Team Flower

If you’ve been in the floral industry for any amount of time, you know that there are countless lessons flowers can teach you about life. In this episode, Amber of Rising Hill Farm is joining to chat about growing flowers—and growing a family at the same time! You’ll hear about: Work-life balance with business and farming Tips for including your kids of different ages Focuses in the off-season Important considerations for sustainable farming And more! Rising Hill Farm is a small, sustainable cut flower farm and design studio located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They offer cut flowers for the socially and environmentally conscious consumer. You can find them on Instagram at @rising_hill_farm or online at www.risinghillfarm.com.

This week we’re joined by Ash Wheelhouse from Newcastle, Australia. Her story with flowers is such a fun (and relatable) one. She has an awesome practice of identifying a technique, style, color, or any other thing she could improve upon and setting aside time weekly to turn it into a strength. She’s sharing about a few she’s recently been working on! We’re also talking about how Ash’s inquiry process has improved over the years as well as the steps Film & Foliage takes to remain a sustainable business. She’s chatting about everything from where they’re sourcing flowers to what they do with all of their rubber bands. Finally, we’re talking about the amazing floral community. Ash has seen kindness grow in the industry over past 9 years, and it has since made a huge impact on her life and in her business. Film & Foliage is located in Newcastle, Australia. Film & Foliage designs richly layered and wildly beautiful creations for weddings, elopements, events and styled shoots. It brings Ash and her team so much joy to create a floral vision in a mindful, eco-conscious and stress-free way. They've also launched an online flower membership where like-minded florists can learn about the tools and techniques of the trade—Wildflower Academy. You can find Ash online at filmandfoliage.com or on Instagram at @filmandfoliage.

One of our favorite things to do is to rejoice with those who rejoice, and we’re doing that with Christina on the Team Flower Podcast today! Her shop, Camino, opened in 2019—and this year, it’s moving to a brand-new space to become what floral dreams are made of! Christina is telling us all about her vision as well as several things she’s learned in the process of opening Camino. She’s also talking about the chaos that comes with running two businesses and the key to making it happen: an incredible team. You’ll hear the things Christina looks for in her employees. It’s inspiring to hear her talk about the heartfelt care she takes with her team! Finally, we’re talking about the floral community and how much of an impact it’s made on Christina and her business. Her shop wouldn’t exist without the Napa and Bay area community! Bellevue Floral Co. was Christina's first business. It focuses on bespoke events and higher-end weddings. Then, she opened in Camino in 2019 as a way to service the local community with smaller orders that still had her signature aesthetic. Camino also sells gifts and lifestyle products. A big milestone was moving into a brick-and-mortar shop which allowed Christina to scale and grow a team. Their next big project is moving Camino into a brand-new space! Christina's original vision was to open up a flower/gift shop and cafe in one space and that vision is getting brought to life this year! Find Christina on Instagram @bellevuefloralco @shop.camino.

One of our favorite things to hear from floral professionals within the industry is their unique journey to flowers, so we have gathered several favorites from over the years! Our hope is that you’ll be encouraged and inspired. If you’re looking to join the floral industry, may you find hope in these stories! One day, you’ll have one of your own! If you’re established in the industry, may you find encouragement to keep going. You never know what your journey may hold or what growth your business will boast.

Amanda has been in the floral industry for several years, and she’s even dipped her toes in flower farming and managing floral design companies before starting her own wedding and event design company. She and her business partner, Mikenzie Salvucci, recently opened a new retail flower shop. Amanda is sharing all about their leap of faith and the things they’ve learned and accomplished through the process. We’re also chatting about Amanda’s partnership with Mikenzie. Going into a business venture with someone else can be a leap of faith in itself! You’ll hear about the pair’s beautiful complimentary relationship and how they each bring something unique to the business. Finally, we’re discussing flowers and events! Where is Amanda sourcing her flowers for the shop and for her events? How can we cut down on waste as an industry? What are the must-have event tools for Amanda’s toolbox? Find out right here on the Team Flower Podcast! Amanda Vidmar Design is a wedding and event florals company blurring the lines between terrain and architecture, movement and stillness, and elegance and spontaneity to draw your attention inward and engage you with the surrounding space. Currently they're celebrating their sixth year in business, and with a new retail storefront called Francis & Frances, they're hoping to make local, artfully designed flowers accessible daily to their community in San Francisco. Follow Amanda on Instagram at @amandavidmardesign and visit her website at amandavidmar.com.

