Constitution Hill resident Emma Mittiga has not let the COVID19 pandemic hold her back, by following her dreams of launching a floristry business, whilst serving as a paediatric nurse.
She’s not the only one who has turned their passion or hobby into something more over the past year, as economic hardships led many to look for new income streams.
Whilst Ms Mittiga was fortunate enough to have steady work over the course of the pandemic, she said working as a nurse has taught her that life is too short to hold back
on your dreams.
“While I love my career as a nurse, I’ve always felt that I have more to give the
world,” she said.
“I feared my passions and interests elsewhere would remain completely undiscovered or gone to waste.
“Perhaps nursing accentuated the ‘life’s too short’ perspective for me.”
Ms Mittiga first became interested in floristry when she was getting married and got creative with her own events.
That’s when she decided to enrol into a floristry course at TAFE NSW, and hasn’t
looked back since.
After finishing her Certificate III in Floristry, she put her new skills into practice and opened her own small floristry business, Fleur Du Vent.
“The whole thing was scary at first, especially launching when I did,” Ms Mittiga
said.
“But at work I was just at a point of feeling a bit burnt out and wanting to find something that I was really passionate about.
“I thought if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out but I have to give it a go.”
Now the 27-year-old operates the successful floral studio, specialising in weddings and events.
“I guess people might think it’s crazy to launch something like this during a pandemic but during the peak it really gave me time to focus on marketing content and the website and building the brand before I focussed more on bookings,” Ms Mittiga said.
“Things are going really well now as restrictions are easing, especially for July onwards we have a lot of things coming up.”
According to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), new company registrations in NSW exceeded pre-COVID levels, with 6,586 new registrations in December 2020 compared to 5,075 in December 2019.
Ms Mittiga encouraged those considering pursuing their dreams of a new career path or even just looking for a change to look into courses on offer at their local TAFE NSW.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.