Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Phelps.
Hi Amy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
A little over five years ago, my family and I relocated from Cleveland, Ohio to Atlanta. My husband had an awesome job opportunity and brought us along for the ride. Back in Cleveland, I had been working with a very talented floral designer (Amy Miller of Branch and Bloom) while raising our three kids. It was the perfect fit: income for me, a creative break from the day-to-day, creating a wonderful friendship and learning a trade that was inspiring and artistic. I was crestfallen delivering her the news of our impending move. She was more than supportive and referred me to an amazing floral designer in Atlanta and suggested I look her up (Amy Osaba of Amy Osaba Design). I did. I introduced myself, apprenticed under her and her talented team and expanded my knowledge of all things floral design.
Fast forward to today… Once in the ATL, I did the floral design on the side: very small jobs for neighbors, practicing with anything foragable I could get my hands on and freelancing on weekends with the AO team. I carried a few “9 to 5 jobs” once all of our kids were in school. I loved the flowering and the flower community, but I still required a “real job”. Then Covid hit and everything changed… I continued to work my job, entertaining came to a screeching halt and my creative outlet was snatched away. Thankfully, my family and friends have remained healthy and retained a positive mindset over the last few crazy years; for that, I could not be more grateful.
In August of 2021, as the lifestyle constraints of the pandemic were softening, people started planning all the events that had been postponed – at hyper speed. I found myself back in freelancing, more weekends than not. I had small events passed down to me by fellow designers who were too busy to take on more. And it occurred to me, maybe THIS could be my job. Over the next four months, I registered for an LLC and business license. I created a website and met with a local talented creative to help with my branding (Lydia Slotten of Paper Phoenix). And I said “yes” to every connection offered to me and every small job that crossed my path. As 2021 wrapped, I gave notice to my employer and I stepped away from every unsatisfying job I have ever worked and walked into a career.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Anything worthwhile is never easy, nor laid out upon a smooth, paved road. My experience has been, I expect, typical in some aspects but unique in others. Some of the challenges I faced were common to new business owners: finding the financing to invest in tangibles to get me off the ground (construction of studio space, floral cooler, hardgoods and supplies en masse) mixed with the intangibles (marketing, outreach, branding and logo conception).
I had not thought much about saving to get the company up and running, eek! But my husband very generously assisted with the physical start-up costs and never wavered in his support of this monumental change. I accepted a LOT of second-hand vessels and hardgoods and I received an ENORMOUSLY generous gift towards the construction of studio space/storage. Little by little, my floral design studio became a reality.
With my workspace becoming more defined at home, I had to take on the task of investing in my outreach. I took some of the typical routes (The Knot & Wedding Wire) and I went grassroots and found a physical co-working space where I could spread my name by word of mouth and in a natural, conversational setting. I used these tactical moves and layered in a commitment to social media time. Not being a millennial, it’s not natural for me to post and document every move and waking minute… but as this new, technical world unfolds, it’s a necessity. So, with the help of my teenage son, I have accepted that social media is a routine chore that I must chip away at consistently in order to get the brand exposure I need.
I continue to face challenges and setbacks, but then there are also these magical moments where things click – I’ll receive huge praise from a client and all just seems to be headed in the right direction.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My line of work is a floral designer or “florist” for short. My main stream of revenue is from weddings and larger corporate events. My preference is to flower for weddings; I love meeting couples and carving out a relationship while flexing my creative side.
Flowers really are an art form, an unpredictable three-dimensional medium with a host of variables. There are so many real-life elements that we simply cannot control – seasonality, availability, floral costs and weather to name a few. And then once flowers and foliage are in hand, we work tirelessly to obtain and maintain peek performance and deliver that level of quality on the event day. What seems to be an arrangement of sweet blooms and foliage really has hours and hours of preparation behind its beauty. Flowering is a LOT of (unseen) work.
But the reward is so unique to this industry. From an artful perspective, we get to create art every day. We have this unique, natural medium and we see the minute details in each bloom, stem and petal. Photographs can only capture so much of the visible beauty, and then there is the fragrance… One will never comprehend the ‘smell of fresh flowers’ until you set foot into a floral cooler days before a wedding. I so desperately WISH that fragrance could be bottled…
The reward is in the process as well as the result. The therapeutic aspect of working with nature’s bounty is a treasure. Add to that, the moment when the bride sees her bouquet as you gently hand over these dancing blooms wrapped in wispy silk tendrils… Or, to see the couple and their parents’ expressions of awe, excitement and wonder as they step into the reception and pan the room, appreciating the floral moments and twinkling candlelight dappled across the guest tables.
Regarding what sets me apart, I suppose I would say that I am an amalgamation of all the floral designers I have had the luxury to work with. There are so many master artists in the floral and wedding world. Every time a “big name” designer invites me to freelance on an event, I will jump at the chance. My floral talents only grow by working with and learning from these legends. That said, I try to bring all of my knowledge, experience and tricks of the trade to each opportunity I have to draft a proposal for my own company. I work exceptionally hard to recognize and stay within a client’s budget while realizing their floral vision. Although I have been flowering for over 8 years, I am still relatively new to the ATL floral scene – so, my minimum is lower than many and I still accept many smaller-budget jobs. I strive to grow and contract larger jobs, but for now, I appreciate every client opportunity from small to medium to large-ish!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I am hoping for a steady growth in the scale/budget of the events I contract. Early on, it was and is necessary to accept most of what comes your way in order to make a profit obviously, but also to gain the exposure in this industry. The more that my work appears on social media and the more my company receives credit for a successful event, the stronger my identity becomes in this industry.
I really don’t aim to execute HUGE weddings, but I do want to increase the range of budgets for the weddings I secure. I hope to flower at more upscale venues and push out of my comfort zone. I want to stretch my artistry and the larger budget events allow those opportunities with specialty/small farm blooms, more luxurious hardgoods and more intense installations.
As for trends and major style changes, I don’t see that impacting my business in a major way. Art is always evolving and flowers are no exception. While there are different design styles and some “trends” which roll in and out, the essence of floral design will always remain to show select blooms in their most perfect state. The floral art is very layered with so much to consider: the architecture of the stem lines and angles, the secondary and tertiary support blooms, the foliage which will support a design, color theory and so much more. Certain “looks” may come and go, but finding beauty in blooms will always remain a constant.
Pricing:
- The size of weddings I prefer to flower, range $5,000 – $12,000 floral budget.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.eachdayflorals.com
- Instagram: @eachdayflorals
- Facebook: @eachdayflorals
Image Credits
Brilliant photography courtesy of the talented @addisonhillphoto