Get prepared to be inspired by this conversation with Rachael on the Team Flower Podcast! She is quite an entrepreneur and takes everything from planning to design to execution when it comes to weddings and events. As such, Rachael has an extensive team that she works with! She’s chatting about how her business and her team came to be, and what their structure looks like. (Here’s a hint: INTERNS!) We’re also talking through the importance of identifying floral needs in your local community before you start your business or as you prepare to pivot your business. Is there a group of people who are not being served by the other floral professionals? How can you meet them where you are with your own creativity? In addition, Rachael is sharing her thoughts on how those in the floral industry can meet one another’s need and support one another. Finally, Rachael is listing a few necessary design skills florists should develop as well as giving a sweet reminder of encouragement to go and be inspired! Rachael is the owner and founder of Rachael Ellen Events. They are a full service wedding planning, Design, Floral Design, Production and Execution company. They specialize in destination events and work with clients all over the world. You can most often find them in the mountains of Park City, Utah, the countryside chateaux of France, and the coastal towns of the North East. Their floral design style is garden inspired and strives to maintain a romantic, fine art aesthetic. They are rooted in creating experiences rather than just events and do that through seamless planning and intentional design. You can find Rachel online at rachaelellenevents.com and on Instagram @rachaelellenevents.

There is a lot to consider when you’re serving a bride for the most important day of her life. While every wedding and event florist’s general process may look similar, the way we implement those processes may differ from person to person. One of our favorite things about the floral industry is that we all bring something unique to the table! Because of this, there is always something to learn and some way to improve one’s business. Jennifer Varsanyi of Busy Bee’s Floral has a beautiful perspective when it comes to serving her clients. She takes great care with each couple that comes to her for wedding flowers. Today, she’s jumping on the podcast to walk us through her wedding client process—from inquiry to implementation, and everything in between! Busy Bee's Floral is an events-focused boutique floral company that serves brides and clients in the East Bay and beyond who are looking to throw an event! They celebrated six years in business this January and also a cover and feature in Mingle magazine, and we are thrilled to celebrate that milestone with them. Visit Busy Bee’s on the web or follow them on Instagram at @busybeesfloral.

Ingrid is one of the pioneers of the sustainability movement. She is passionate about our earth, and has gone to great lengths to test out various products. As such, Ingrid is sharing some helpful sustainable practices, including handling waste, recycling vases, and installation mechanics. She’s even talking about two new products she’s testing: agrawool and ocean pouches! We’re also chatting about her newest book, Flowers By Design. Just wait until you hear about the contents of this lovely read! Ingrid has been intentional about including personal stories of flowers from her clients. There are many wonderful floral resources available, and Flowers By Design looks to be right up there! Finally, Ingrid is walking us through her process for keeping things organized and working with a system for delivery and design on event day. She makes a point of prioritizing her team, and having efficient processes in place creates an environment of fun and effective flowering! Tin Can Studios is floral design studio specializing in creating floral experiences for corporate events and weddings. Ingrid and her team are most recognized for their lush, asymmetrical floral arrangements and large scale installations with eye catching color compositions and ingredients. They are most proud when clients reach out because they’ve seen and heard about their sustainable work from recent years and want that for their events! In addition, Ingrid has just launched her second book, Flowers by Design, which you can find here. To learn more, visit the website and follow Ingrid on social at @tincanstudios.

Charles Little & Company began in 1986 as a large-scale flower farm providing dried flowers to wholesalers. Since then, they’ve not only increased their wholesaler relationships, they also provide fresh flowers in addition to the dried. Bethany has been a part of the company for a lot of this process, and she’s walking us through what it’s looked like forming those lasting relationships. You’ll also hear about the company’s new online dried floral business! From ordering to shipping and everything in between, Charles Little & Company has systems in place to ensure everything runs smoothly. Bethany is sharing about the beauty of the floral community—growing and beyond—and how digging into that community has helped her grow in knowledge. Tune in to hear why Bethany, as a flower farmer, is intentional about spending time learning amongst event designers! Charles Little & Company has been growing specialty cut flowers since 1986 on the Coast Fork of the Willamette River near Eugene, Oregon. They provide fresh and dried flowers to wholesalers nationwide, florists in Portland, Seattle and Eugene, and locally at their farm to the public through their farm stand and their large working barn. They were excited last year to launch their dried flowers on their website for nationwide sales. To accompany our updated website Bethany has been very active on instagram with a weekly live talking about their dried flowers and making a wreaths! Check out all they have to offer online at www.charleslittleandcompany.com and on Instagram @charleslittleandco.

