Team Flower

Menagerie Farm & Flower is a farm and nursery specializing in garden roses, specialty flowers, French prunes, assorted stone fruits, nuts, and rice all on over 100 acres of California farmland. They supply both the retail and wholesale marketplaces. Felicia is the founder of Menagerie, and in addition to farming, she shares her two decades of experience and passion with both beginning and experienced gardeners and farmers from across the country with online 1:1 coaching and in-person farm courses.

Carly Williams joins Kelly for an episode full of interesting topics! They’re discussing each of the following:

- The importance of flexibility with your flower choices

- The impact of flowers on those who have never received them

- Carly’s go-to snacks

- Why hydration (of your body!) is crucial for event design

- Tips for working with corporate brands

Amanda Luu is the co-founder of Studio Mondine, a San Francisco based design studio with an emphasis on design, education, and community-building. As a self-professed minimalist, Amanda seeks to explore simple yet striking flowers in her work. The Studio Mondine aesthetic can best be described as a negotiation between the wild, overgrown English garden with the intentional precision of Japanese ikebana. We’re excited to announce the release of her book, Ikebana Unbound, with Artisan Books on September 2020!

Kalin and her team at Sweetwater Floral have flowered for more than 150 events in Northern Michigan. The farm is where she and her family live, create, and host intimate small events and workshops that others can attend. Her obsession with the "moments in life that matter" is what led her to create this brand five years ago. Flowers on the table with the candles burning down and glassware clinking as a champagne cork pops is Kalin’s version of actual heaven. Follow along with her on Instagram @sweetwaterfloral.

Located in the North Carolina mountains, Lee has been a been a horticulturist for 23 years and has worn many hats throughout that time. She grows and selects dahlias based on color, form, and vase life specifically for floral design and then sells the tubers. She supplies local florists with dahlias and native species that she has also tested. Lee also designs, installs, and maintains several large, naturalistic gardens with a focus on native plants, including a vertical wall garden loaded with species that grow from the rocks in North Carolina. Excitingly, Lee has been working on a book about native plants of the Southeastern U.S. (even though the rules may apply anywhere) that are ideal for floral design! Follow her on Instagram @goldenrodgardens or visit her website: goldenrodgardens.net.

You’re in for a treat with our special guest on this episode of the Team Flower Podcast. It’s Josh from Birch Event Design! Here are a few things he and Kelly are discussing:

Helpful tips for planning events 6–12 months in advance

The design process from consultation to implementation and Josh’s “color by number” technique

Tips for managing a team during the craziness of event day

Standards for hiring staff

Josh’s favorite design tunes

Kate Stoner is the owner of Cold Water Flowers in Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Cold Water Flowers is a micro flower farm intensively managed on a 1/4 acre with a focus on dahlias for tuber production, fresh eucalyptus, and dried flowers. Kate sells cut flowers to local designers, and it just so happens that 2020 is her third year in production. New to this year, she opened up an honor flower cart selling fresh bouquets!

Kate is an expert dahlia-grower, so hearing her share her go-to dahlias is a treat! You’ll hear about her choosing process as well as a few tips on how to make choices (whether that be about which flowers to grow or which projects to take on). She’s also chatting about a few tips for small businesses. And as a fun add, you’ll hear about “the bug eater!” Follow Kate on Instagram @coldwaterflowers or visit her website at www.coldwaterflowers.net.

You’ll hear about the following on this episode:

Navigating Covid-19 and becoming a full-time event florist

Playing a special role in the life of clients

Black Lives Matter movement and the effects in the floral industry

Vision for the future of the industry

On this episode of the Team Flower Podcast, Kelly is joined by Andrew Miller and Angela Speer. Andrew and Angela are two of the five owners of Tulip Town. They were all high school friends who recently returned to their hometown of Skagit Valley to purchase the iconic Tulip Town farm from its founder Anthony (Tom) DeGoede. Their mission is to carry its rich tradition into the future for many more generations to enjoy. 

You’ll hear from the pair on how they’ve navigated the COVID-19 pandemic as a farm. It’s important as a business owner to know how to problem-solve in a crisis, and Andrew is walking through the steps you can take and the questions you should be asking. We’re ending the interview talking about mind-mapping—what it is and how it works.

Paula is a world-renowned florist who has been based in London for over thirty years. In 1988, Paula had a dream of opening a little flower shop in Islington. From these humble beginnings she changed the face of British floristry and has become one of London's top florists.