Born and raised in London, Gynelle Leon spent her 20s in the worlds of finance and fraud prevention, before a blossoming love of plant life encouraged a career change. ‘My family is originally from St Lucia, where I spent childhood summers surrounded by tropical palms, mango trees and birds of paradise,’ she recalls. As Leon grew, so did her love of nature.
On entering her 30s, Leon enrolled on a floristry apprenticeship at a time when diversity in the industry was limited. ‘Happily, more people from different backgrounds are now feeling empowered to enter horticulture, which generates a more diverse and creative industry,’ she says. Before long, Leon identified a window of opportunity: ‘I observed how popular houseplants had become, but also how few specialist shops there were, so I decided…
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Red UK (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2021