How Alexa Got Started In Flowers

Today, I want go over how I got started in flowers. I get asked us a lot, especially, meeting new people, meeting other designers for the first time.

I feel like flowers found me, and I did not find flowers. We're actually gonna get, like, super close, and I'm gonna share, like, a deep dark secret. My flower journey, is kind of super embarrassing. And I just want to pretend like, we're a really close friends, so I'm just gonna go for it. But my first experience with flowers was way before I thought I was gonna be a florist.

I never thought I was going to do flowers as a career. I never thought I would do a creative career, actually. Growing up, I thought I might do, like, something in the medical field. I thought I might do, like, humanitarian work. I thought I might do kind of like, just some kind of field to help people.

I really wanted to help people but I didn't know how or what it was. I kinda dabble in a few different things in college. I actually have a degree in public health and took like a lot of hard chemistry classes and anatomy and physiology ones. Maybe all for nothing, now that flowers are my career, or maybe they’ll come in handy some day.

I feel like your life experiences shape you in many ways. So I wouldn't say college was a waste. I learned so much about myself and learned about things like time management and showing up for yourself in new ways.

My first experience with floral design was actually in college. So this is why I bring college up. College was a little segue, and I needed to fulfill 1 of my general ed classes, like the credits for a general, and I decided to take floral design Was like, oh, sweet. This will fulfill a credit in school.

I'm not sure how I pulled this off at the time, but I actually scheduled 2 classes to overlap. So I scheduled another class on top of my floral design class. The first class didn’t end until almost halfway through my floral lecture. So I would show up late every single day for my flower lecture portion of the class. And there was, actually a quiz at the beginning of every class. We had these little, like, remote control clicker with, like, Abc b c on them. And it was how my teacher took attendance and, like, made sure you came to class on time from your quiz answers. Well, I didn't go to class on time and so never took these quizzes and failed them.

And I wasn't super motivated to learn about flowers to be honest. I know I kick myself every day. It just wasn't the right time for me to love flowers. It just like I was wanting to, like, move to another country and learn another language and, like, help humanity and set up.

Shelters for women. And, like, my goals and dreams were just in a different place than floral. And I honestly, just like Cram study in that course and did not give it what it deserved. I didn't give it its time. I didn't show up for it.

I didn't study for it. I did show up for every lab because in the lab, you got to play with flowers, and it was so fun, and I just, like, picked it up so quick, and it was just like this innate skill that I had, and that was super rad. I loved that so much. So anyways, a little bit of embarrassing story, my first experience with flowers and like, formal floral design education was actually, like, me shitting on it, and I didn't really care about it, and I feel so guilty saying that out loud, but it's just the truth like, it just wasn't in my wheelhouse yet. It like, so it came along, and I was like, nah, I don't care.

So that happened, and then I got my degree. And I was actually working nights at the time. So I was working at a ski resort. I was a server at Sundance. Mountain resort, and best job ever.

I love all my coworkers. It was so fun to, like, work on the mountain, and I worked fine dining, so the restaurant was only open in the evenings, and I served, like, beautiful wine with food, and that's why I do wine Wednesdays on my Instagram because I love wine. And I think it's so fascinating to do like, wine and food pairing and how the wine really does change the food itself like the flavors and the textures and the nuances found there and actually became a level 1 insomnia, which was super fun. I flew to Denver and, like, for a weekend did this whole, like, testing out thing with master sol as. Masters are a level 4.

I was just a level 1 and to be a master Solemn a for the who don't know. It is literally insane. Like, you walk into a room or And there's, like, 2 or 3 red wine glasses and 2 or 3 white wine glasses. I can't remember the count of the glasses. Of wine and you have to sit down and do a blind tasting.

So you don't know what these wines are. You don't know the varieties of these wines. So you don't know where they're from, but you have to tell that information. You have to tell the wine variety and where it's from in the world. Is it that crazy to be so knowledgeable on all of the wines and all the varieties that you just, like, sit down and you're like, this is a around from this region in France, and it's just like, it's so impressive.

So I hope to meet a master song someday. Just be like, I don't know I kissed their shoes or something. I think it's so rad. I guess I did meet some. They were at my song test.

