PETALING JAYA, June 25 — Special occasions call for special blooms to commemorate that moment. And if you are a fan of those rustic flower arrangements often seen in the pages of magazines like Kinfolk, then look to ZáHuòHáng for your floral needs.

The man behind these bohemian-style arrangements is Joshua Tan, 35. In Chinese, the name ZáHuòHáng means grocery store.

A graphic designer by profession, Tan started the business a few years ago to sell dead stock such as tableware (think old fashioned Duralex tempered glass pieces) and stationery.

When dried, the delicate hydrangea still has a faint colour (left). The dried flowers bouquet can last up to six to seven months (right).

The inspiration for his business was an accidental treasure trove discovery in Kuching, his hometown. He recalls stumbling upon a stationery shop run by an old woman who invited him to view her storeroom.

Her stationery collection blew him away; he describes it as "back to Malaya time.” The old woman was happy that someone appreciated her collection. Fast forward to present day and Tan’s company also helps to stock Ilaika select store at Taman Paramount.

You will find unique blooms in a ZáHuòHáng like dried black roses.

Then about one and half years ago, Tan ventured into floral arrangements. Again it was purely by coincidence. It started with decorating the tables at Awesome Canteen, the restaurant where he is one of the co-partners.

People started to notice the artful arrangements and started commissioning him for weddings and much more. Today, he has made a name for his bouquets of dried flowers that have muted earth colours which are filled with unique blooms. Even his fresh flowers have an effortlessly elegant look.

A beautiful bouquet of fresh blooms, leafy fronds and lemons for a cafe opening (left). As one of the signature drinks in the cafe is a lemon drink, Tan has thoughtfully incorporated it in the bouquet to give it a deeper meaning (right).

As a child, he had picked up flower arranging tips from his aunt. Whenever there was an occasion, his aunt would be the one to present family and friends with beautiful floral arrangements.

She even ventured all the way to Singapore in the 1940s to learn flower arrangement. Through her, he got involved in crafts as she would often rope him and the young ones in to prepare door gifts for parties.

From his mother, Tan inherited the love for beautiful things. "She would always smell so beautiful with perfume,” he recalls.

An autumn themed dried flowers bouquet with berries and delicate fronds.

Tan orders various blooms from all over the world to create these unusual dried flowers bouquet (left). Nope, that is not a feather duster but an unusual bloom with fluffy-like texture (right).

Even though his mother lives in Kuching, he keeps in touch with her every day via phone — a practice he has kept up for 14 years!

His parents are incredibly supportive of this floral arrangement offshoot of his career. Sometimes they help him gather wild flowers in his hometown.

Most of ZáHuòHáng’s arrangements use dried flowers though as Tan feels it’s more unusual. "It’s easy to get fresh flowers but hard to get dried ones,” he explained.

These delicate berries look like Japanese ikebana floral arrangements (left). White roses add elegance to a table setting (right).

What makes it even more mysterious is the process of drying can often yield surprising results. "Sometimes I need to buy and try to dry it out too as it’s all about trial and error.”

He searches through the various florists in the Klang Valley for unusual blooms to create his dried masterpieces. Sometimes he will also order specific flowers to dry them. As some flowers are seasonal, he will keep stock of several special items to be used in his flower arrangements.

Would you believe these beautiful dried flowers are actually weeds that pop up in empty grasslands around Malaysia? (left). As part of his job, Tan will also do beautiful table arrangements for weddings (right).

Tan uses an organic approach to arrange his bouquets.

When it comes to drying the flowers, Tan keeps it natural — prefering to not spray them with colours or chemicals. We completely appreciate that approach as there’s a lovely smell to his dried flowers.

The drying process usually takes about one week and it is done in an enclosed room. Tan advises that not all blooms can be dried though so one has to be careful to select the right ones.

For instance, who knew that delicate hydrangeas can be dried? You can still see their faint distinct colours afterwards.

Tan also collects local blooms that grow in the wild. He’ll gather his friends and even family to assist as they pluck these short lived blooms the moment they’re available.

Dried black roses have a beautiful sheen (left). One of Tan’s favourite dried flowers is this delicate yellow flower (right).

In our eyes, it may be a weed but in Tan’s eyes it can be transformed into something beautiful.

Tan estimates that the dried blooms can last up to six to seven months. With proper care, it can be extended to a few years too, as seen with a dried flower bouquet he made for Awesome Canteen that lasted about two and half years until it was taken down!

A magnificent fresh maroon peonies and black roses bouquet for a beautiful bride. — Picture courtesy of Hellojanelee Photography

Tan advises that all you need to do is carefully dust the dried flowers to maintain them. When it comes to using dried flowers for the wedding ceremony, he has experienced resistance from some parties who prefer to keep it traditional and use fresh flowers instead.

Instead some people just use it for their pre-wedding shoots. He does see a changing mindset though as recently an older couple requested that their wedding bouquet be composed of dried flowers as they were looking for something unusual and unique.

Some of the more unusual requests he has had? A bride who wanted a more green theme versus the usual flowers for her wedding bouquet. Tan came up with a magnificent looking leafy bouquet with small flowers. Another bride wanted a more gothic look that called for fresh black roses paired with maroon peonies — a stunning combination.

One of Tan’s proudest moments was doing the table setting for his sister’s wedding in Kuching. — Picture courtesy of YongHaoVisualMoment

Aside from making bouquets, Tan also does event planning. He will take charge of everything from the wedding invitations to even the table arrangements.

Usually he uses items from his personal collection to create the tables. Otherwise he would rent items. One of his recent events was his sister’s wedding in Kuching.

With a Nature inspired theme, there was lush greenery artfully decorating the wedding tables. The sophisticated looking arrangements were in a palette of green, gold, white with a hint of champagne pink.

In the near future, Tan’s dream is to own a pop-up glass house where he’ll sell fresh and dry flowers. Tan also would love to do a futuristic event with a minimalist but edgy theme. There won’t be any flowers but he’ll be using plants, leaves and fabric to create the look.

He upholds a strong ethic with ZáHuòHáng to fulfil his customers’ needs too as he believes in always giving them something beautiful. "They are paying for the product so I must make sure it is what they want and it is valuable.”

ZáHuòHáng Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZaHuoHang/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zahuohang/