Botanical Brouhaha Podcast

TODAY'S GUEST: Bex Partridge | Botanical Tales TOPIC: Growing, Harvesting, and Creating with Everlasting Flowers Today I'm visiting with Bex Partridge, owner of Botanical Tales in Farnham, UK. Bex is a floral artist and published author specializing in everlasting flowers. I'm thrilled that she agreed to walk us through her process of growing, cutting, and drying flowers. And she's sharing tips on...

Today we're visiting with Scott Shepherd (aka 'Cutflower Scott'), host of The Flower Podcast to discuss: the root of his love of flowers his experience working in a flower wholesale house for over 25 years what prompted him to start a podcast his transition from the wholesale business to full-time podcast host the mission behind The Flower Podcast how the pandemic has impacted his business and fam...

TODAY'S GUEST: Christine Hoover MA, LPC, NCC With Special Guest : Jaelynn Solomon, Co-Owner of Urban Rubbish Weddings TOPIC: FINDING BALANCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA This interview was fun and informal because I invited Christine and Jaelynn to drop by my house and share their thoughts on a topic that seems to pop up frequently in the flower industry — figuring out how to use social media to grow a busines...

Today we're visiting with Laura Langford and Dawson Hamilton, owners of  Roam Flora  located in Ottawa, Canada to discuss: the birth and progress of their solar-powered flower farm where they've found the resources they need to build a growing business how their work and educational backgrounds have impacted their flower farm business model the layout and terrain of Roam Flora Farm their tendency...

KimBang loves flowers and she's found a purpose which is currently driving her to impact the wedding industry on a much deeper level than she once envisioned. While consulting with potential wedding clients at her Virginia studio, she began to notice a hesitancy in young Vietnamese Americans to embrace the traditional Vietnamese wedding ceremony. By listening to her clients, KimBang began to under...

Today we're visiting with Rebecca Grace, owner of Natural Art Flowers in Perth, Australia to discuss: The challenges of working in an isolated location Growing a flower business over time Utilizing her studio space with efficiency Handling business during a pandemic Team function on wedding days Insights on hotel and corporate accounts Managing client wishes Social Media as a business tool Relaxin...

TODAY'S GUEST: Joseph Massie  |  Joseph Massie Flowers  +  Joseph Massie at the UK School of Floristry  TOPIC: OPENING AN ONLINE STUDIO Today is the day we've anxiously awaited! Joseph Massie, a 5-time Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medalist who is often referred to by the media as 'the floral artist of his generation', is opening the virtual doors to his online studio which means designers the world ov...

TODAY'S GUEST: Natalie Gill, owner of  Native Poppy   flower delivery | San Diego, CA (2 retail locations: South Park & Solana Beach) TOPIC: Finding Your Mojo A Botanical Brouhaha Podcast listener wrote to us asking for Natalie Gill's advice. The UK designer wrote: "How do you find your mojo when it's hiding?" After a challenging year of fast-paced business growth, the question resonated with Nata...

TODAY'S GUEST: Maria Maxit | Maxit Flower Design TOPIC: Profitability Former BB Podcast co-host, Maria Maxit dropped by for a visit recently (via Zoom, of course) and we had fun catching up on what's happened at Maxit Flower Design since she last sat in the co-host chair. As we visited,  she shared about her decision to step away from the podcast to continue growing her business in Houston.  After...

TODAY'S GUEST: Joseph Massie | Joseph Massie Flowers + Joseph Massie at the UK School of Floristry  TOPIC: Working Through A Pandemic When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down his city, Joseph Massie got to work figuring out how to handle the sudden halt of business cash flow due to wedding postponements, class cancellations, and budget restraints on commissioned work. Because he envisions his business...

Today we're visiting with Mattie Bush, owner of Amelia's Flower Truck & Amelia's Flowers  located in Nashville, Tennessee to discuss: How she dreamed up and executed the flower truck concept without a background in the floral industry How she scaled her business quickly to include 3 trucks Why she decided to add retail shops to her business model The challenges of selling flowers from a mobile tru...

TODAY'S GUEST: Alison Ellis | Real Flower Business TOPIC: Social Media Mindset Alison Ellis of Real Flower Business surprised me when we sat down for a visit. Instead of me asking her a question, she turned the tables and asked me a question she'd received recently from one of her followers! She asked: "Do you have any tips around mindset for showing up on social media even though you'd rather com...

