From the suitcase of… Lana Elie

A breathtaking botanical display can be reason enough to plan a trip. Take, for example, the flower fields of Southern California or the gobsmacking gardens of Singapore (an UNESCO World Heritage Site as of 2015). So when a certified flower expert hits the road, we want to know where she’s going, what she’s packing and if she’s picking up any trashy magazines at the airport (yes, we’re nosy like that). That’s why we caught up with Lana Elie, who founded the floral delivery service Floom in 2016. Connecting clients with the best buds in London and NYC, Floom has been lauded by the likes of Harper’s Bazaar and Wallpaper*.

Hot on the heels of a holiday in Japan, we picked Lana’s brain about all things travel…

We hear you’ve just returned from Japan. How long were you there and where’d you go?
I was there for nine days and travelled between Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo.

Anything that surprised you during your trip?
How 90s the cities felt. It’s absolutely ahead of the game like most expect, but i guess you forget these things were implemented quite a while back, so even the techy, screen-heavy elements feel a bit old school. I also was surprised by how much of it was a mall – every corridor, train station and even building was just layered with shops.

Any advice for someone planning their own trip to Japan?
Get a Japan Rail Pass. Apparently they’re difficult to buy once you’re there, and it was life changing for our travel. It gets you access to all of the bullet trains and you can literally jump on any one whenever you want and go from Kyoto to Tokyo and back. It was great to have that sort of freedom.

How did you end up as the head of a very chic floral company?
The idea came to me while I was working in fashion and found myself frustrated with the flower options available online. I always wanted to use independent florists, as their designs and packaging were much better than, say, Interflora, but the process of finding a good one and reaching out was quite time consuming. I noticed many other people had the same issue with flowers, so I built a business plan and launched Floom three months later.

Next trip?
Back to New York. As Floom is now trading there, I try to make it over once a month. I’m about to start a fundraiser for the business too, so hopping over to San Francisco and Los Angeles off the back of that trip for a couple meetings.

Luggage of choice?
I use Muji suitcases. The wheel locks came in handy in Japan on those bullet trains.

Your packing style in three words?
Too many shoes (but organised!).

The first thing you do after checking into a hotel room?
Check out the bathroom.

An ideal hotel must have…
… down pillows, and a lot of them.

The best in-flight reading you’ve done lately?
I’ve really enjoyed reading Originals by Adam Grant.

Your all-time favourite souvenir?
My incense pack from Kyoto. Even the box is beautiful.

What’s typically in your carry-on?
A Muji travel pillow, hand cream, my laptop and loads of snacks. I’m always hungry and get anxious that plane food won’t be good and I’ll have to starve.

Out-of-office message or skip it?
I’m never really off emails, unfortunately, so an OOO might be a bit void. I try to leave one when I’m on holiday, but i’m still glued to my phone.