Hello, nice to meet you. Meet the fabulous fat friends team!
Jef Gielis
Manager
Fabulous Fat Friends
Jef Jr. is the youngest of the three 3 driving forces behind the Fabulous Fat Friends succulents. He grew up playing in the greenhouses behind his parental house where Jozef Gielis taught him everything there is to know about succulents.
"It soon became clear what I wanted to study, horticulture! As a student I helped out during the holidays and gradually it became a full-time occupation. However, I am still keen on learning new things and I keep striving for perfection.”
With all his heart Jef Jr. is committed to producing INDOOR and OUTDOOR succulents.
"Growing plants is a passion, it gets under your skin and stays with you for the rest of your life! Continuous adjustment and improvement of production methods and looking for new plants, creating new varieties, that’s what keeps me sharp.”
In his spare time, he likes to play football, go swimming or spend quality time with his family. He also likes to try new and unfamiliar beers when he has a spare moment.
With all his heart Jef Jr. is committed to producing INDOOR and OUTDOOR succulents.
"Growing plants is a passion, it gets under your skin and stays with you for the rest of your life! Continuous adjustment and improvement of production methods and looking for new plants, creating new varieties, that’s what keeps me sharp.”
In his spare time, he likes to play football, go swimming or spend quality time with his family. He also likes to try new and unfamiliar beers when he has a spare moment.
Jan Gielis
Manager
Fabulous Fat Friends
"To tell you the truth, I wasn’t really interested in succulents when I was young. My passion for music was, and still is, an important part of my life. I have taken on many interesting challenges working as an employee and entrepreneur in the catering and metalworking industry, as a DJ and promoter.”
Jan has a knack for running a successful business, and so he found his place in the Fabulous Fat Friends team.
"I am looking after the administration and sales side of the business. I make sure that everything runs smoothly and that the planning is spot on. My passion for making the business run smoothly makes me feel happy."
Music please! When he is not working you can sometimes find Jan behind his DJ turntable. But he is still passionate about beer as the proud founder of the beer society ‘the beer enjoyers’, sharing his passion for beer with friends. Cheers!
Jozef Gielis
Founder Belgicactus
Fabulous Fat Friends
"I inherited my green fingers from my parents. As a child I would help my parents in their garden centre. It was there that one of our suppliers gave me my first succulents, and I was sold for life. I could indulge myself in my own small-scale hobby nursery which, together with my wife Aline, I developed into the enterprise it is
today"
today"
In their spare time Jozef and his wife Aline love to travel and go for walks and cycling trips. Jozef is also engaged in charity through the Rotary Foundation. And yes, you will also find him enjoying nature.
"I am still passionate about passing my expertise in growing the perfect plant onto my sons”.
The Fabulous Fat Friends team
The F-team
Fabulous Fat Friends
Aren't they absolutely fabulous?
Hi there, oooh yes you plant!
Cultivating in tune with the seasons = resilient cultivation
Jan and Jef Gielis are applying resilient cultivation methods, tuned to the natural rhythm of the seasons with the highest respect for nature. The Fabulous Fat Friends succulents are never forced, which makes them strong and hardy. These succulents are ‘nurtured’ with great care, skill and patience. It allows you to build a lasting relationship with them and to create your own story.
Fabulous Fat Friends are grown with a minimum of chemical fertilizers and a maximum of natural organic fertilizers and love.
The Fabulous Fat Friends team uses biological pest control methods if possible = minimum use of insecticides.
Colder cultivation for a heartwarming result!
Fabulous Fat Friends grows OUTDOOR Sempervivums in a truly winter-hardy fashion: all the plants are grown outside, 100 %, and in tune with the natural seasons. This is why Jan and Jef Jr. can supply the hardiest and strongest plants in the market.
The Fabulous Fat Friends team grows INDOOR succulents to the rhythm of the seasons and hardens them off in ‘convertible’ greenhouses. They hold nature very dear, and that is why the Fabulous Fat Friends team applies the principle of 'colder cultivation'. This reduces the consumption of fossil fuels to a minimum.
The Fabulous Fat Friends team grows INDOOR succulents to the rhythm of the seasons and hardens them off in ‘convertible’ greenhouses. They hold nature very dear, and that is why the Fabulous Fat Friends team applies the principle of 'colder cultivation'. This reduces the consumption of fossil fuels to a minimum.
“Hi, good
things, take time.”
“You buy much more than just a succulent, you also get all the strength and love we put into our succulents!
Let’s start a succulent story, together”
Jan & Jef
