Advertise on podcast: Team Flower

Kalin lives in Northern Michigan where Sweetwater North was born out of a love of gifting flowers to people. Kalin is passionate about designing flowers that feel whimsical, natural, organic, and garden-inspired. When she isn’t at a wedding — she and her husband are hosting parties at their lavender farm, swimming in the lake, or pouring champagne. Be sure to follow their journey on Instagram @sweetwaterfloral and @sweetwaterlavenderfarm.

If you’re a parent (or a teacher, an aunt or uncle, or simply have children in your life in any way), then you’ll love this podcast. Brenna’s boys help run their flower farm and she’s talking about how her family is incorporated into their business. You’ll hear tips on how to encourage children to dig in (no pun intended!) to flowers as well as their local community. Brenna is also letting us in on a couple of new experiments she’s trying out this year—one of which is a sweet little unappreciated flower: Pansies!

What a full conversation we’re having with Cheyenne on this episode! She and Kelly are starting by discussing the ebb and flow of leading and support. We all carry both of these roles and live them out in different seasons of our lives. From the beginning, Cheyenne made her family a priority over her business. She has found so many helpful ways to include family (both hers and others’) in Wildbud Co. She’s chatting all about finding balance in being a mom and a shop owner, including some key things she couldn’t live without for a successful mompreneurship! You’ll also hear conversations on building community around your family and your business, what the “mom” customers are looking for, and ideas for keeping it fresh in a storefront. Cheyenne is also sharing about her journey moving from design studio to storefront—as well as learning the needs of the community and how to meet those needs. Wildbud Co is a floral design studio with storefront space specializing in event, daily blooms, and dry goods. We are tucked into the Sierra Nevada mountains of California and find much of our inspiration from our own backyard. You can find Cheyenne at Wildbud.co or on social at @Wildbudco.

There are many things to consider when you have a business—one of which is whether you should have liability insurance. Perhaps you’re an event florist and have a hard time wrapping your mind around a yearly insurance policy. Meagan is sharing an event by event policy she’s discovered, and Jesse chatting about why insurance is so vital to a business. To change up the conversation a bit, Janine read an article in Florists’ Review about the growing popularity of live plants in the home, and one of the most trendy—kokedama!

Today, Kelly is joined by Emily and Angie from Bloom Babes! These gals are so much fun, and we have no doubt you’ll enjoy learning from them. They’re talking with us about working in a partnership and describing the compromise that comes along with finding their style as one business made of two different preferences. You’ll hear about their booking process—including pricing within the current landscape, but specifically for installations. And they’re big fans of using silk flowers for installations—you’ll hear about that, too! Tune in to find out why and where to source these lasting blooms! Emily and Angie are two best friends who share a love for beautiful blooms and designs. They specialize in floral design for weddings, corporate events, and special occasions. They are are ever-inspired by the sea and strive to always push the boundaries of traditional floral design to create unique designs. Follow them on Instagram at @bloombabes.

We’re covering big topics on this episode of the Team Flower Podcast. Bonnie Dowie of Bonnie Blooms joins us from Australia to talk about challenges she (and really, all of us?!) have had to address and overcome in the floral industry—namely, determining pricing, keeping up with social media, and the ever-annoying imposter syndrome. This conversation is meaty, so pop in your headphones and prepare yourselves to be seen. You’ll hear loads of encouragement as well. This industry is so special to be a part of, and there’s truly encouragement all around us if we’re willing to look for it. Hear how Bonnie makes the daily decision to persevere, what drives her forward one more step each day, and why being a champion of beauty is so significant. Bonnie creates whimsical, cottage-garden-inspired floral art to help couples celebrate their wedding day. She loves intuitively creating works that speak to who they are as a couple, as well as the gentle, hopeful beauty of nature. She recently ran a few Christmas wreath workshops and was thinking about pursuing more workshops and classes down the track! Find her on Instagram @bonnie_blooms and online www.bonnieblooms.com.au.

We are also broaching a hot topic: pricing! You’ll hear how important it is to price your services correctly as well as a few tips on how to do so using the Details Flower Software. We’re chatting about systems for your business, and we’re talking through various organization methods for both studio and home. Corrine Heck is the founder and CEO of Details Flowers Software, a subscription-based floral software service company that streamlines proposals and offers design tools and documentation—all while simplifying the payment process. The Details app captures proprietary information that can direct future growth opportunities from growers and wholesalers alike while benefiting the entire floral supply chain.

