I was 19 years old and after making a string of bad life decisions, I had hit rock bottom.
I had always dreamed of being a florist but had no idea where to start. I found a floral design class at a community college and nervously showed up. Under fluorescent lights, I was handed a bundle of pink mini carnations and a few stems of leather fern and I fell in love with floral design.
I had purpose and passion again.
My Story
Two decades ago, flowers saved my life.
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I jumped in with both feet and sought every type of training I could. I enrolled in an accredited two year Floral Design and Shop Management program at Golden West College in Southern California which instilled a strong foundation of design knowledge and how to navigate the industry. I worked as a professional freelance designer in retail and special event production for high end weddings and events in Southern California for years before opening my own business floral studio, Amy Nicole Floral, in 2012.
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Over the years, I have continued to invest heavily in my own design education by attending workshops, summits, conferences and training. While I was learning by leaps and bounds, I was also burning the candle at both ends.
After a challenging but miraculous pregnancy, I could no longer stay up all night doing flowers, losing money and overspending. It was time for a major change and my health and family depended on it. I invested heavily in business, marketing and coaching and started to implement systems that saved me time and money.
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In addition to streamlining my business decisions, I also spent thousands of dollars on design workshops and courses in the specific floral style that I wanted to grow in as a designer. During many of these workshops, I often questioned, “WHY?” Why did they choose that flower, why did they place it there instead of somewhere else - I wanted the THEORY, real explanations that I could sink my teeth into and go home and build on but I often felt that was missing.
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Despite all the money spent and all my training, I still struggled to get consistent results when making loose and airy designs.
One day, I finally had my “ah-ha” moment.
I was standing in my studio wrestling another bulky bridal bouquet; threading and breaking stems to get that airy look and I had just had enough. I went back to my training and applied my time tested “old school” techniques with a new school approach and “BAM”, it worked!
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I finally cracked the code on how to get consistent loose and airy bouquets by applying foundational techniques along with the principles and elements of design and I could finally marry the WHY with the HOW to lush, airy designs! EUREKA!
