Born in Rueil-Malmaison (92), Colette Pipart was first drawn to the elegant world of male haute couture through her father, who worked as a tailor, before discovering the world of flowers through her marriage to Michel Pipart. Following her baccalaureate and further study at the Spanish and British Chamber of Commerce in Paris, she started out at a famous perfumery before moving on to the advertising department of a major American corporation. At the age of 22 she married Michel Pipart, a young horticulturist employed at the time at a well-known florists in Rueil-Malmaison, and subsequently gave up her own job to help her husband set up his own business. Located in Beynes (78), the company employed ten or so people and covered two hectares of land with 5,000 m2 of glasshouses. "At the outset I had no horticultural knowledge and mainly took charge of the administrative side of things. As time went on, I started to work in the glasshouses and fell under the spell of all these wonderful plants. We grow hortensias, azaleas, cyclamens, begonias, African violets and gloxinias. During the 1980's, we grew tamaÿa, a sort of umbrella shaped begonia started on the branches of the begonia-bamboo. I started coming to Rungis Market with my husband as soon as it opened in 1969. At the time we were selling plants and objects for floral decorations. of the potted plant section in 1975. Awarded the agricultural Chevalier du Mérite, he was also responsible for setting up the 1979 Floralies show in Paris.

About ten years ago we moved our business near to Monfort l'Amaury and about seven years ago decided to focus our business activities on orchids and now work alone. We grow ten or so varieties using traditional cultivation methods, from selection to seed propagation, as our overriding concern is quality rather than quantity. The most popular variety is the phalaenopsis, followed by the paphiopedilum, odontoglossum, oncidium, cattleya and the vanda, an epiphytic orchid. There's no doubt that orchids represent the most extensive plant family. We are lucky to have a very loyal customer-base, 85% shop-based florists and 15% interior designers. We have made Rungis our sole source of supply as it represents a major commercial opening and a central hub. I see Rungis as being like a magnificent basket of flowers…" As proof of Colette and Michel Pipart's devotion to the profession, the latter was made Vice-President of the National Horticulture Federation and President