In the course of her research, Lim came across the technique of plant preservation known as herbarium, which, broadly, involves drying, pressing and preserving specimens using chemicals such as mercuric chloride.
She took to it right away – albeit not without some mishaps. “The first time I experimented with the chemicals, I nearly burnt my room down because the solution boiled,” the 28-year-old recalled with a grimace.
Undeterred, Lim continued to experiment and research for about eight months, gradually perfecting the process and giving away some of her finished products as gifts.
Thanks to the encouragement of her friends, she began selling them under the name Avogere Herbarium.
Lim revealed that, at the time, she’d been working as an interior designer. “But after years of working in the industry, my passion started to wane as it took up too much of my time,” she told FMT Lifestyle. “So I quit last year to manage Avogere Herbarium with Kevin.”
It was also Tan who encouraged her to start taking part in bazaars to increase exposure as their online presence wasn’t gaining enough traction. This proved to be the right decision, and their social media following has nearly doubled since a year ago.
Of her brand’s mission, she said: “We offer gift options that are pretty and thoughtful, not something you’ll just receive and put away without a second thought.”
To that end, Avogere Herbarium’s wares include preserved flowers in glass tubes or bottles, where “the light refraction makes their colours much more prominent and aesthetically pleasing”.
Some of the bottles even have a tiny lightbulb at the bottom that illuminates the contents, giving them a dreamy and romantic vibe. These make beautiful and practical gifts that can also double as a bedside lamp.
Other products include pressed-flower coasters, resin trays, and ring stands.
And, for a more personalised touch, gifts can also be customised with a sketch and engraving on the bottle alongside your choice of preserved flowers. All you have to do is provide Avogere Herbarium with the image and they will get the job beautifully done!
When FMT Lifestyle visited the Avogere Herbarium booth at the Halo Market Bazaar in SS6, Petaling Jaya, recently, the brand had just released its new collection of natural flower dyeing and printing products.
These DIY kits allow customers to personally select the flowers or leaves they wish to print on tote bags, bookmarks, or pouches.
Lim even demonstrated the process. First, the flowers are soaked in chemicals to make their natural colours last longer, before being placed on clear cellophane tape and stuck to the item on which it is to be printed.
“We then hammer them to transfer the pattern onto the fabric, and voila!”
As skilled as she is with making these pieces, she credits her artistic inclinations to her mother, who would handcraft toys for her to play with and bags to use.
“Thanks to her, I was exposed to arts and crafts from a very young age, and that contributed a lot towards my love for them now,” Lim concluded with a smile.
Learn more about Avogere Herbarium via its Facebook and Instagram profiles.