Cover Anita Ellis (Photo: Affa Chan/Tatler Hong Kong)
Anita Ellis (Photo: Affa Chan/Tatler Hong Kong)
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Blossom Minds creates floral arrangements made by young adults with special education needs
In 2018, Hong Kong-born-and-bred Anita Ellis launched the flower shop and NGO Blossom Minds. Offering flower arrangements made by young adults with special education needs (SEN), it has shops in Jordan and Kwun Tong, and is devoted to nurturing these young adults’ talents, developing their life skills— and is on a mission to offer opportunities to integrate them into the mainstream.
“Young adults at Blossom Minds are assigned tasks based primarily on their strengths,” Ellis says. The NGO recruits these young adults from schools in Hong Kong—both mainstream and those for students with SEN—plus other NGOs and the government’s Labour Department. It provides them with on-the-job training, as well as ethics and soft skills, to help them better engage with colleagues and customers.
Ellis wasn’t always in the flower business—she was a director of a publicly listed company, working in property investment and agricultural development, until 2002. That year, she became a stay-at-home mother to her five-year-old daughter. She then enrolled at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, obtaining a master’s degree in education for SEN—an opportunity she says would eventually lead her to her second career working with students and young adults with SEN.
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“When my daughter turned ten, I wanted to go back to work to better engage myself,” she says. She began working at The Education University of Hong Kong’s research department as a learning support for students with SEN in mainstream schools. In 2012, Ellis set up the Learning Support Services Association, an NGO supporting inclusive education.
“We have been actively working with schools in Hong Kong, adding value to their learning support systems and helping students with SEN learn positive behaviours,” she says. But the journey that inspired Ellis to establish Blossom Minds began in 2017—one that she admits she originally found to be “unmotivating”. That year, Ellis enrolled in a three-year flower arranging course at the American Floral Art School in Hong Kong with a friend who was looking for a career change. The nature of the craft—where “a series of steps are taken in order to achieve a particular design”—resonated with her, however. “My experience working with students with SEN made me realise that flower arranging might work well as an occupation for them.” Ellis completed the course and channelled her newfound skills into Blossom Minds.
The organisation offers an outlet for people born with differences to express their individual creativity and, more importantly, for young adults to be able to find stable jobs after graduation. “Educational provision for people with SEN in Hong Kong is available, but what happens when these students reach the end of their education?” The employment community tends to look at these young adults’ capabilities from the perspective of weaknesses—“what they can’t do”—instead of giving them opportunities to develop their strengths, she adds. Blossom Minds has provided jobs for 30 young adults with SEN and also partners with hotels and Michelinstarred restaurants around the city. In 2023, two of Blossom Minds’ young adults entered flower arranging contests at the Hong Kong Flower Show and won two awards—a proud moment for Ellis.
This year, Blossom Minds is launching the BM Academy, which will have certified commercial florists teaching young adults, in the hope of inspiring them to grow their careers in the floral industry. “We want to raise awareness on the capabilities of these young adults to increase their employment opportunities,” says Ellis. “We aim to build on their strengths and special talents in art and design, allowing them to integrate to the mainstream environment.”
As Content Director at Tatler Hong Kong, Tara shapes the brand's editorial vision across social, digital and print, and reports on Asia's most influential figures — from CEOs and leaders across business, style and the arts. In her dual role as Head of VIP, she also drives the planning and execution of Tatler's flagship IPs, curating star-studded events and building the relationships and communities that define the brand. Born and raised in the Middle East, she honed her craft in Dubai, crafting communication strategies for luxury brands across the Gulf. Follow her on Instagram @tarasobti.
