Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabella Niemeyer.
Hi Isabella, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started my flower journey right after I became a Mom in San Diego in 2018! I was staying at home with my new baby, and away from all of my family due to my then husbands job in the Marine Corps. I went to a coffee + flower shop in South Park, San Diego and was quickly inspired by all of the flowers and creative arrangements they had for sale! They had the most adorable Flower Bar, where you could pick stems and build your own bouquet! From then on, I was dedicated to surrounding myself with flowers in one way or another. Mind you, at this time, I had zero training or experience. I never worked at a flower shop at this point and I didn’t even graduate college.
After spending lots of early mornings and nap times on Pinterest, I figured the only way to actually get experience was buying flowers. Putting them together and giving them to friends. I would go to our little town’s farmers market that had local flower growers and get huge newspaper bunches of flowers! I had so much fun just playing around with them and learning all of the types of flowers there are. Soon after that, I figured out how to make a website, business cards and booked a few small parties and baby showers. At this point, it was just for fun.
Later on that year, we had to make a military move out of California, to El Paso, Texas and I put the flower thing down for a little bit. The wedding industry is very small there, and it wasn’t something that made sense at the time. Fast forward a year and a half in 2020, I found myself back home in Atlanta after a divorce. I had to figure out how to make the flower thing happen again; there wasn’t any other option. My son was still little and I was determined to do something I loved that could make an income and give me the flexibility to still stay home with him and create my own schedule.
After returning home, I worked for a small flower shop in 2021 and learned all that I could. Eventually, I decided I really wanted to commit to the wedding industry, so I freelanced for a few designers in Atlanta. I had so much fun and learned so much, Not long after that, I came to my Dad with a crazy idea of creating a flower cart so I could set up in coffee shops and breweries. My first pop-up was at Cornerstone Coworking in Lawrenceville in March of 2022. I sold out everything in 4 hours. I couldn’t have done that without my friend, Samantha inviting me and believing that it was a great idea! I was quickly booked almost every weekend for pop-ups. Getting that cart up and down my truck was not easy in Atlanta heat aint for the weak though. After a few months of pop-ups, I was asked if I did weddings. At this point, I had only done my friend’s wedding just for fun. I’m such an “I’ll figure out a way to make this happen” type of person – So I said yes, booked the wedding and then kept booked the wedding after the wedding that eventually, I had to put the flower cart into retirement. I’ve connected with some amazing wedding venues and vendors that word of mouth spread so quickly that I booked 12 weddings in only a couple of months. Now we take on about 3-2 weddings a month, and we are already booking for June 2024!
I’m grateful for my Husband, Rob, my parents my son, and stepdaughter and all of my friends that supported me and believed I had it in me when I didn’t think I had it in myself. I’m also incredibly grateful for all of my couples that believed in me in the very beginning when my portfolio was slim to none. Planning a wedding is difficult in general, but to have been picked for such a special time for someone is so special.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been such an exciting but sometimes challenging adventure that I couldn’t have done it without my family and friends’ support! I wanted to throw in the towel many times. Being a business owner is so scary, especially when you aren’t sure where the money is going to come in or even when. There were many weeks I went without hearing a thing. I’m a natural worry-wart anyway. I would tell my now husband that it just didn’t make sense and I should get a regular job. So I’d spend days applying to jobs, only to hear crickets. A few days after that, I kid you not, I would have six inquiries in one day. I fully believe that It’s a reminder from God that I am exactly where I need to be, and that I just have to be patient. Every time I get in that headspace, I have to remind myself of that. I feel like I have come pretty far in such a short time because I didn’t have any other option.
I think another challenge in the industry is pricing. Flower prices have gone up, and when you hire a floral designer, you are paying for the experience and expertise of the designer, along with the random things people don’t think of, like processing the flowers, cleaning the buckets, phone calls and emails with flower wholesalers and also all of the supplies needed to get that beautiful arrangement.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a Floral Designer based out of Atlanta (and beyond) that specializes in weddings and events. I am known for creative, garden-style weddings! Working with colors is something that I really love to do!
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I really love listening to the Team Flower Podcast. They interview all types of people in the floral industry. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m also a horse girl – So I listen to horse rider podcasts to listen to their stories about being the underdog and it carries over to my work as well.
Pricing:
- I create custom wedding proposals, but most of my full-service packages start at $4,500.
Contact Info:
- Website: isabellacocnettadesign.com
- Instagram: @isabellaconcettadesign
- Facebook: Facebook.com/isabellaconcettadesign
Image Credits
Amber Brannen Photography Blushberry Photos AE Videography and Photography Paul Patrick Weddings