So when I flew to Denver, but it's just rad. It's a rad, like, it's just like a rad cool club to be part of, I think. Of just being so knowledgeable and passionate about 1 thing. So, yeah, I am kind of knowledgeable wine. I know a thing or 2, you know, I've lost a lot of my knowledge, but I do love.

Pairing wine with food and, like, trying to get all those flavors out of it and doing little tasting. Like, I I dragged Justin into doing little tasting with me and it's so fun. I'm like, what do he's smell. What do you taste? Do you get this on the palette?

You know, it's just fun. So, back to my job schedule. This is after I graduated college, I was working as a server at night. So my days were free, and a friend of a friend of mine, Ps, the reason I was working as a server still after getting my degree is because I didn't end up wanting to use my degree in public health. It just like wasn't a step for me to get to the next place.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life. I had worked for humanitarian, like, company for a minute, and there's not money in that, You know, It's like, I made way more money where working at this fine dining restaurant, so that's why I had my days free, and I was just working at nights. I love working the, like, serving environment too. I love the chaos and running around and that's the level of perfection in this kind of restaurant too, like it was a Forbes rated restaurant, we had, like, to hit certain points at every turn, and we had to get the fork. Replaced with this fork and we had to, like, drop this certain food at this time.

And if somebody went the restroom, like, we had a fold up their napkin for them and put it, like, on their seat. Like, I just loved the attention to detail and the challenge of, like, hitting all those points perfectly and being poised while you're like, eating shit and having to run around and you just got double sat. For those who have served and weighted tables before you know what I'm talking about. But it just like was chaotic and fun. I really like that.

And that's why I love weddings. Like weddings are kind of a similar environment. You can be as organized and prepared as you possibly can but like, things are gonna happen, like, the weather's gonna change and it starts storming. Or, like, there's 3 more tables that you weren't aware of. Or, you know, there's just like, there's hiccups, and you have to problem solve on the spot and just, like, make it look beautiful.

And I like that challenge. I love the challenges just like making things look amazing. Even if we kinda have to, like, get creative on sight and like, just deal with shit. It's like, I don't know it's in to me. I like it.

So a friend of a friend of mine while I was waiting tables at night needed. Help in their far shop, and I was like, oh, that sounds fun. Like, I took floral design in college. I will not share what great. I got in that class, but I was like, I have experience, you know, I've done this before.

I at least was exposed to it. You know, I don't know how much I retained from that class, but I really liked the lab and it's so I was, like, why not. I'll come. I'll come and play the flowers. That sounds cool.

So I was actually hired not to be a designer. I was hired to just, like, man, the front desk and check people out. This like flower shop I worked in was similar to, like, a dr up coffee shack. It didn't have running water, and I actually had to, like fill up water from a restaurant across the parking lot. I had to, like, walk over and, like, I guess the owner of this flower shack, like, paid the money for water.

I don't know. I had to, like, fill this like, 5 gallon bucket full of water. It was just kind of like, not ideal. Right? But we made it work.

And there was like, a little cooler in there, like, a display cooler with arrangements, and then there was loose flowers. And if somebody like, walked in and wanted to buy a wrap or something, I would, like, wrap them up. I was not really formally trained. I remember my first rep, this lady like, walked in, and she's like, I want these flowers wrapped, and I was like, Okay. So I literally just...

I don't know what I was doing. It was a hot mess. I can I can guarantee it was a hot mess? Like, found a rubber band somewhere and, like bound the stems, and it was just like crazy. And it was crazy because the owner of this flower shop just had so much volume and so, like, this little shaq was not her only thing.

She had multiple locations. She didn't have time or set a aside time to like, train me. She just needed some... A body. She did a body in this place.

And she's, like, just go and take care of walk ins and people. Like, she filled the cooler with designs, and then I like made that wrap once and was just like, here. Okay. Here it is. But then over time, I think I worked there for a few months.

She would pull me to, like, teach me design, which was super cool. She did, like, a lot of the designs out of 1 location of hers, and she would have me go shadow there sometimes. And I remember making my first bridal up bo okay out of Ge da or gerber da. Depending on how people say it, and it was just like the most hideous thing I have ever created in my entire career. Like, this woman's whole business model was buyer service flowers.

