Florist Anna Gibbs’ karma bouquets are feel-good flowers that are spreading good deeds throughout the Kapiti Coast.
In floristry, you often hear about loss and bereavement, but also about people who are going through really difficult times - not necessarily grief.
The karma bouquet idea started on a quiet day, where we thought, “Why don't we do something nice?” We have such lovely customers, and they're always doing sweet things for us, they're just so appreciative. It was just such an easy way to do something nice for somebody else.
We make a bouquet and write a little card on the front that says something like, "Karma bouquet. This is for you to keep; we're hoping it brightens up your day. Pass it forward."
We place them throughout the Kapiti area - Waikanae to Peka Peka - and leave them in a random place like a park bench, the start of a walking track, or the gate at the end of the road - lots of different spots.
You'll see somebody pick it up, look around and they have a bewildered, happy look on their face.
We often get really nice responses back from recipients on our Instagram, or a private message to say how much they appreciated it. Once somebody found one and gifted it to a friend who had been going through a rough time; it was exactly what they needed.
We get people coming into the shop who’ve heard about the karma bouquet. They think we're the greatest because we've done this really simple act. People like the idea of somebody doing something nice for no reason.
Hopefully, we will inspire other people to do simple, kind things. Even if it’s something little like letting somebody else go in front of them in the supermarket queue because you can see they’re in a hurry, or they’ve got a gaggle of kids with them.
I think everybody should pass a little bit of that good karma around.
