When I moved to Seattle in 2005 from California, I emailed a gazillion people to meet for coffee. Christiane Zweifler was one of the few people to respond to my email and subsequently meet up for coffee. I will always remember that and be grateful to Christiane for her openness. Having moved from LA, a pretty competitive market, I was shocked to learn that Christiane regularly met with other florists to network, collaborate, and share tips! (SHOCKED!) Over time, I started to see that this is how business is done in Seattle. And, I do feel like this collaboration with “competition” has blossomed throughout our industry in other parts of the country.
Christiane is an incredible floral designer. And, her love for flowers shows in everything she does. I think her love for the industry and for people also shines through in everything she does. Christiane: thank you so much for all of your openness and generosity with our industry!
Christiane Zweifler
Owner, Flora Nova Design
Seattle, WA
www.floranovadesign.com
Established 2004
Why did you start your business?
The answer is simple: because of true passion for flowers, event design, and anything beautiful!
I love my job working with flowers and designing an elegant looking event environment. With Flora Nova I realized a life-long dream of owning a floral design business. From very early on, as a little girl, I would go to the fields (I grew up in the country side) and pick a bouquet of wild flowers to bring home to my mom. I also remember as a kid, whenever we went on a road trip through the country-side or the mountains, I would make my father stop the car so I could pick some flowers along-side the road.
Finally in 2004 I started my business after quitting my corporate job a few years earlier. Back then I always thought I would return to that job after my daughter entered elementary school. But after taking some floral design and business classes, the desire to open my business became stronger and stronger. I researched various business models (flower shop vs. studio) and found out very quickly that a studio specializing in event design would be the best fit for me. It didn’t take long to learn that running my own business gave me a flexibility and freedom I never want to miss again.
What book do you recommend to new business owners?
Sadly, I can’t think of one … Though there are lots of floral design books (the Preston Bailey and Paula Pryke books for example) which inspired me as a floral and event designer.
Do you have any cool goal-setting tips to share with us?
As a designer I constantly strive for new ideas, new looks and designs. I love the bold, the unusual and the uncommon. So, one of my most important “goals” is not necessarily a measurable one and doesn’t have to do with numbers or a specific date in time: Constantly searching for new inspirations, I started compiling a catalog of cool designs and ideas. Whenever I see a picture of a great floral design (especially those from German or Dutch designers), or a cool color combination, or a new material or texture I love (often even completely unrelated to flowers), I file it away in that catalog. This catalog of inspirations has helped me grow and has often led to new and unexpected designs I created. It has also made my job more exciting and keeps stretching my abilities beyond a certain comfort-level.
I try to keep this “catalog” fresh and exciting at all times.
What do you find to be the biggest challenge as a business owner?
One big challenge is trying not to get burned out and that means having to say No. I constantly need to remind myself that it is OK to say “no” to a potential new client when I am already booked on a certain day. I need to be realistic of what I can accomplish in a certain time-frame and don’t over-commit myself.
It also means to say no if I feel that a certain job is not a good fit for Flora Nova: sticking to my branding and my business policies can sometimes be difficult.
If you were starting your business all over again, what would you have done differently?
From a business perspective I was prepared: I had a business plan, I had a fun website, I knew a lot about project management. But hmmm… I guess I would try to have a little more design experience before I take on my first clients. I started my business basically as a plunge into cold water – working on my first big wedding order I didn’t know enough about floral design mechanics nor practicalities of certain arrangement styles. Looking back, I feel a little ashamed about my first creations: for example, my first center pieces for a wedding were far too wide for the tables and were reaching into the guests’ dinner plates. Yes, quite funny to some extent. Maybe the client didn’t mind (at least they never said anything.) But had I had more experience, these center pieces would have looked quite differently.
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by Michelle Loretta
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