My Flower Journey

I grew up with a wonderful mom who always had a huge summer garden and lots of gorgeous flower beds, so I often had my hands in dirt and flowers. But it wasn't until the summer of 2006 that I decided to pursue my love of flowers and see where it took me.

I reached out to a local florist I knew of, that had a home-based wedding business. I asked her if I could just come watch for a day while she designed a wedding. Her answer surprised me: she said no, she really didn't want me come watch. I couldn't hardly believe that she was telling me that she wouldn't let me come watch her design. But then she kept talking. "You can't come watch me but you can come help me." Yes that's right. I had no experience other than playing with my mom's garden flowers, but this wedding professional wanted me to come help her design flowers for an event. So for that entire wedding season, she called me up whenever she had an event, and I would go to her home, and she would teach me everything she knew as we designed beautiful flowers together. Oh, and she refused to let me work for free. Not only was she teaching me, she was paying me to learn what I had only been dreaming of. Her selfless heart gave above and beyond and it was because of her that I knew I wanted to pursue the art of floral design and was given the confidence to continue following my dream. She was a gift straight from Jesus and I will always be grateful for her.

Over the next number of months, I practiced designing and increased my knowledge of basics & mechanics by completing in-home video training. I then created a small photo album to showcase my work, and began the tedious task of creating a resume, filling out applications and visiting flower shops. Reality quickly set in as I realized every shop I visited or called wanted 1- 3 years of experience, or a white certification paper; both of which I did not have. Every dead end left me with a growing discouragement and wondering how I would get experience, if no one was willing to give me experience?

After several months of continual closed doors, I was about to give up. One day, I walked into a little random shop in a town I rarely visited. I was shocked when the manager gave me an application and told me to come back when the owner was there. When I returned, the owner read over my application, looked at my photo album of my work (which NO ONE had done previously), and asked me if I could start the following week. 😲 She then told me that they had just lost a designer the previous week; and she told her daughter someone would come, because in 25 years of business they had never had to put out an add for help - someone always showed up at the right time. They were willing to teach me, building on what I had already learned and give me the experience I needed. When I walked out of their doors 3 years later, I knew it was really only the beginning of a bigger journey and a lifetime sized dream.

Over the next 9 years, I was given many opportunities to do flowers for family and friends. A childhood best friend was the first brave soul to trust me with her wedding day; and I proceeded to freeze her flowers in a too-cold-fridge. 🙈😭 (Don't worry, it all worked out!😉) I had other wedding professionals ask if I had a website/business when I did wedding drops. Family, friends and sometimes complete strangers who believed in me, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unknowingly, continually gave me courage to keep pursuing my dream. One of my favorite memories is when I picked up some flower photos one day at a Wal-Mart photo counter and the man who pulled them for me asked if I designed them and when I answered yes he said "you have a heaven-sent gift." I knew it was a gift and dream God had given and I couldn't give up on it.

I worked at two more flower shops but kept hoping there was more in store, even though "more" seemed unreachable. But through some closed doors, some open doors, and an amazingly supportive husband, Perla Flor Designs was finally established in April 2018.

Here are some things I want you to take away from my journey:

DREAM. Don't be afraid to dream big, and don't give up when it doesn't happen in your time frame or how you imagine or want it to.

PERSPECTIVE. There are times in life that seem like detours, but if we let them, they can be some of the most beautiful roads we travel on. Learn to be grateful for whatever season you're in rather than always focusing on what might be next.

PEOPLE. Let yourself be surrounded by people. Be a person to surround someone else. It is such a big deal to have others who support you, believe in you, walk with you, encourage you, and even give you a little kick in the pants every now and then. I don't believe I would be where I am today without many different individuals over the past years.

FAITH. I don't have words for this. Except Jesus. If He was not my foundation, my strength, and my hope, I think I would have given up. Here's the thing: I'm still walking everyday by faith. I don't know how long my business will last. I don't know how many clients I will have this year. I don't know if I will make enough for a second income. I don't actually know if this business will ever be considered a success in this world. But what I do know, is that God is faithful and I am going to continue to trust Him for all my today's and tomorrow's.

~Roxanne