And wire service flowers is, like your 1 800 tele, like, you've seen the arrangements. You go on the website and there's, like, dozen roses in a face with baby's breath. Daisy and a tea cup. Like, they're just these hideous, like, recipes, that flower shops will, like, dive into because they get business from these big websites, like 1 800 flowers in tele 4, they'll like, send business, like local business to their flower shop, but then you're making ugly stuff. You don't get to be creative.

You're, like, recreating all of this, like, recipes and formulas Been done 10000 and times and they're just like, still and, like, ugh and, like, you're using, like, not fun flowers, not pretty flowers. You're using just like, daisy mum, you know? So that didn't last long that job, even getting to design. I was like, I deserve more. I want more.

I sort of falling in love with flowers and was really interested in them. And so I applied for a business license at that job. So I was like, working the front desk right in this little shack. I'd get maybe, like, 3 or 4 people come by in a day, and I would study wine because I was studying for somme a stuff, and then I would also, like, do other things at this job when I got all my tasks done. And 1 of those things was I applied for a business license, and I did not know what I was doing, but I just felt this thing within my soul that it was like the right thing to do.

Have you guys ever had an experience like that? Where something just feels right and you don't know why and you don't feel scared about it either. It's just like, feels so right. Well, that was my experience here. I was just like, I'm gonna do this thing, and how do you even come the business name, I remember writing out all these names, and I finally just was like this shouldn't be hard.

This needs to be easy. For And I have 2 cousins named Lily and Iris. And I called my aunt, Rachel and I was, like, can I name my business after your girls and she's like, yeah? So there is a Lily and an iris in my personal life. They should get royalties from the business, honestly.

But yeah, a business was born. And I just knew I wanted to design flowers. So I I got my, like, business license in the mail and stuff. And then I actually applied to work at a different flower shop that had a little bit more fun designs. They were not wire service.

I actually got to, like, play with beautiful like, higher quality and luxurious flowers, which was super fun. And then that only lasted honestly a few months though, because I just wanted to, like, put all my effort into my own thing. And I remember booking my first wedding, they were friends of mine from Sundance, and I had never put together a bridal okay before. But they, like trusted me and believed in me. They're like, they also got a killer deal.

I never ordered flowers at either a shop that I worked at, So I did not know how much flowers cost. I think I quoted them, like, 800 bucks, and I like, went to pick up the order and it was, like, 1300 dollars worth of flowers. So I definitely, like had to pay to play at the big... Very beginning, but I was, like, so honored that they wanted me to design for them. And I just figured it out.

I just like, messed around, I got creative. I like designed a bridal okay. I learned mechanics from, like, investing on, like, online courses and things and just kinda learned some, like, real good basics from, like, accredited flo And that's kind of like how I got started. I I started out of my garage. I started with little, like, soda cooler display type fridge that just have the sliding glass doors.

And then eventually, like, as I grew, like I got my walking cooler, and I got my design table and I got all these different... Different things and then I had a candle collection for my events and a base collection to rent out and it's different been almost 7 years now and just to, like, watch it grow from this little thing of, honestly just believing in myself over the years and getting education where I could, you know, I wasn't really hungry for floral education back in college, but Once I decided, I wanted to do this thing. It's like, I am always constantly learning. I can never learn like, too much. I'm always like, reading up about flowers.

I'm in different flower, like, clubs and organizations and it's just like I can't get enough. It's like something that I'm am just so happy doing and so obsessed with that it's my world. You know, I do try to put boundaries. You know, I have other things in life that I put my time towards, but it is definitely like this big beautiful thing that I love. And the fact that I've been in the studio for 2 years now is, like super exciting, just kinda have, like more space to play and design and have a separation between personal and work life too.

That's been super amazing as well. But I can't wait to see what the next 7 years brings. I can only imagine what's in store for Lily and Iris. And the types of events and floral that we create for people. I just have a feeling it's gonna keep snowball balling, and it's gonna just be so magical.

So, yeah, that's my story. I hope you guys enjoyed listening. Dm me, if you have a similar story. I wanna hear about it. I feel like for a lot of flores.

Flowers find them. It's kind of this, like thing in life or not just for flo, but a lot of my friend's life has been that way. Where they're not sure about something but then that thing finds them, and it's just like it's so magic. So Anyways, hope you guys have a great day. I will catch you next time.