When walking through downtown Utrecht, the green storefront filled with flower pots, houseplants, and colorful dried flowers quickly catches your eye. Together with her team of six colleagues, owner Carolien has created more than just an urban garden store; Rood Bloem is a green oasis of tranquility and inspiration. The music, delightful fragrances, and genuine customer interaction shape the unique identity of Rood Bloem. TICA’s editorial team spoke with Carolien about the success of her store concept, her vision for the store’s assortment, and the importance of Instagram.
My name is Carolien and I am 40 years old. I have two young children (Pleun and Kato) and worked for a long time as a stylist at Edelman, a large international interior design company. During that time, I wanted to develop myself further, and the entrepreneurial spirit started to grow. About eight years ago, the plan to establish Rood Bloem emerged.
After deciding to become an entrepreneur, I first started at a creative hub in Utrecht. It was a great way to experience if I would enjoy it. I gave green workshops and worked as a stylist. I gradually built up name recognition. After a year and a half, I finally dared to take the next step; I decided to rent a property in the heart of Utrecht’s city center. Exciting! But from the very first moment, I felt completely at home in this monumental building. Now, eight years later, the Rood Bloem team consists of six women.
I select everything based on feeling. If I experience that ‘wow’ feeling myself and really want to buy the items for myself, my customers often feel the same way. It’s nice to see that this method works well.
Yes, we definitely do! We even create a special corner in the store and purchase matching products for it. At TICA, we were able to shop extensively in line with the Eclectic Sunset theme. Very exciting! We then promote this ‘Easter corner’ well on Instagram. We post content showing how to decorate a beautiful Easter table, among other things. This inspires our customers, and they can then visit our store for beautiful Easter combinations.
Lots of color! Think of a beautifully set and colorful Easter table with many striking Easter branches. This combined with silk flowers; they’re really trending right now! The use of many colors creates a cheerful whole. Of course, some funny Easter bunnies, chickens, and chicks can’t be missing. After all, they’re part of Easter.
At TICA, I’m always looking for unique items. We then promote these on Instagram, and they often sell quickly. Instagram is a good sales channel for us. With it, we can expand our name recognition not only in the province of Utrecht but throughout the Netherlands. We have a shipping service (even to Belgium!) which means we can make many customers happy with a Rood Bloem order.
Do your ‘own’ thing! I never want to do anything else because every day it’s a joy to determine your own course. At the same time, entrepreneurship never stands still, which makes it very intense at times. If you run your business based on your passion, you can’t go wrong and you experience so many moments of happiness; that’s what you do it for. Like seeing your customer’s smile and having wonderful encounters in the store. It’s a joy to showcase the store every day together with an amazing, wonderful team!
