This week Good Seed Floral took over our Instagram feed & flooded it with beautiful images, but what really stuck out was their passion that shone through, not only for flowers but also for inspiring others by keeping it real and sharing their experiences -- the good & the bad! Keep reading to learn even more about these two friends turned business partners and how Good Seed Floral came to be!
So tell us the story of Good Seed Floral… when & how did you both end up in the floral industry?
We feel like our story is so typical in the wedding floral industry! Basically we fell into it very organically- a lot of our close friends were getting married in 2012 (the year we graduated from college) and none of us had money for gifts/floral design so we ended up arranging the flowers for them! At first it was fun, but by the end of the summer we were obsessed and when one of the weddings was featured in Eugene Wedding Magazine we knew we had to go for it. Both of us have a background in art and finding a way to express that felt very natural.
What are your individual design styles, and how have you meshed them together to create the Good Seed aesthetic?
We are both drawn towards a garden, textural, wild/romantic style of design. And although our styles have both grown a lot in the past 6 years, we have stayed consistent with what we love. I would say Taylor brings more of the wild, textural side of our brand and I (Joanna) bring the more airy, romantic side. Together this is the epitome of our creative style!
Tell us what it’s like to work together! What are some of the challenges you face having a business partner in a creative industry, as well as your favorite parts about it?
Taylor and I were friends before the business started and we have found it to be the biggest blessing to own a business together! It’s fun to celebrate victories with someone we truly care about- beyond the business and see how it’s impacting our families + futures together. It’s amazing to know that even if Good Seed went away, we would still have that. Being 100% honest and transparent is the biggest thing we have to remember. It’s easy to let little things build up and create bitterness, but as soon as we’re honest (over a bottle of tequila most of the time haha) everything is better. It’s honestly a lot like a marriage in that way! We also have to make sure we make time to just be “friends” because it’s so easy to let our business always come first.
Your Portland-based studio also takes weddings in Austin, TX. How did that come about, and what is it like offering your services in two different states?
So we started doing weddings in both Austin and Portland about two years ago- one half of Good Seed (Josie) moved down there after her husband got a job and started networking + marketing to brides. We don’t take as many weddings down there, but since the seasons are so different it’s great to be able to get more November- April weddings if we want! Basically Josie lives down there for half of the year, then she and her husband come up to Oregon for the summer wedding season here! We are thankful to have friends in Austin who let us use their studio. It’s been so fun to do weddings in both places and experience the different cultures of each area!
We all know being in the wedding industry isn’t easy, but there’s always that something for each of us that keeps us in. What keeps you going and motived to live that flower hustlin’ life every day?
Ah! So many things! I feel like we have to have these things at the front of our business in order to keep our love for what we do alive for sure. First, our couples! Investing in our couple’s stories and their love for each other + being able to be a part of that is so so amazing. We are both so passionate about marriage and the beautiful picture of commitment that it is. There’s nothing better than getting to reflect that in our designs. Second, collaborating with other creatives! This feeds our souls and is one of the best parts of the industry in our opinion. Community is super important to us! The third thing that keeps us going is the ability to pass on our love of floral design + the confidence to express oneself creatively. Teaching is a recent passion, but it’s amazing to see our students thrive and gain confidence.
Let’s talk tools - favorite florist tool, and favorite app you use in your business, be it social media or business organization? Instagram counts (ha!) but if there’s anything else you’re using we’d love to hear about it!
Our favorite florist tool that we discovered recently is a rose stripper that saves us SO much time!! Stripping roses is pretty much the worst so when we discovered this we were so excited. It’s called the Hinged Stem Stripper and I know you can get them online! Another favorite are these clippers we get on Amazon called Sakagen Hand Creation Flower Scissors. They are the cutest and soooooo sharp. For business organization, we literally could not do anything without Honeybook. It SAVED us this year!
You recently hosted the first Floral Gathering which we posted about, and I absolutely love the collaborative nature of the industry right now… it wasn’t always that way! Can you speak to the floral community in Portland, and why you decided to host that event?
Yes!! The Portland flower community is seriously the best. We are each other’s biggest cheerleaders. I know when we’re having a rough day + say something about it we will have so much advice/encouragement/love pouring in. And from people who get it, which means so much more. Having that from the people around us who are supposed to be our “competition” is incredible. We wanted to reflect that with a day of creativity and design (and good food!). Together with Brier and Ivy we got to bring together so many amazing florists and create just for ourselves. And then we got to relax and enjoy it. It was the most beautiful, refreshing day.
Alright, you knew it was coming! Favorite flowers?
HA! The hardest question. It’s always rotating depending on what’s inspiring us, but right now it’s spring flowers like Spirea, foxglove, iris and Japanese anemone. They are so lush and romantic, but also fun and textural which is our jam!
What trends are you seeing start to emerge in the world of floral design right now? And are you a fan of said trends?
Right now, we’re seeing a lot of color trends for next year- mainly rust reds and copper. Which we LOVE! We had a good amount of weddings in the last year or two with neutrals and burgundy and while we love those colors, it’s nice to push ourselves creatively with different palettes. Working with flowers is a lot like painting to us.
What is one piece of advice you’d go back and tell yourselves during your first year as floral designers?
“Take yourselves seriously!” I think we struggled with feeling confident and like we were “real” florists in the beginning because we were self-taught. We looked around and felt like everyone else had it together but us. And while we had a lot to learn, we’ve realized that no one has it all together! We are all on a journey and giving yourself credit, even in the beginning, for being an artist and honoring that is so important in the creative industry. You have something that no one else has! Be open and humble, but have confidence in yourself + know your worth.
Thank you so much for having us on your blog!! We are honored to have this opportunity.
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