Business is blooming for Tottenham florist (From Haringey Independent)

Business is blooming for Tottenham florist

1:50pm Wednesday 18th March 2009

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A Tottenham businesswoman who served time in prison has turned her life around to be nominated for a Prince’s Trust award.

Gina Moffatt, 33, started arranging flowers while still a prisoner in Holloway Road.

But since her release in 2007, she has steered her green-fingered talents into a blooming business.

Ms Moffat, convicted of drug offences, has been shortlisted to the final three for the Capgemini Enterprise Award sponsored by the Prince’s Trust and the Royal Bank of Scotland’s 'Celebrate Success' initiative.

She will attend a glitzy ceremony on March 31, previously attended by actors such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Pierce Brosnan, at the Odeon cinema, in Leicester Square, where she will find out if she has beaten the competition.

Working with flowers had been a life long passion, said the mother of seven-year-old twins.

And after completing a course at Capel Manor College, in Bullsmoor Lane, Enfield, she was able to turn her dream into a reality.

She applied for a loan with The Prince’s Trust and opened Blooming Scent, based in the Bernie Grant Centre, in High Road, Tottenham.

Ms Moffat said: "To think how much my life has changed in the last few years is amazing.

"I was a convicted prisoner looking at life on benefits when I was inside. Now I am a successful businesswoman with my future ahead of me."

The florist, who describes her style as having a "modern twist", likes to personalise each of her client’s flowers with her own individual touch.

She provides flowers for weddings and christenings and has expanded into catering.

Ms Moffat now employs and trains other prisoners to help them gain skills they can use to secure a better start after life in prison.

She added: "My favourite flower is the orchid. It is unusual, with its own unique smell, and comes in lots of different colours."

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