Show Notes
Building Olivee Floral In today's BB Podcast episode (No. 134), we're visiting with Karla Smith-Brown, founder of Olivee Floral. Karla's inspiring journey evolved from a career in public relations to becoming a successful floral artist. Her story isn't just about flowers; it's about weaving passion, sustainability, and heritage with personal connections to make a powerful impact. Starting out, Karla offered pop-up events and hand-tied bouquets, gradually building her brand (named after her great grandmother, Medorah Olivee Wright). With a design aesthetic influenced by her Jamaican heritage, she developed a signature wild yet refined style. As Olivee Floral grew, Karla began to view flowers as a medium for art, not just for traditional events. Now, she works with brands like Vogue, Birkenstock, and Nike, often being sought out because of the strong professional relationships she's built and the unique design aesthetic she's developed. Join us as we chat with Karla about: the significance of using locally grown and sustainable flowers for funeral arrangements addressing the challenges and taboos surrounding discussions of funeral flowers in society innovative approaches to creating sustainable funeral flower designs without floral foam the role of florists in educating families about sustainable options and practices the potential for changing perceptions of funeral flowers to make them more approachable the impact of creative and sustainable practices on the floral industry and communities This episode of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast is brought to you by: BLOOM TRUST CO. A curated collection of floral resources you can trust. Click here to learn more.
You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find the BB Podcast co-hosts on IG @botanicalbrouhaha and @hey.nataliegill. This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.
More from Botanical Brouhaha Podcast
In this episode, Natalie (my BB podcast co-host), Meg, and Erin of Native Poppy sit down with me to talk about Flower Moments, their new book. We talk about everything: the 95-page proposal, the agent they emailed until she wrote back, and the publisher who came along at the perfect time. They also share what it took to write and photograph a floral design book around full-time jobs, young kids, and the two biggest flower holidays of the year. Along the way, you'll hear about a shoot where they built every project in reverse, a DoorDashed bagel, a tour bus that no one has offered yet, and the honest truth about how much money they'll make from the book. They wrote Flower Moments because they wanted anyone to be able to pick up a book and feel invited to play with flowers. It's a funny, generous conversation, and I think it will leave you feeling that a big, slow dream is possible. You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.
Marsha Parker is back on the podcast two and a half years after her first visit in Ep. 118, just before she retired from teaching high school and devoting her time to growing her floral business. A thriving three-time cancer survivor, she now runs Refined Gatherings full-time as a social enterprise, offering floral workshops for cancer survivors and social and emotional learning workshops for teens. She won the 2025 Flowering with Purpose grant from Bloom Trust Co and stretched the grant money to produce flowers and education for a school workshop, a photo shoot, and a charity auction. She also shares what changed once she stopped comparing herself to other florists. Hint: she began attracting clients who hire her for who she is as an artist and what her business stands for! This episode of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast is brought to you by: Madrid Blooms Design Talks. Workshops. Installations. The European floral congress shaping the future of botanical design. MADRID BLOOMS brings together acclaimed designers, professionals, and students to learn and explore new visual languages and push the boundaries of floral artistry. You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.
We're back with Semia Dunn who first joined us on the BB podcast back in Episode 35, sharing how she bought a flower shop at 22 and later launched Flowers by Semia (which was later rebranded as SEMIA) and then The Floral Reserve, a wholesale flower company (built by a florist, for florists!). In this catch-up episode, Semia returns to reflect on what's changed and what hasn't. She talks candidly about growing her team, breaking into destination weddings, building a new e-commerce system for the wholesale business, and holding onto the values that got her here. It's a grounded, honest look at what scaling a floral business actually takes, and what stays the same no matter how big things get. Join us as we chat with Semia about: Growing The Floral Reserve from 1,200 to 3,200 square feet How the pandemic accelerated shipping and shaped her wholesale business Partnering with New York Flower Group to launch a new e-commerce web shop Retaining employees long-term, including a 20+ year team member Breaking into destination weddings The logistics of traveling for weddings Growing planner relationships and what percentage of business now comes from planners Wholesale pricing, and educating florists on the true cost of flowers Confidence and mindset shifts gained through experience Current color palette and design trends in the industry Revisiting her original definition of success from our interview years ago This episode of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast is brought to you by: Madrid Blooms You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.
In this episode, we sat down with Bloom Trust Co and Circle member Shelley O'Neill, a former fourth-grade teacher turned florist who recently added a retail shop called Oyster Flower Co. to her existing wedding flower business in Annapolis, Maryland! Shelley walks us through what pulled her into CIRCLE (we talk more about that in the episode), what's kept her in Bloom Trust Co. for three years running, and together we break down exactly what's inside: the resource library, Office Hours, meetups, a private podcast called The Back Room, and the Flowering with Purpose grants. If you're a florist (and it doesn't matter if you're a retail florist, wedding/event florist, or farmer florist), we built the BTCO community for you! We're in no hurry to expand it beyond the point where we know your name and your business model. We thrive on the connections and relationships built slowly with an attention to trust and accessible floral resources. When you succeed, we all succeed! We firmly believe that. It's why we do what we do. In this episode, we talk with Shelley about: Her path from event planning to full-time floristry to opening Oyster Flower Co. Leaving a career as a fourth-grade teacher for flowers Opening a retail flower shop and finding the support of the BTCO community along the way The real difference between CIRCLE (8-week deep dive, twice a year) and Bloom Trust Co. (year-round community) The scope of floral resources inside Bloom Trust Co How Office Hours work and why they're never recorded The Flowering with Purpose grant and past recipients This episode of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast is brought to you by: BLOOM TRUST CO. You can learn more about Bloom Trust Co here. You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.
In part two (Ep. 151) with Alex Vaughan of FLWR Shop in Nashville, Tennessee we dig into the real, tactical side of her decision to step away from wedding florals. Alex opens up about the politics and power dynamics of working with luxury wedding planners, the financial reality of pivoting to retail and corporate events, and how she and her husband Quinn split the business responsibilities between them. She also gets specific about staffing, delivery logistics, website headaches, and what it actually means to lead a team well. Join us as we chat with Alex about: Why she stepped back from wedding florals to focus on retail Taking a public political stance and the fallout with wedding planners The power dynamics between florists and luxury wedding planners Advice for florists considering adding planning services to their business Rebuilding revenue through a new retail location and corporate events Team structure and staffing at a full-service flower shop Website and POS struggles (Squarespace, Hana, and exploring Shopify) Delivery logistics and staying a day ahead of orders How she and Quinn divide roles in the business Gift buying philosophy and building a cohesive brand Social media approach and staying personally involved with followers Making hard financial decisions: layoffs vs. investing in the shop Defining good leadership and what it means to be a good boss Her new brand and business consulting offering This episode of the Botanical Brouhaha Podcast is brought to you by: Madrid Flower School You can find show notes and more episodes of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast at botanicalbrouhaha.com, and you can find Amy on IG at either @botanicalbrouhaha or @bloomtrustco and Natalie at @hey.nataliegill or @native_poppy This episode of The Botanical Brouhaha Podcast was produced by Joel McGee. Original music by Landon McGee.