Botanical Brouhaha Podcast

Today we're visiting with Sarah Diligent, owner of Floribunda Rose in Hampshire, England.  Sarah describes herself as a Flowerist, author, and teacher. She believes deeply in the value of British flowers and her interest in sustainable floristry inspired her to write A Guide to Floral Mechanics with William Mazuch. Grab a seat and join us as we talk about: the surprising reason she started her own...

TODAY'S GUEST: Natalie Gill | Native Poppy TOPIC: Introducing the Bloom Trust Co. CIRCLE Natalie's mission to work hard and be nice resonates with me, so it's no surprise that she's made several guest appearances on the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast over the years talking about everything from Finding Your Mojo to Pricing & Delivery Charges  to Marketing tips . But today she's on the BB Podcast so we...

TODAY'S GUEST: LuAnn Dickson TOPIC: Pricing & Ordering Flowers for Profitability LuAnn Dickson was the owner and lead designer of Verbena Floral Design in Austin, TX from 2006 to 2018 before she ventured on to become a freelance floral designer and tech entrepreneur who helps floral designers minimize waste and maximize profits through her internet-based flower recipe platform, EveryStem .  In thi...

Today we're visiting with Holley Simmons, owner of She Loves Me  in Washington, D.C.  Holly's background is in journalism and she worked as a Food Reporter for The Washington Post before finding her way to floristry. Join us as we talk about: how terrariums led her from a career as a food reporter to opening a flower shop her willingness to make mistakes as long as they result in lessons learned r...

Today we're visiting with Kelly Shore, owner of Petals by the Shore and The Floral Source in Damascus, Maryland. Kelly is a dedicated advocate for American grown flowers. Join us as we talk about: why she set and later raised a minimum spend for her wedding/event clients the importance of setting boundaries in business the trip to Alaska that impacted her and led to a new business venture how her...

TODAY'S GUEST: JULIE TOBI TOPIC: Building a Flower Business You Enjoy  Julie Tobi of J Eliza Creative is a career and life coach  for creative entrepreneurs and deep feeling souls, with a focus on intuition and embodiment. In other words, she helps creative entrepreneurs create the business & life they actually want to be living by helping them determine what that looks like based on listening to...

Today we're visiting with Anna Potter, owner of Swallows & Damsons in Sheffield, UK. Join us as we talk about: why she had an instant connection with floristry her experience buying an existing flower shop and making it her own the juxtaposition she injects into her floral designs how she built a wedding business that fits her personality the thought process behind her still life images how she la...

Today we're visiting with Alyssa Lytle, owner of Color Theory Design Co. located in the Portland, Oregon. Join us as we talk about: finding the courage to veer off the obvious and accepted paths to pursue personal interests finding clarity when she felt it was time to go into business for herself the freedom and peace she feels as a business owner her educational platform called Flowering Minds mo...

Today we're visiting with Lauren Palmer & Leah Palmer, owners of  The Wild Mother located in the Arts District, Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on Kickapoo, Osage, Wichita, & Comanche land. We're grateful for the opportunity to continue the conversation we began in Episode 70. Today we're digging a little deeper on some of the ways Lauren and Leah lead The Wild Mother to use their artistry for #m...

Today we're visiting with Linda D'Arco of Little Farmhouse Flowers in Jay, New York to chat about: transitioning to the floral profession from "teacher by day, farmer by night" logistics of starting a flower farm extending the growing season preparing a wedding proposal as a farmer florist her new podcast, Frost on Flowers knowing when it's time to hire help and expand the team addressing sustaina...

TODAY'S GUEST: Deanna Kitchen TOPIC: Growing Kindness Project The Growing Kindness Project started when Deanna Kitchen, an aspiring flower farmer, accidentally planted more dahlias than she could market. Together with her family, she started delivering flowers throughout her community, sharing flowers at bus stops, doctors office's, and retirement homes. With every delivery, Deanna discovered that...

Today we're visiting with Joey Azout of Alexandra Farms (Bogotá, Colombia) to chat about: how he managed to start a successful garden rose farm why he chose to grow garden roses in spite of the challenges the two biggest challenges he experiences with garden roses tips for conditioning garden roses (very helpful!) the importance of using a floral hydration solution new spray rose varieties coming...