Today we're visiting with Kate Woodley, owner of  Two Wild Hands located in Cooranbong, Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia to discuss: her transition from interior design to floral design the significance of having her own studio space the teaching opportunity that helped her gain momentum early on in her career landing product launch clients through PR companies the value in finding the...

TODAY'S GUEST: Joseph Massie Joseph Massie + Joseph Massie Flowers + UK School of Floristry TOPIC: Training, Competing, & Winning Over the years, we've had the honor of featuring Joseph Massie's work on the Botanical Brouhaha blog many times. From his rose tunnel installation in honor of the 90th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen to the stunning living dress he designed for Strictly Come Dancing j...

With social distancing practices still in place, BB Podcast host Amy McGee got on a Zoom call with her co-host Maggie Bailey of Bramble & Bee to catch up and discuss living life and running a floral business in the midst of the pandemic. Maggie shares how Bramble & Bee has adjusted business practices during the Covid-19 pandemic. She also discusses what they hope for the coming weeks and months as...

Today we're visiting with sisters Jessica Hall & Stephanie Auville, from Harmony Harvest Farm in Weyers Cave, Virginia to discuss: the beach-side conversation that led to the creation of their family-run business - Harmony Harvest Farm the scope of what they grow on the farm the services they provide to their retail and wholesale customers their thoughts on the importance of learning to ship their...

Today we're visiting with Ellen Frost, owner of  Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, Maryland to discuss: how she's able to source local flowers for her business year round her unique business model which includes weddings, weekly orders, book clubs, open studio nights, and more the Bloom Battle and Flower Trivia Nights hosted by Local Color Flowers the structure of her team how she transitioned fro...

BB+ Guest :  Christine Hoover, LPC Even during "normal" times, floral professionals deal with stress and anxiety. The realities of the Corona Virus Pandemic have made this even more relevant.  In this episode Amy and Christine sat down to talk about how we can all learn to deal with anxiety. Christine talks about some of the ways our brain processes stress and some practical tips to help. She also...

Today we're visiting with Beth O'Reilly, Director of Education & Merchandise at  Greenleaf Wholesale  in Houston, Texas to discuss: her career path through the floral design profession from 'bud vase girl' to accomplished designer the largest (and possibly the most interesting) event she ever produced how her Fine Arts Sculpture degree has affected her work in floral design her years of involvemen...

Amy sat down with Holly Chapple of Holly Heider Chapple Flowers in Virginia to discuss how her business is coping with the ever changing realities of the current COVID-19 pandemic including communicating with clients and trying to help support employees. 

This bonus episode is a follow-up to the BB+ Episode released on March 18th. Natalie and Amy discuss some of the constantly changing circumstances related to COVID-19 restrictions and their impact on floral businesses. 

BB+ Guest :  Natalie Gill of Native Poppy in San Diego, California Many listeners wanted to get Natalie's advice on pricing.  In this episode Natalie describes how she prices items from her stem bar and also talks quite a bit about delivery charges and other issues around determining the correct price point for both retail and event floral customers.  Today's episode is brought to you by: REAL FLO...

Today we're visiting with Rachelle Willows, owner of Flowers by Willows in Alberta, Canada to discuss: what led her to transition from being an EMT to being a floral designer how a workshop reignited her fire and encouraged her to fight PTSD and continue her business with a newfound vulnerability her peony burn party and how she turned a horrible situation into a teachable moment for her followers...

BB+ Guest :   Alison Ellis of Real Flower Business Two listener questions for today's episode: "How would you suggest designers price out rental pieces that they own?" "I've heard that floral designers sometimes say they charge 'x' amount for a boutonniere or a corsage or whatever. Is there a method for upcharging that's easy to follow for anyone regardless of where they are and what kind of disco...

Today we're visiting with Janne Ford, owner of Janne Ford Floral Photography   to discuss: her transition from the fashion industry to a niche in floral styling & photography why she felt a natural connection to the Instagram platform the images that helped her Instagram account gain popularity the opportunity that opened the door to her floral still life photography niche how she chooses the imag...