We asked the floral designers we interviewed for our Special Report: Floral Wedding Design about how they got into the field. There's a wide range to their answers about what drew them to become floral designers, but they all share a passion for the work.
Karla Ramirez, Karla Ramirez Floral Design:
"After a successful corporate career, I decided to pursue the career I always wanted as a floral designer, so I went through the New York Botanical Garden's floral design program and started my own company. I always knew I wanted a studio specializing in weddings and events, as opposed to a retail shop doing mostly daily deliveries."
Pamela Cravens, The Flower Girls:
"My mother was a floral designer."
Rebecca A.S. Kim, Gardenia Floral Design:
"Like most brides, I wanted to do something creative and special for my own wedding – even though this urge was inspired by my small budget. I did centerpieces for a few tables, and then started volunteering to help friends with their flowers. A couple of years later, I had been working as an office manager at a collections law firm and was trying to think of a career change to something happier and more satisfying, and one of my husband's friends came to me needing flowers for her wedding, and I decided to make a business out of it. That was four years ago, and apparently we're doing something right!"
Petal's Edge Floral Design:
Gerry Rogers:
"I have a degree in art history and graduate degrees in education and leadership and organizational studies. I spent 10 years working in the art museum field as an educator and curator. At one point, I started working with a florist on the side, and after getting that valuable hand-on experience, I felt this was something I could do and started the company."
Rebecca Kim:
"It was a long and circuitous route – I have a degree in horticulture, and a master's degree in landscape architecture. I spent a few years as a landscape architect, and decided it wasn't for me. I had decided to leave my job and take some time off to figure out what I wanted to do when I met Gerry, my business partner. She was just starting the company, and a mutual friend who knew I had been interested in floral design in college thought we might be interested in meeting each other. It was kismet – we quickly decided a partnership was the way to go, and it's been a fun roller coaster ride ever since. We decided to concentrate on event floral design, since it requires a different kind of structure than running a flower shop. And we had both recently gotten married, so we felt we had some idea of what the industry had to offer."
Resources
Karla Ramirez
Karla Ramirez Floral Design
www.karlaramirez.comPamela Cravens
The Flower Girls
www.theflowergirls.netRebecca A.S. Kim
Gardenia Floral Design
www.gardeniafloral.comGerry Rogers & Rebecca Henry
The Petal's Edge Floral Design
www.petalsedge.com
Want to learn more? NYIAD can teach you how to become a wedding planner today!
