Talent BY JULIE MARTENS FORNEY EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT Angie Arredondo
The best part of my job: “The flowering trials. Many times, it’s the opportunity to see chrysanthemum varieties for the first time. That means I might see more than 2,000 variet- ies, each with different colors, shapes, textures, etc. There’s always another beautiful variety to see and a different reason to be surprised. It’s amazing to work surrounded by such beauty.”
Mums I’m most excited about: “I was involved in the last phase of developing ‘Topspin,’ a pure white spider introduced in 2021. It works both as a disbud and spray, can be grown year round and handles cold temperatures. It can be used in bouquets, arrangements and as a solid bunch. For this fall, we have a new release — a bronze cushion called ‘Fogata’ that works as a disbud and spray, with an amazing vase life and quantity of flowers.”
Where I find inspiration: “One of the things I enjoy most is follow- ing florists and designers on Instagram who frequently include chrysanthe- mums and some of our varieties in their arrangements. One is Dmitry Turcan (@dmitryturcan) in St. Petersburg, Russia. I’ve also always been inspired by the work of Studio Mary Lennox (named after the main character in The Secret Garden). I love the way that studio integrates flow- ers and plants in different formats in a way that’s unique, warm and wild.”
Breeding Manager Dekker Chrysanten Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia
> Most people have to search for their dream job, but for Angie Arredondo, her ideal position found her, thanks to LinkedIn. She was finishing her master’s thesis in agricultural sciences when a manager at Dekker Chrysanten reached out. Growing up in a small town in Colombia, she never imagined she’d go from helping on her father’s coffee farm to developing varieties for one of the world’s largest chrysanthemum breeders.
“I could say the connection to
this job was coincidence, but I think it was destiny. It’s exactly the opportu- nity that I was looking for,” she says. These days she’s a clearinghouse of chrysanthemum variety information. “I manage thousands of varieties, evaluating performance in terms of things like production, shelf life, and capacity to dye. Most people wouldn’t believe how much work it takes and the number of varieties that must be tested to get a single, successful com- mercial variety.”
Advice I live by: “The best advice I’ve received is, ‘Breathe, rest, but don’t give up.’ It’s nor- mal to feel exhausted or unmotivated, but when we really want something, we shouldn’t give up. I have applied it to my life, and after the turbulence there is only the enormous satisfaction of achieving your goal. I also always try to do my best in all aspects — that way regrets have no place in my life.”
Julie Martens Forney is a contributing writer for Floral Management.
16 FLORAL MANAGEMENT | July/August 2023 |
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