Today we're visiting with Susan Stremlau, owner of Marion Moss Floral Design in Petaluma, California to chat about: growing a flower business from a side gig to a full-time career the catalyst behind her decision to make a business & lifestyle change rebranding working closely with a boutique hotel identifying her ideal clients the benefits of sharing knowledge and mentoring others how she attract...

Today we're visiting with LaParis Phillips, owner of Brooklyn Blooms in Brooklyn, New York, to chat about: her early days learning floristry in a Missouri flower shop following her dream of living in NYC marrying her love of flowers and fashion to create a business that is a unique reflection of her the journey that led to her owning 2 flower shops in NYC by the age of 32 the motivating power of t...

Today we're visiting with Akiko Kovacs, owner of Floraison  in Paris, France, to chat about: the experience that reminded her of the fragility of life and pushed her to follow her dream without delay finding the courage to move to Paris and learn a new language while pursuing a floral design education how finding her personal style helped build a business which quickly gained momentum sourcing flo...

Today we're visiting with Hazel Gardiner, owner of Hazel Gardiner Design  based in Stoke Newington, East London ,  to chat about: the diagnosis that changed her relationship with nature and propelled her into the floral industry the importance of wellness and mental well-being as a business owner diversity in floristry (read more of her thoughts here: Tackling Race Barriers in Floristry on The Flo...

Today we're visiting with Rona Wheeldon, founder of UK-based Flowerona ,  to chat about: the life challenge she says led to her career change into the floral industry dealing with 'comparison syndrome' defining creativity making a living as a blogger (get ready to hustle!) the importance of photography in building a successful blog her favorite social media tool for automating posts her Instagram...

Today we're visiting with Lucy Hunter (aka The Flower Hunter ) in North Wales to discuss: her early career in a "proper job" and why she left it the dream brief she landed as a garden designer why she temporarily lost her creativity and how she regained it how she found her way to floristry her passion for floral and still life photography the important connections she's made on Instagram thoughts...

Today we're excited to finally unveil Bloom Trust Co ., our newest venture launching mid-November and created with your needs and our mission in mind. We've switched it up a bit on the BB Podcast today. You might say we're keeping it all in the family as Maggie Bailey interviews Amy McGee about all the details and questions we think you might have regarding Bloom Trust Co.: How the Bloom Trust Co....

Today we're visiting with Lauren Palmer & Leah Palmer, owners of The Wild Mother located in the Arts District, Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on Kickapoo, Osage, Wichita, & Comanche land. What a pleasure to discuss the following topics with these women: why they refer to The Wild Mother as a Creative Studio rather than a Floral Studio the story behind the name of their business how their brandin...

Today we're visiting with Lauren Anderson & Rachel Bridgwood, co-founders of Sweet Root Village in Alexandria, Virginia to discuss: how they built a culture of community within their business their tips for building strong relationships with event and wedding planners how they thinking outside the box on staffing and job descriptions the process of regrouping and persevering during the COVID pande...

Today we're visiting with Megan McHugh & Denise Richter, co-founders of Pistil & Stamen in New Orleans, Louisiana to discuss: their transition from school garden teachers to full-time flower business owners how their complex business model helped keep their business afloat during the pandemic how they've built a strong partnership rooted in recognizing one another's strengths their journey over th...

Today we're visiting with Steven Dyme, co-founder of Flowers for Dreams (with locations in Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee) to discuss: the Flower for Dreams commitment to community and charity with every sale integrating philanthropy into a business model how his business has been able to survive during the pandemic the responsibilities and challenges that come with employing 50+ team members adv...

TODAY'S GUEST: Jessie Chui | Crafted to Bloom TOPIC: Paper Flower Art Jessie Chui, owner of Crafted to Bloom and author of a beautiful new book called Paper Flower Art , joins us on the Botanical Brouhaha podcast to share her passion for paper flower art from the creation of single stems to designing artistic arrangements, or compositions as she prefers to call them. Not only does she share detail...

Today we're visiting with Lily Roden, owner of Lily Roden Floral Design in Southern California to discuss: why she turned to flowers in a time of struggle the reason she didn't initially embrace her creative side the story of her family's move to the US from El Salvador the impact working with flowers had on her mental health learning through freelancing her advice to other designers looking for f...