The Beginnings of a Florist

I thought that my first post to my Blog should be about why I became a florist in the first place.

I had a job at the University of Minnesota that afforded me the luxury of having three months off in the summer. I enjoyed taking courses and working in my garden at that time. Studio B Floral Designs came about as a way for me to combine my passion for gardening and art into something that I could do as a hobby. I took floral design courses at Koehler and Dramm to see if I liked it as much as I thought I would. Standing amongst the buckets and buckets of flowers at my first course in that classroom, I fell in love with floral designing. I had found my creative niche. I took several more floral classes and still continue to take floral seminars to stay up to date when I get the chance. I started out by doing the flowers for my own wedding and then decided to open my own floral studio to help others with their weddings. I quickly became busy enough to fill my time off at the University in the summer and some. It was no longer a hobby for me, but a career path.

I did work at Dundee Nursery and Floral for a summer doing their floral designs also. This gave me some great insight into how a retail florist does business and also had me involved in a garden center, which was a lot of fun for me. It also solidified the idea that I really enjoy most being involved in doing events rather than opening a floral shop of my own. I love seeing a bride's vision for her wedding and then helping bringing it all together to see the end result.

In 2004, I had my first child and I gave up my 9-5 job at the University to be home with her. Since then, we have added two more children to our family. Being a florist that gets to pick her own hours is a wonderful way to enable me to stay at home with my children, while doing something that I tuly love as a career. Also, I am so lucky that my mother-in-law has retired and is available to spend time with her grandchildren when I work on a wedding.

I limit the number of weddings that I take right now, to be able to give those brides my full attention. I feel like every bride whether they are spending $500 on flowers or $5000 should get my full attention and so I don't book more than one event at a time. I do have two wonderful assistants that have been with me since that first wedding, my own. They have been a great asset to my business and I appreciate their help tremendously, especially when I am supposed to be at the church and the reception site at the same time. :)

In 2006, we moved to our new home in Burnsville and we removed some walls to make a great studio space in our downstairs for Studio B. It is a really nice, large, organized space and has just added to my efficiency. It is so enjoyable to be able to walk downstairs and be at work. Even when I don't have a wedding, it is a nice space to work on other creative projects or "play" with flowers.

Anyway, I am so lucky to do something that I love and have the support of family and friends that make it possible. The result is you get flowers that are personal, beautiful and infused with the joy and feeling of your event.

Now on the BLOG bandwagon

Well, it is time. I better get on the band wagon and start a blog, so that I can better share my stories about being a florist. I have the opportunity to meet so many great couples and to create beautiful floral designs for their weddings. This will give me a place to reflect on some of the events and show off some of my favorite photos.
Tami
Owner and Designer
Studio B Floral Designs