Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley C. Overholser.
So, Ashley before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a Peace Educator and Conflict Management Specialist where I have spent the last five years’ experience engaged in community-based peace education, civic engagement, and global development program implementation in the United States and the Middle East. As a peacebuilding practitioner, I am passionate about fostering people and organizational cooperation that advances local and international capacities for peace and global development.
My mission is to show individuals and organizations how to use the experience of harm and hurt to create more conflict resilient cultures.
After several years of developing professional work experience in the form of field experience, paid internships, and consulting opportunities, I had yet to land a full-time position. Entry level positions in the peace and conflict field are diversified and often highly competitive. I expanded my job search – explored ways to creatively apply my conflict resolution skills in different sectors – humanitarian, global development, even education areas.
I began to despair – what more could I do? I had the field experience. I had developed years of work experience. I attended conferences. I networked. I kept up with the news. Why couldn’t I secure a full-time job? Why couldn’t I make a living – a comfortable living – following my passion areas?
It was when I was ten months deep in a severe depression with post-traumatic stress after experiencing war in the Middle East, that I discovered flowers.
Even in my depressed state, there was something in me that came alive when I first stepped into her floral studio.
I was transfixed.
I would watch her delicately handle a soft blush ranunculus with a kind of reverence. I would watch her work with her hands –create combinations of color and texture, create structure. I then started taking quiet walks in the mornings and started noticing the grass, the trees, the lush foliage, and most especially – the flowers.
Flowers have since become an important part of my story of healing and recovery.
I discovered the emotional healing properties of the arts.
Designing gave me a safe space to work a different part of my brain – to engage in a sensory experience through flowers.
This year, I made an intentional decision to take a sabbatical to focus on my mental health and begin a journey of creative recovery and re-discovery of the self. I purposefully engage in all things beautiful and creative and artistic – parts of myself that I have neglected to nurture for too long.
Reading “The Artists Way,” the author speaks about the process of creative emergence – that there will be a time when we begin to mourn the self we abandoned as we align closer with the artist within us. In the floral industry, I am finding that it is impossible to get better and look good at the same time. I constantly have to remind myself that it’s okay to begin again but I must give myself permission to bloom fully.
As I begin to heal, I now have the clarity and capacity to dream again, to think critically about next steps in my career and explore floral design as a new and exciting career path.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Primavera – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Primavera is a floral design and creative direction studio . Simplicity, wild elegance and acute attention to detail are our guiding values. We provide elegantly curated floral arrangements and installations for private homes, restaurants and corporate clients. Editorial work is our favourite. We offer our services for editorial work and styled shoots. Whether a blog, magazine or brand development for a specific project, we welcome all creative endeavors!
I am most proud of the fact that we strive to recycle as much as we can – from ribbons, write, and foam to flowers and vases. Clippings and other green waste are composted and used by landscapers, gardeners, and other partners in the community. Our company is dedicated to keeping floral materials out of the landfills.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Best: The restaurant scene and the emergence of the Atlanta beltline.
Least: Lack of public transportation; gentrification which is an issue that divides our neighborhoods and the people in our neighborhoods.
Contact Info:
- Email: ashley.c.overholser@gmail.com
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
