Taking A Step Into My Home

My life as a florist and what makes my home a creative place for me to work, rest, and host

Our home has become a very special place for me to create. I am always inspired by the way a space feels. From the start, I wanted to make our home feel like a creative little world. Looking back to myself as a kid, I always made my bedroom a place to escape. It was my sacred little place to dream and I spent a lot of time in my room with crafts, journals, and music. When we moved to Nashville, we got lucky with our space and it is where my desire to work with flowers started to shift into something a little more serious. Our downstairs dining area just so happens to have a lot of room, so for the last three years or so, I’ve been able to transform it into my studio space.

I have my own floral business and I prep for events out of our home. On workdays, I’ll shift the dining room into a workspace. I clear off the table, light a candle, put music over the speakers, and fill buckets with water to hold the fresh flowers. Troy is either touring or he is upstairs playing the piano or working on a score. Sometimes, I get to listen to him while I’m designing. It’s always fun when we’re both working on something creative at the same time.

Behind the Floral Business

1. The systems I use to keep work materials organized at home

I store most of my equipment in our large downstairs closet and upstairs laundry room, which I’ve turned into a fun little craft space. During difficult seasons of life, I decided to make little nooks in our home that could help bring me joy and encouragement to keep on creating. We got lucky with a lot of storage space for the larger vases and items I need to store for events. The laundry room is where you’ll find my collection of vases, wrapping papers, tapes, tissue paper, assorted silver, ribbon, and more.

I try to keep my workspace put away when I’m not working. I store and organize products by keeping them clean and out of the way. Buckets go outside to dry, and at the end of a long day, I sweep and vacuum. At the end of a long week, I mop. Vases are always cleaned out and product is left in the center of my table if leftover.

I prefer keeping my work separate from our home life as best I can. It helps us feel like we’re not constantly living within my workspace. I usually won’t go to bed until an event is picked up or organized. If I am prepping for something, I just keep it clean around the arrangements and supplies for the event. As things get busy, I have noticed how much this helps my mental health.

2. How I store flowers before events without a shop

I usually keep florals processed in water buckets on our work table. For larger events, I set up a more organized flower-pulling system, like in the photo below. I purchase product for each event and often leave it at the market under my name until it’s time to design. I don’t own a larger floral fridge, but I’ve found that keeping my house cool works just as well. It also helps me create boundaries for timelines when working in and out of our home.

3. Challenges of working from home as a florist

My biggest challenge is probably my desire to keep things clean and tidy at all times. I have to let go of that when working on an event. I clean as I go, but it’s going to get messy, and I’ve had to learn not to focus on the mess in our home. I think it’s helped me grow and develop a more relaxed approach to creating. I kind of love the person it is turning me into honestly.

I don’t consider myself one of biggest floral designers in Nashville, but as my business keeps on growing, learning to balance owning a business with my job and music career is always a challenge that I think I will continue to face. To be honest, I am not sure where I want it to go. Right now, I have a good system and I love being able to make time for all of the things that I love to do. There can be a lot of growth in owning a floral business, so I am looking forward to what is ahead. I guess I am trying not to hold myself back, but staying aware of what my priorities are!

4. What I’m learning

I have shifted to working mostly with events or brand partnerships. I don’t keep much product stock in my house for one-off deliveries or individual arrangements. I’ll still accept deliveries for recurring clients or larger delivery opportunities, but these are usually reserved for premium designs and special orders. It usually depends on my work load and what I can realistically make work for my time and my business.

I do think it’s our job as florists, creatives, and business owners to educate people on our rates by being clear about the services we provide in a kind and professional way. Most people don’t know and honestly how would they fully know what flower design costs? I have learned a lot from keeping that mentality and it has only helped me with client relationships and invoicing.

These decisions have been such a big learning experience. Figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Basing it on product purchasing, my time, and the need to make a profit. There’s a big difference between owning a floral shop and running an event-based floral business. Both are so great. Over time, I’ve been learning to set boundaries with the types of designs and projects that I accept and it has helped me save a lot of time, narrow down my services, and stay focused on growth.

Rituals I build into my day for creativity or stress relief

1. I have a routine for making my living and work spaces inspiring. I open the blinds downstairs first thing in the morning and light a candle or incense. The sounds in my home are usually espresso beans grinding, a window open to the breeze, birds outside, instrumental music, or a podcast. Troy and I also sometimes put art or a cozy cottage fireplace on the TV.

2. I live 5–10 minutes from the floral market in West Nashville. Import Flowers is my go-to market, and I love seeing the same people there every week. I usually go early to beat the crowds and grab the freshest products before they sell out. I try to make the experience pleasant and stress free, usually with a coffee and a podcast. At Import, you can email orders ahead of time or purchase product to be kept cool for your event. I typically do that depending on the size and timing of the event. It always helps with the flow on an event day.

   

   

3. Timelines! Each of my events, small or big, have a checklist and a timeline. If I can make it work, I give myself more time than I might think I need, to plan and execute an event. I try to cross things off the list as much as I can in advance, keeping only the last minute designs or tasks needed on-site for the day of. This helps me walk into an event with a plan and with time to make it fun and not stressful. Things will happen and things will change, especially as events grow, but I try to keep control over what I can control!