Paula Olivares of Basket of Flowers Farm is such a sweet spirit within the floral industry, and she’s joining us on the Team Flower Podcast today. You’ll love hearing about her journey with flowers, as each step of her journey has impacted her in a special way and brought her to where she is today. She’s sharing all kinds of practical advice for growers in this episode! You’ll hear what types of flowers to grow for a u-pick business model. Plus, Paula is sharing some in-depth knowledge on growing, caring for, and harvesting zinnias. She’s also done her fair share of seed-saving and is walking us through the process for saving all kinds of seeds—celosia, Chinese forget-me-nots, zinnias, and more! Basket of Flowers Farm is a small, family flower farm where they desire to be God’s hands and feet in their community through the abundant beauty of cut flowers that he has created for us all to enjoy! Their focus is in cultivating unique and lush cut flower varieties to offer through their on-the-farm U-Picks, hand-tied bouquet workshops and for any special occasion where store bought flowers just won’t do! Find them online at basketofflowersfarm.com and on Instagram @basketofflowersfarm.

Courtney Rees joins us on this episode of the podcast, and it is full of practical advice for life and business! She’s sharing her journey with flowers (which started in Argentina!) and the lessons she’s learned along the way. We’re discussing the vitality of building your ability to be adaptable and flexible. The meat of our discussion centers around freelancing! Courtney is passionate about this topic, and it’s apparent in the way she speaks about it. You’ll hear all about the following: - Why and when you should freelance - Freelance do's and don't's - Having realistic expectations as a freelancer - The necessity of a willingness to learn Courtney is the lead designer for Winsome Floral, a floral studio based in Princeton, NJ. Courtney absolutely loves combining her love of travel and flowers, and always looks to the seasonality and location of a wedding to inspire her work. She is most recently excited about developing her 1:1 mentorship programs as well as some group collaborative workshops with flower friends! Find her online at www.winsomefloral.co and on Instagram @winsome_floral.

Stephanie Howard of Floraltique joins us on this episode of the Team Flower Podcast to discuss what it means to design with creative intention. She has a beautiful perspective of floral design as an art form, and she’s walking us through the steps designers can take to look at each arrangement as an opportunity to create art. Plus, you’ll hear why she believes everyone should try designing with only 1 to 2 ingredients. We’re also chatting about the difference between a business model of working for an ideal client versus one serving various types of clients and incorporating more of a creative process. Stephanie has done both and is explaining why she enjoys one better than the other! She’s also sharing her client intake process—including some of the best questions to ask clients. This conversation is full of practical nuggets for designers of all kinds! You’ll be both inspired and challenged in our own creative floral design! Floraltique is a wedding and events floral design company that focuses on intentional and seasonal designs. They just launched a new avenue of home and business subscriptions as well! Find them online at www.floraltique.com and on Instagram @floraltique.

TJ McGrath joins us on this episode of the Team Flower Podcast. He began his floral career taking a big leap away from the corporate world into the floral industry. After working for other floral designers for many years, he began his own business! He’s talking about each of these transitions—from corporate to floral design and then from working for others to starting a business—and all of the challenges and emotions that came with each. You’ll hear how he’s deciding what direction his business can and will take. We’re chatting about sustainability, as this is a major passion point for TJ. He’s giving us a broad definition of what sustainable floristry is and all of the aspects it includes. There is much that goes into a sustainable floral business, and TJ is giving many practical examples of how you could take steps to make your floral business more sustainable as well. Finally, we all know that keeping one’s business organized is vital to efficiency and success. But sometimes, this is difficult to do—especially for those who are a one man or woman show. If that’s you, you’re in good company! TJ is sharing a few tips for keeping organized when you’re going solo. You can find TJ online at tjmcgrathdesign.com or on Instagram @tjmcgrathdesign.

Tobey and her team at Tobey Nelson Events are wedding specialists! They focus on sustainable floristry, as they primarily source locally grown flowers and never use floral foam. Recently she’s been featured as a “Slow Flowers Hero” in Slow Flowers Review by Debra Prinzing, and Tobey’s botanical couture creation from this February’s Fleurs De Villes was featured in July edition of Florist Review Magazine. @tobeynelsonevents