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From Lens to Bloom: Calvert Crary on Creativity, Reinvention, and the Business of Flowers
267 Plays10 days ago
This week on the ReBloom Podcast, we’re joined by Calvert Crary—owner of FlowerSchool, internationally recognized master educator, and author of Flower School: A Practical Guide to the Art of Flower Arranging and The Encyclopedia of Cut Flowers.
Calvert began his career as a lifestyle and fashion photographer before making a bold pivot into floral design in 2006. Since then, he has launched and led three successful flower businesses in New York City and become a trusted mentor to thousands of aspiring floral professionals around the world. Through immersive travel programs and hands-on workshops, Calvert shares his deep expertise, creative vision, and sharp business insight with a global community.
In this episode, Calvert shares his journey of reinvention, how he blends artistry with entrepreneurship, and what it takes to thrive in the floral industry today. Whether you’re a budding creative or a seasoned designer, this conversation is sure to leave you blooming with inspiration.
Website: https://www.flowerschoolny.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flowerschoolny
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwB8T0u_YX94aKuZTPjIvkg
Thank You to Our Sponsors: Jet Creative and UrbanStems!
· Jet Creative: A women-owned marketing firm committed to community and empowerment. Whether you’re launching a podcast or building a website, Jet Creative can help you get started. Visit JetCreative.com/Podcast to kickstart your journey!
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Transcript
Introduction to Rebloom Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Hey everyone, welcome to Rebloom, the podcast where we explore the power of change, rediscovery, and living with intention. That's right. We're your hosts, Lori and Jamie, two friends who really love a good story about transformation.
00:00:16
Speaker
In each podcast, we're going to chat with inspiring guests who've made bold pivots in their lives or careers. They've let go of what no longer serve them to embrace something more authentic, joyful, and true to who they really are.
00:00:31
Speaker
And the best part, many of them reconnect with passions or dreams they discovered as kids. It's about finding the seeds planted long ago and letting them bloom again.
00:00:43
Speaker
So if you're ready for real conversations about reinvention, purpose, and following your creative heart, you're in the right place. Let's dive in and see what it takes to re-bloom.
Meet Calvert Crary: From Photography to Floral Artistry
00:00:57
Speaker
Laurie, our listeners are going to get to listen to one of my favorite, favorite people today, Calvert Crary. He is incredible. He is the executive director of the Flower School of New York and LA.
00:01:11
Speaker
And he has not only bloomed, but he has helped thousands of other people to bloom in their careers too. What I loved talking with Calvert is just the fact that he went from one photographer to the floral business, not really knowing a whole lot about it.
00:01:32
Speaker
Yeah. And now has created this amazing business that is helping thousands of people to pursue their own dreams and passions centered around flowers.
00:01:43
Speaker
What, what an incredible legacy. What an incredible legacy and what a story and you're all in for a great treat today.
00:01:54
Speaker
Welcome friends. We are so excited to have you back for another episode of ReBloom. I'm Jamie Jameson. and I'm Lori Siebert. Hi Lori, how are you today? Hey, I'm excited to talk with our guest today. This is someone you know and I don't really know, so it'll be fun.
00:02:12
Speaker
I do. i do. And of course, it falls into the flower category, which is my cup of tea. um Many years ago, i really felt like I needed to get a handle on flower arranging.
00:02:26
Speaker
And so I signed up to go and spend some time at the Flower School of New York. And it was the most incredible week, probably one of the happiest weeks of my life. Wow. And I was able to meet the executive director, Calvert Crary. And we are so excited to welcome Calvert today.
Calvert's Unconventional Path to Floral Design
00:02:44
Speaker
He is the executive director of Flower School New York and Flower School l a ah He is a he's a photographer. He's a florist. He's an internationally recognized instructor, mentor. He's taught all over the world, Holland, Mexico,
00:03:01
Speaker
Um, he's coached thousands of students and he is going to just share his story today and we cannot wait to meet him. So welcome Calvert. Hi everybody. Hi Calvert. And you've done a couple beautiful books.
00:03:14
Speaker
we know Yes. oh yes, he has. He's done the flower school. Oh my gosh. Two that if you are into flowers, you absolutely need to have one is the flower school.
00:03:25
Speaker
Um, It is a practical guide to the art of flower arranging. And then there's also the Encyclopedia of Cut Flowers, which will tell you everything about all kinds of cut flowers. And both of those are must-haves. They are fabulous. So little plug for your books.
00:03:41
Speaker
Thanks, guys. Thanks for having me on. It's exciting to be here. i love talking about flowers. And I love talking about ah the passion that goes into it and you know why people do it and how we help them.
