Born in Paimpol, Maryvonne Jourdan's slight southern accent belies her Brittany origins. She showed an enthusiasm for decoration at an early age and started out in the profession at the age of 22 when she met Mr and Mrs Adolphe Pezzuli, the current founder and manager of the company.

"At the time I was married to a French Naval officer based in Toulon who was often away at sea. Following my Baccalaureat in literature, I decided to go straight into professional life which is how I came to work for Mr Pezzuli's company in Ollioules (100 employees) which specialised in making baskets and dried flower decorations. Before becoming a company director, Mr Pezzuli had been a professional racing cyclist taking part in the Tour de France, as well as the Paris-Nice, Dauphiné Libéré and Tour du Maroc in the days of Fauto Coppi, Bartali, Kubler, Koblet, Van Stenbergen. The original sales outlet in the C1 Pavillion was followed by a second shop which opened at Rungis in 1971, where I worked alone selling dried flowers prepared in the Ollioules plant, which has since become the Group's warehouse. The business developed and other shops were opened: Lille in 1977, Lyon in 1983, Nantes, Bordeaux, La Chapelle en Serval and more recently Toulouse (2001). The company employs about forty people in all with nine at Rungis. I manage the outlets at Rungis, La Chapelle en Serval and Toulouse. The shops are managed independently and stock the same range of products, i.e. some 4,000 items.

Our flagship products are artificial flowers, foliage, trees, china and glass vases, candles and decorative bundles of sticks. Products often match seasonal demand: ornamental Medici bowls in spring; foliage, Christmas roses and poinsettias in autumn; Christmas trees, garlands and candles in winter. In the 1970s, we were the first company to specialise in designing floral decorations with artificial flowers in silk and terylene, ornamental cast iron objects, furniture from Asia and Indonesia, South Africa or even South America. This market is increasingly challenging with customers requiring a very high quality level. While our customers are mainly florists and gift shops, sales are rising to interior and landscape designers, film productions, restaurateurs and caterers. We also have a significant number of foreign customers who find us through trade shows and exhibitions. I rely on my instincts and sudden flashes of inspiration, and anticipate demand by having a "nose" for new trends. Rungis is essential to the market and has developed enormously over the last ten years. Decoration is not just an accessory at Rungis.