My name is Cyana Duong. I’m based in Sydney and my business, Cami Fleur, is the home of dried, preserved and silk flowers. We provide a service for weddings and events to help reduce florist waste and we arrange and sell personalised floral boxes that won’t die. Our goal is to promote sustainability. I love flowers but it disturbed me to see the amount of waste in the industry. It’s also related to my childhood.
I left Vietnam to come to Australia when I was 17. When I was born, the doctor didn’t know I had a twin sister. She was born without enough oxygen and suffered brain damage. We grew up together very differently. I’ve always played with her and have a special bond with her. My grandfather was very good at handcrafting, the three of us sat together and made paper flowers and when I started this business it really reminded me of my childhood. She smiled more when we played together, she feels more calm when she has flowers around her. I have always had a dream to provide job opportunities to people with disabilities.
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I came to Australia by myself. Looking back, it was a bit scary. I came to study English, the lady from the college helped me find a place to rent and I learnt as I went along. I met my adopted mum – she doesn’t speak a lot of English but she supports me and tells me it is going to be ok. We formed a special bond, she still looks after me now. I always wanted to do something to make an impact, but starting a business was a challenge for me because English is my second language and I had no work experience. The most challenging part was not having a big network.
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When you feel exhausted, you know that you are doing something that is not going to waste, that is actually helping the earth. And, hopefully, after all these lockdowns, I will have the set-up to provide work for people with disabilities and achieve my dream.
I miss my parents and my sister. I think the business could work anywhere. I’ve never seen an art or handcraft business that provides jobs for people with disabilities in Vietnam. So I have that in my dream, too!
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