Express & Star

Mother proves to autistic son dreams can become reality by opening her own florists

An Oldbury mother has achieved her dream of opening a florist in Warley after vowing to show her autistic son "anything can be done"

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SANDWELL COPYRIGHT MNA MEDIA TIM THURSFIELD 22/09/22.Alina Aboltina, has set her own florist business up in Pottery Road, Warley, to set an example for her autistic children..

However, due to the rocketing price of flowers Alina has taken a part time job at night so she can keep her prices down for her customers.

Alina Aboltina also reached her goal of setting up her own business before she was 30-years-old.

The mother-of-two began flower arranging as a hobby but after working for an Oldbury florist for a year opened Alina's Cottage Garden.

She enlisted the help of her two sons to decorate the Pottery Road shop over the summer holidays after opening for business in June.

She said: "Flowers mean the world to me because they helped me connect with my autistic son and he cannot believe I have my own florist now. My favourite flower is the rose and now I am surrounded by them every day.

"Opening my shop has shown him anything is possible if you work hard and love what you are doing.

"I loved arranging flowers so I went into a florist in Oldbury and asked for a job or training and they gave me a chance which I will never forget. After over a year there I thought 'you only live once' and opened my own shop near Warley Woods."

However, due to the price of flowers rising in the last month Alina has had to take a part time job to keep the business afloat.

Alina, who moved to Sandwell from Latvia when she was a child, said: "Flowers have suddenly become expensive but I did not want to put my prices up so I have started an evening job at a care home for the time being.

"I love putting smiles on people's faces with my flowers, I get a lot of elderly customers and know I am the other person they speak to that day so take the time for a chat."

For more information search for Alina's Cottage Garden on social media.

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