Episode 791: Laura Iarocci of Faith Flowers, on teaching, touring, and designing weddings

https://youtu.be/p0YXGzmxmGs?si=M1bLBc4VBjudIh2S

Last month, I partnered with Seattle Growers Market to host a group of flower and garden lovers who had joined Laura Iarocci’s Explore Flower Tours visit to the Pacific Northwest. An Atlanta-based floral designer who specializes in weddings and events, floral design education for church and cathedral flower guilds, and floral-enriched tours in Europe, the U.S., and beyond, Laura is also a Slow Flowers member who highlights local flowers and sustainability in her programming. Since 2011, Explore Flower Tours has been an extension of Laura’s Faith Flowers design school and studio, leading curated tours that include flower workshops with local, leading designers and instructors, flower farm visits, garden tours, flower shows, unique floral events, and more. During my day with the Explore Flower Tours group, we began with staff-led tour of the cooler and displays at Seattle Growers Market. After lunch, the group joined me in a floral design workshop using a bounty of seasonal flowers, foliages, and textures – and together we created a 100% compostable, foam-free centerpiece. The following day, I caught up with Laura to record today’s conversation about her unique business model that combines teaching, touring, and wedding design.

Debra Prinzing and Laura Iarocci

Before Laura Iarocci joined the volunteer flower guild at The Cathedral of St. Philip, the Episcopal cathedral in Atlanta, her relationship with flowers was as simply loved them. Up to that point, she had been a Wall Street banker. A relocation to Atlanta and a search for a creative outlet sparked what has become a fulfilling career and life in flowers.At the time, when her children were little, Laura loved the quiet joy of arranging behind the scenes, creating florals that commemorated and provided hospitality and fellowship – and making services, funerals, and weddings more beautiful.She tells the story in her 2018 book, “Faith Flowers,” a guide to arranging church flowers. “There were not so many flower arranging classes then as there are today. A very kind gentleman named Tyler Gresham, whose family had owned a flower shop in Atlanta, took me under his wing when I became the Flower Guild chair. He taught me how to buy flowers, prepare recipes and design in the classic English style. I worked as much as possible with the many other experienced arrangers on the Flower Guild.”

Over time, Laura has taken classes with some of the leading designers and instructors around the world, exposing herself to new ideas and techniques to apply to church design.

She formed Faith Flowers in 2010. Her studio now includes a flower school, flower tours around the world, and floral design for weddings, events, and funerals.

Explore Flower Tours workshop at Seattle Growers Market

We recently sat down to record the conversation you’ll hear now, the day after I taught a sustainable design workshop for her Pacific Northwest flower and garden tour produced by Laura’s sister business, Explore Flower Tours.

The finished arrangements from Explore Flower Tours workshop at Seattle Growers Market

I hope we spark some new ideas for your business, as you think about creating floral design experiences and excursions for your customers and communities. This podcast is committed to shining a light and amplifying the voices of our members, celebrating the many stories of this community, stories as diverse as each of you.

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Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

And thank you to our lead sponsor, My Patio Tree: Expertly Grown Plants, Perfectly Designed to Elevate Your Garden. Their second-generati