Pompei Perez is Florists Supply’s Commercial Designer at their Winnipeg Branch of 25 years. Pompei is an experienced designer who has even worked at Buckingham Palace for the Royal Family. Today, Pompei looks after designing and creating large-scale installations using Florists Supply supplies and permanent botanicals at places like the airport and City Hall in Winnipeg.
"I started when I was 20 years old back home in the Philippines, working in a five-star hotel’s banquet area. They saw potential in me and sent me to the Hong-Kong peninsula to study banquet designing. My studies included food design or anything that would be presentable to an important guest, such as a Head of State. Once I graduated from designing at the Peninsula Hotel, I was sent to work in Sultanate of Oman in the Muscat Palace Hotel to work for the King. I oversaw designing banquet events for the King and the Heads of State. I went where the King went for 5 years.
"Then I had the privilege to work at Buckingham Palace, where I worked for another 5 years. During my time there, I was part of a crew of five who helped design the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. My crew oversaw the banquet, where we designed the food and flowers.
"I found myself in Winnipeg in 1988 to be with my fiancée. I brought all my knowledge of designing to Winnipeg, but had a challenging time finding where my design ideas applied in this market. I worked at a downtown Hotel in the casino. I thought their banquet set-up would be similar to a five-Star hotel, but because it was only a three-star hotel, my designs didn’t really work.
"Then I worked for a wholesale company, which required me to switch my knowledge of food design to artificial plants and flowers. I started designing custom artificial trees, show homes, and artificial interior landscaping."