In celebration of International Women’s Day, we have asked our eight most inspirational floral friends to share their most important life lessons with us.

German born Francophile, Shirin Von Wulffen, is the co-founder of Bastide, the all-natural beauty and lifestyle collection based on life in Provence. Bastide showcases the talent and skills of local artisans whilst embracing the wellness philosophy of the region. We sit down with Shirin, a long-time friend of FLOWERBX, to hear about the challenges of starting her own business, the juggle of family, work, and how she gives back by supporting, inspiring and lifting other women.
Shirin Von Wulffen

Shirin Von Wulffen
 

Advice for women starting their careers?

As much possible, try to surrender and pay attention to the signs around you: listen to what your brain and more importantly what your heart is telling you. When making a decision, put it in your heart and see how it feels.

What would you tell your younger self now?

Stop trying to please everyone.

What has been your most pivotal career moment?

The best thing that ever happened to me was when I got fired from my job as the fashion director of German Amica. I remember feeling totally gutted but it also gave me the chance to completely reimagine my life. Luckily, I had an incredible contract so they had to pay me for another year and I was able to use the time to move to Milan to learn Italian and take cooking classes.

How would your team define you in one word:

Collaborative

Three qualities you look for in people you work with:

Creativity, positivity, efficacy

What has been your biggest challenge in being a woman in business?

Believing in myself and trusting that my ideas and opinions deserve to be heard and honored. I have worked with, and for, very strong and very talented men including Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent, Stefano Pilati and my husband Frédéric Fekkai. For a long time, I thought that it was wrong for me to voice or even nurture my own creativity. Today, I realize that everyone has a gift and that we all just have to learn to believe in ourselves more and more. As Oprah would say: “You don’t get what you want, you don’t get what you wish for, you get what you BELIEVE.”

Key to success:

Listening

"The more we can all be ourselves, the more interesting, productive, healthy and beautiful businesses and our world will become.”
Shirin Von Wulffen
 
 

Shirin Von Wulffen
 

Your leadership style in one word:

Nuanced

What would you like your leadership legacy to be?

That we made beautiful things together and laughed a lot!

How do you balance your work and life? Is this important?

I feel very fortunate to have finally reached a place in life where I have my own business and can have a fluid schedule between work and family. Thanks to zoom, I now work mostly from home and am able to drop off and pick up my kids from school on a daily basis. I also include my kids in Bastide projects and often take them with me when I am visiting one of our producers or makers. I am a huge believer in balance and moderation so the key is to not feel guilty about working too much or being with your kids and to try to stay firmly in the present moment. Our lives only happen in the present so we have to silence the negative thoughts and just do the best we can NOW.

If you were a flower, what would you be, and why?

The anemone because it is an intuitive flower that closes it’s petals when it senses rain coming.

Favourite quote:

It takes a long time to become young. – Pablo Picasso

How do you empower women within your business and in life?

I believe best way for women to empower each other is to keep it real and to let down our guard both at work and in life. Women have a tendency to be perfectionists so the more we can all show our weaknesses, the more everyone can feel safe to be the best verion of themselves. I also love to connect talented candidates with job opportunities and since I have worked in the fashion and beauty industry for many years it’s pretty easy and fun for me to identify when someone is a good fit for a particular company or position.

An inspiring book you would give to another woman:

The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer or A New Earth by Eckhardt Tolle

Most inspiring woman:

Oprah Winfrey

You sign off correspondence with:

All my best,

In a bid to support women across the UK who are struggling to find a job or losing hope for the future, we're donating £5 from every bunch of yellow flowers we sell to the Prince's Trust #ChangeAGirlsLife campaign in the lead-up to International Women's Day (February 16th - March 8th), because no woman should feel left out. They will receive vital help and support to re-build lost confidence and move forward into employment, further education or to become self-employed, working with a mentor for a fresh start and a much brighter future. The Prince's Trust (registered charity England and Wales 1079675 and Scotland SC041198).

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