"We get our inspiration from absolutely everything"

Joop and Mariejan Hamersma set up their flower shop 44 years ago in West Amsterdam. Mariejan stems from a true floriculture family, and Joop used to transport flowers by truck to France and Germany. “That’s how we met. In 1983, as many people were leaving West Amsterdam for new housing estates, we felt it was time for us to move on too. We found a new spot right here in the Warmoesstraat.” This is a somewhat notorious street, one of the more lively parts of Amsterdam.

Hotel Krasnapolsky, Scheepvaartmuseum (Maritime museum), Fashion Hotel, Van Gogh Museum, Amstel Hotel, Beurs van Berlage. Those are just some of the clients of Jemi, as their flower shop is called. A pretty classy lot. "To us, every client is unique. Take the Amstel Hotel, that has been a client for four years now. I come by daily to take care of the flowers. The deal is that we deliver fresh flowers every week. Every other week is out of the question. Weekly deliveries ensure freshness and top-quality. 90 per cent of our customers just let us get on with it, to do as we see fit. A nice exception to this rule is Café Bolle Jan, a traditional pub. They just want three small old-fashioned flower arrangements to put on their tables every week. And that's been the same for the past forty years now."

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