You are in for a treat on this episode of the podcast! Valencia of Brandon’s Flowers is a bubbly, passionate gal who loves what she does and adores her community. She’s sharing the meaning of “one-stop shop”—what is offered, who the clients are, and more. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of moving pieces! So you’ll also hear tips on how to keep things organized, including the importance of choosing a point of sale (POS) system. Valencia is also chatting about where she sources both flowers and gift items locally. It’s vital to her and Brandon’s Flowers to nurture the community around them, and they do so beautifully!

Rikki began her career in the event industry as a wedding planner, so she is very familiar with the ins and outs of event day. She’s sharing about her move from planning to designing—and what led her in that direction. Rikki’s business has grown to include a fun and dynamic team, so she’s chatting a bit about her hiring process. Her motto is, “Hire for attitude and train for skill.” You’ll hear about Rikki’s studio set-up—from shelving and storage to loading and delivery—and the big piece of the puzzle she’s excited to incorporate soon! Finally, Rikki is chatting about how she’s created a loyal clientele and utilized the power of Instagram. She’s even touching on why you should invest in Instagram ads for your own business! Speaking of Instagram, you can follow her at @RikkiMarcone. Rikki's business is a floral and event design firm specializing in weddings and social events. Each project she and her team works on is designed custom to each client’s personality. She also has an online store for local fresh and dried floral deliveries. Find her online at www.rikkimarcone.com and shop.rikkimarcone.com.

Black + Blossomed is a local pop-up flower shop that offers a range of seasonal bouquets that are either pre-arranged or created onsite. Apart from creating and selling flower arrangements, Black + Blossomed is also meant to be a community for all people to become an active participant in the beauty of the world around us and most importantly, the beauty within ourselves. We are all partaking in this process of growing, becoming, and blossoming, and their hope is to facilitate that process for each person who buys a flower or visits their site. Today, you’ll hear from Breigh on floral pop up shops—what they are, where they’re located, and who they serve. She’s chatting about finding and solidifying her unique business model as well as her client base. Breigh is also in the process of getting her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology (woohoo!), so she’s also talking about the special lens this has been to view flowers and their role in peoples’ lives. Anything that requires using your five senses is a technique used to help your nervous system ground itself. She’s sharing tips on how to ground yourself in a moment of “fight or flight.” Find inspiration and encouragement on her Instagram @blackandblossomed!

We’re jumping on with Sarah Bagle to chat about all things PLANTS! Since COVID in 2020, people have begun to get “back in touch” with nature—both outdoors and indoors. The plant craze has ensued after the pandemic, beginning with millennials and generation Z, and has expanded to a larger and more diversified audience. Accent Decor has taken advantage of the plant trend in their offerings, so you’ll hear about some of their go-to pots, containers, and gift options for plant parents. Sarah is also sharing advice on how the floral industry can take advantage of the plant trend. She says, “Flower shops [could be seen] as a destination and source of inspiration rather than a place to call and order flowers.” Finally, Kelly and Sarah are tossing around some ideas on the best ways to educate and encourage the new plant parent. You’ll hear everything from tips to grow to which types of containers to use! You can shop all their plant products (and more!) at www.accentdecor.com.

As a self-professed minimalist, Amanda seeks to explore simple yet striking flowers in her work. The Studio Mondine aesthetic can best be described as a negotiation between the wild, overgrown English garden with the intentional, precise Japanese ikebana. Studio Mondine's artful work has been featured in multiple online and printed publications, including Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, The New York Times, In Full Flower, Style Me Pretty, Once Wed, and Harper’s Bazaar. 

Susan’s career in floral design began 30 years ago. She started with a film and television degree that cultivated her love of the arts. After doing set design for QVC, her passion for the creative arts led her into event florals. She is a national speaker/educator and the founder of The Design Sanctuary Workshop. She has trained countless apprentice florists, and many have gone on to start their own shops. Bringing her sense of line, color, and texture to her work, she creates one-of-a-kind experiences for all of her clients. After 30 years, weddings and events still make her heart skip a beat.