Fork in the Road

Dear Friends,

Can I be honest with you? Change is hard. Almost 10 years ago I left working in non-profits to pursue a dream of flowers. That first year was hard - I had little to no idea what I was doing. I just knew I loved flowers and would somehow make this work. It took quite a few months but I booked my first wedding. We (my husband and VP of logistics) delivered it in my little Jetta wagon, carrying flowers in through the hotel kitchen. We hung lanterns in the side garden and high-fived at the end of the night, incredulous that it all came together. Many weddings later, including hanging florals in sideways rain when it was 40 degrees - setting up florals in a clear top tent in 90+ degrees and then right before guests arrived, a tornado passed through, many incredible friendships & working with talented designers that made me push harder to hone my craft, it's time to shift course.

If you have been following along for the past few years, you've seen how much I love doing floral workshops and sharing my love of flowers with others. What started 7 years ago with my first few workshops has grown into meeting hundreds of you at the Flower Bar and watching you create. I had creative faith in you from the moment I met you, cheering you on and then seeing you light up when your wreath or arrangement was waaay more than you thought it would be!

You also may have noticed that my quiet love of textiles and the craft of textiles was reignited three years ago when we visited India. Keeping the focus on weddings, workshops and textiles has been difficult these past few years...to the point where I wasn't serving any of them very well. I’ve known for a while it was time to take stock of where I wanted to spend my time.

Over the next few months I'm shifting my energy to workshops & textiles & the garden and away from wedding and event florals. Growth is often hard and uncomfortable. This time I'm welcoming the feelings of transition - insecurity, hesitancy, self-doubt and fear of the unknown. Ten years ago I never knew the journey would take me here. What an honor and privilege to have all of you here, sharing in a mutual love of flowers and the joy they bring us. I hope you'll continue to be a part of this journey with me. 💙

XO,

Julie

Home & Garden, FloralJulie AbreraAugust 1, 2022textiles, workshops