A little over a year ago the paths of Annabelle Ladriere and Tom De Houwer crossed. Fortunately, because their personal search for meaning, their intense love of flowers and their eye for beauty bring people together. Their cooperation resulted in the creation of Sensui, where the flowers are the interpreter within the immersive experience. Thank you for sharing your inspiring story!
Could you briefly explain the history of your business?
Annabelle: In 2019, I suddenly faced a burnout. This turn of events caused me to reflect on where my values and feelings lie and what I want my future to look like professionally. I asked myself where I get my strength from and where I find my energy and balance. With these things in mind, I decided to do something different. There was no concrete plan yet, but I did know that I wanted to work with flowers on a smaller, local basis, a passion that I have cherished since childhood. By chance, I was given a magazine about flower art by my father, in which I stumbled across photos of the impressive realisations of Tom in the Japanese garden in Hasselt. After some research, I found out that Tom lives in Belgium and contacted him to share my story. During our first meeting, I immediately felt that it was right and there was a click based on our shared passion for flowers and beauty. We are complementary. Tom has the creativity and is responsible for the realisation of the designs, my personal skills come into their own in the sales part and as project manager. This is the basis of Sensui, the aim of which is to bring people together through the beauty of nature. The concept of Sensui relies on two parts, the first being a partnership with cities and the second being a partnership with different companies with the aim of using our designs as a communication medium to their customers
Tom: In April 2018 I closed my flower shop and started doing masterclasses because I noticed the need for a course that has a holistic approach to floral design. During a year and a half of preparation and design, I pondered the question of how to transfer my knowledge and strategies to others and how people learn. The audience for these masterclasses consists of professionals and non-professionals who are in transformation within this sector. After the first masterclass in February 2020, the concept proved to be a success. The participants are seen as people on their way to a new place that resonates with who they really are, that merges with their skills and their emotional wants on top of their emotional needs. At the beginning of the master class, for my students, it is all about awareness. This then progresses to skills along with stepping into the experience. Ultimately, this leads to exposure, to coming out with their creativity and skills.
When the pandemic broke out, my sense of purpose largely fell away, as did the masterclasses that were given live. During this near existential crisis, I saw that there was still a lot to live for, to bring people together and move them with the medium of flowers. That is where the concept of Sensui originated. I decided that I wanted to continue teaching in the future and bring at least two large installations to life every year.
Can you tell us a little bit more about your personal journey?
Annabelle: My course is rather atypical. I was born in France and trained there, then I moved to Belgium in 1995 and started working for LU. Thanks to the different positions I took in this company, such as product developer, account manager in the sales department and trade marketing manager, I came into contact with many people from different sectors. Also in the following years, when I worked for a premium chocolate company and an abattoir, I gained a lot of professional experience. Exchanging ideas and the talents of others is what inspires me and what makes me grow.
Tom: I describe myself as a work-in-progress, one of transformation and integration. For me, it is all about the search for authenticity and identity. This search started quite early as the youngest member of a large family. My mother as a real people person and aesthetic creative, my father who was very technically creative. Both were a great source of inspiration to me. So I chose a course in graphic design at Sint-Lukas, which completely unleashed my creative side. Still, I had the feeling that something was missing, and so I got the inspiration or rather the vocation to open a flower shop of my own. In the 20 years that I have been running this business, I have learned an incredible amount, including how to deal with people and how to merge them with flowers. Working on large installations at home and abroad with a whole group of people was a real challenge that I did not avoid. I also published a book and worked with magazines. In retrospect, these more creative experiences, the creation of artistic designs in which everyone and everything comes into its own, have given me a lot of inspiration and pleasure. They are opportunities to express my creativity and myself.
What connection do you feel between each other?
Tom:The moment Annabelle sent me an email and during the first meeting I saw pretty quickly that she had good and like-minded ideas, along with a love of beauty and flowers. I also noticed how driven and passionate she is and how strong she is with regard to organisation. Because of all her experience, she has a lot of people skills and is easy to deal with.
Annabelle: Tom asked me during our first meeting what he could do for me. This question surprised me for a moment, but I understood that I had to grab this opportunity with both hands, since the connection was clearly there. It immediately struck me that Tom is an authentic person and wants to understand people and help them grow. In addition, I admire Tom for his creativity and open mindedness to the bigger picture, new ideas and challenges.
Where does the name Sensui come from?
Annabelle: After some brainstorming, we came up with the word immersive, referring to the immersive experience in which we immerse people. Sensui is the translation of immersive in Japanese.
What do you offer specifically with Sensui for the different groups?
Tom: What we do with Sensui for the brands and the cities is the same. It’s the why that differs. We mainly want to create installations for cities to bring people together through the creation of beauty in this already physically and mentally polarised world. You allow different people to focus on their commonalities and build a community. On top of that, with Sensui we support the local economy by attracting people from all over the world and showcasing the cultural heritage. For the brands, it’s about authenticity that sets them apart from others. This is needed more than ever and can be achieved by stepping into that experience where you combine image and emotion. It is this combination of the beauty of flowers and the experience with a brand that brings a strong story, which sticks.
Annabelle: Brands put their focus on their customers, more specifically their emotions, and want them to have an immersive experience. Sensui’s goal is also to integrate the identity of the brand into the floral design and give a face to the brand through our art.
What is your view of the future?
Annebelle: I am working on the prospecting of both cities and brands, within our premium target group. We want to create more projects and designs in the future so that we can make Sensui a success story. On a personal level, I want to keep the balance and continue to work with passion and enthusiasm
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Tom: We contact the cities and companies and tell our story. Then the aim is to take the cities to the next level, which seems to be working. For example, 30,000 to 40,000 visitors already came to see an installation in Hoogstraten. We want to realise more projects and prepare the students of the masterclasses to one day work on an assignment within Sensui. In this way, Sensui could become a kind of booking office, for people who need to explain their creativity. Then there is also the expansion of the retreat centre, a place where people come closer to nature and their own nature through self-reflection. It is all about breaking toxic patterns and transforming them into good patterns with the help of constant coaching.
In conclusion, any golden advice you would like to give?
Tom: Transform and integrate, don’t just throw anything away for we are moving into a new future with a new vision that will carry the powerful elements of the past with it.
Annabelle: To all entrepreneurs: do your job with passion and enthusiasm, keep that authenticity.
All information about Sensui can be found here: Sensui website
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