a big accounting firm in St. John’s, I did books for different businesses and that sort of thing. I loved helping everybody else succeed in their business.
“I came home one day and I said to my husband; yeah, so I quit my job. I went to NLOWE and met with Crystal Burton, and she was phenomenal. She was actually a wedding decorator herself, so she helped me a lot to get my business plan started. I was actually the first business that they funded through their new startup program, so they funded my business like eight years ago, and I’ve been doing this ever since.”
Artificial or Not?
Having beautiful, breathtaking bouquets, centrepieces and corsages is one thing, being able to keep them as a keepsake forever is another. At All Events, all of the flowers are top quality artificial. 
“That’s the big thing that makes me different than say other florists, is that I only design artificial. They look real, some of them even feel real which is, for brides, a really good thing because they can save on the cost, plus then they get to keep them as a keepsake. They can give them to the bridesmaids as a gift, that sort of thing. I started off with the decorating and the flowers together, and then about six years ago the flowers were huge because I was the only one besides Michaels that was doing the artificial flowers,” Anstey explained.
“I don’t buy any flowers from Michaels because I find that they look too artificial. All of our flowers come from a supplier in California. They’re all manufactured in Europe, and then go to the wholesaler in California and then come to me.”
All Events has made a name for itself across the island, and the entire country, providing floral arrangements for events from one end of the spectrum to the other. Anstey has produced pageant bouquets for Miss Teen, also contributing as a sponsor for the Miss Teen Newfoundland & Labrador Pageant, pageant bouquets for Miss Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador, graduation bouquets for Lifetouch, not to mention the near 300 weddings per year.
“I am currently nominated for the 26th annual RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards. I have also been nominated in the past for NLOWE’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award and it’s been said that I am one of the most sought after florists here in Newfoundland and Labrador. With over 14,500 followers on my Facebook page, I strongly believe if you stay positive and work hard, you can make anything happen!”
For more information on All Events, contact [email protected] or visit their Facebook page @AllEventsNL