It was 1985 and Anthon was just out from high school; he and his brother just came from Camarines Sur and now he told him that the retreat house will be their new home. Fascinated with his new surroundings, he began to embrace the life within the retreat house, as he and his older brother worked there as kitchen staff and all-around help.
“I became a member of the church choir where we would practice every Saturday but then I would be fascinated and drawn to the preparations done in the church altar; the arrangement and the designing of the flowers looks fun,” Paulite reminisced.
And so time and again he would “interfere” in the designing and arrangement of the flowers until he was finally assigned the task to arrange it. He began enjoying what he does and started collecting clippings and studying them. People began noticing his talents and skills and commending him for it.
Then the retreat house had a new management. Paulite was one of those removed as staff in the retreat house.
With his talent and skills in flower arranging he left Baguio and went to Manila; the year was 1988.
In Manila, he tried various odd jobs in order to meet his needs. The first job he landed to was at a construction supply where he worked as a sales boy.
“During that time I never gave up my passion in flower arranging, I used my free time to look for flower shops where I could work,” he said.
He said that there are only three prominent flower shops in Manila. He was able to land into one—El Carlos flower shop where he quickly applied and was taken.
It was during these times when he was also able to come across the International Correspondence School where he enrolled for the flower arrangement course in its Home Study program. While working at El Carlos as all-around florist and delivery boy, he juggled work and his schooling; applying the theory he learned from school in his job.
“That’s one of the reasons why I was able to learn a lot because of my hands-on experience at the shop,” Paulite mused.
He was able to get his diploma in flower arrangement and designing after a year.
By 1995, Paulite decided to go back to Baguio City, back at Divine Word, where he was then assigned as caretaker of the church. He continued to do what he loves and started to work as a freelance floral designer.
He joined the 1st Flower Festival in the city in 1996, where he was given awards which jump started his drive to join various competitions in the city and in Manila where he collected awards and citations in the field.
“Whenever there are seminars and workshops, I always see to it that I can be able to attend them,” he said.
He also began teaching flower arrangement when Rural Bank of Baguio tapped him as one of its trainors from 1997-1998. Clients also started knocking at his door, asking for his services.
As a devout believer, Paulite continued to serve in the Society of the Divine Word, still doing the flower arrangement himself and sings at the choir.
He is an active member of the Sunnyside choir of the Society of the Divine Word since 1985.
Anthoniuz Floral Shop
With his artistic eye in flower arrangement slowly making waves, one of the devout attendee of Divine Word chapel, Mrs. De Guia, owner of the La Azotea building noticed his beautiful arrangements in the church. Hearing much about his talent, she offered to him one of the stalls in her building which Paulite accepted without hesitation.
And so by June 18, 1999, he opened his shop “Anthoniuz Floral Shop”, where he offers ready-made and while-you-wait flowers.
“We’re not happy until you are…” is the tagline of the shop of Paulite.
His devotion to his craft led him to receive numerous awards such as being the Regional Awardee in 2001 of the Ramon Magsaysay Outstanding Filipino Worker Award in the self-employed category.
People began patronizing his work and hiring him in various occasions such as weddings, seminars, birthdays, etc. to design their venue. Institutions such as TESDA tap him as speaker and trainer in their various livelihood programs offered by the agency, he said.
Recently he established “Floriferous”, an organization of floral designers in Baguio City. He hopes that the group would further grow in order to inspire other florists to make good of their profession and be proud of what they do.
Future plans
For now, he strives to have his business in the long run, to serve his clients and give them the best service he can give.
“I don’t consider much about expanding because my clients wants me to do the designing myself, if I am not around, they will not avail of the service anymore,” he said.
He said that maybe because of the way he treats his clients that made them respond that way.
Paulite said that he has come a long way from being a high school nobody from the province into somebody who loves what he does and get paid by it. Coming from a family of nine children and a father who passed away early and only a mother who supported them, he now supports some of his family members who have their own family as well.
“I am the only one who has no family of my own, but if it comes then it comes but as for now I am contented and blessed with what I have and that I have proven something to myself,” he said. He is now 43 years old.
“In this business, you should be approachable, humble and knows how to establish a relationship with your clients so that they will always come back to you,” he mused.
Anthon Paulite shop is located at the Mezzanine Floor of La Azotea Building, 108 Session Road, Baguio City.
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