00:03:57
Speaker
Well, thank you so much. So you didn't start out in flowers. I know several, you know, several people, I have several friends that parents were flowers or florists, or because parents were flowers, parents were florists.
00:04:08
Speaker
um But you started out on a different path. Can you tell us about um your initial career? Yeah, no, that's a really good point. And I think that um with flowers, which is a lot like a lot of other trades, ah they are an apprenticeship oriented type of trade.
00:04:25
Speaker
So um over ah The past, you know, 100 or 200 years when floral design, i guess it's really been popular for thousands of years, really. People have loved flowers forever.
00:04:36
Speaker
But um the only way to really master the craft and get into the business was to have a family member who had a company or have a parent who was doing it and then to take it on.
00:04:48
Speaker
And you hear countless stories like that. However, i think in this day and age, um we've been a lot more creative with our ah simulation style learning and we're able to present a sort of an apprenticeship styled program here at Flower School where the students are not only taught, but then they get an opportunity to do ah for at least three weeks, be a florist.
00:05:16
Speaker
And I think that that is what makes this particular program very special. and what why people come from all over the world to do it. um But you're right. I was not always a florist.
00:05:28
Speaker
And in fact, when I started out in flowers, I was terrible. I was terrible. I didn't, you know, there are people who can very, quickly and very easily make a beautiful composition of flowers.
00:05:44
Speaker
I am not that person. And it took me a long time to really figure it out, which I think is what makes the program really good. It's because you're being taught by somebody who is also not very good at it.
00:05:56
Speaker
But I started out actually as a
Pursuing Passion: From Bond Underwriter to Photographer
00:05:59
Speaker
photographer. And before I was a photographer, I was a municipal bond underwriter at Chase Manhattan Bank. What? What?
00:06:08
Speaker
Oh my gosh. The least creative. Oh my God. i didn't know. It had its up and ups and downs being a Bond underwriter. It, you know, there was a book written about it called the three martini lunch.
00:06:21
Speaker
yeah And that was my favorite part.
00:06:26
Speaker
Oh, my God. oh my God. So you you were doing so you were doing a bond. and I didn't even know this chapter about your life. And then how did you pivot to photography?
00:06:37
Speaker
Well, I think that I pivoted the same way that everyone else pivots. And you know there are books written about this type of stuff, which we can go into later. But as nice as it is to have a job that pays well, where there's ah you know an upward trajectory, um it's very exciting you know for a kid but who doesn't know much. But I think that when you are sort of, if you've ever had an opportunity ah to have a passion and to act on it, you realize that it money is just not the important thing and climbing this corporate ladder is not the important thing, but exercising your passion and or having an opportunity to exercise passion ah is where where you want to spend your time.
00:07:27
Speaker
And so i very quickly kind of looked around at these guys, you know, ah you know, having a great time in finance and saying like, you know, this is nice, but there's other things out there in the world that I want to go and experience and I should just do it now, you know, and I can always change my course later.
00:07:47
Speaker
So did you have an interest in photography, like as you were growing up or is that something you just wanted to explore your creative side and somehow you, you followed that path?
00:08:00
Speaker
A great question. I um was a dual major in college, a photography and economics. gota I gotcha. So you left the Bond world.
00:08:13
Speaker
i probably would have left the Bond world and off to photography. um What kind of photography were you doing, Cal? ah Great question. You know, I think that when anyone decides they're going to do something that they like, the ignorance is bliss.
00:08:26
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. yeah I'm just going to start something and I'm just going to share whatever it is. And, you know, you eventually realize that it's a little bit more complicated. So I started doing photography, couple of parties here and there, a couple of weddings.
00:08:40
Speaker
And then I realized that in order to get real training, you had to work with somebody. So um I started assisting and working for other photographers and and finding out what they did.
00:08:51
Speaker
And a lot like flowers, they had specialties. You know, i think that in the, in the liberal arts, world. Everyone is learning a lot of different, a lot of things, but a little bit of everything.
00:09:02
Speaker
But I think when you get into professional world, you really have to be a specialist. So I worked with a lot of fashion photographers, a lot of portrait photographers, and a lot of travel photographers, and some interior photographers.
00:09:12
Speaker
So I kind of worked with all of these guys and eventually found my niche, which is sort of a portrait travel fashion photographer, and was working for, you know, Men's Journal and Best Life magazine and I don't even think these magazines exist anymore, but I did a lot of those types of things. And I spent a lot of time traveling um pretty much, but I had studio as well. And there was other, you know, we did all sorts of go sees and model castings and all sorts of things.
00:09:41
Speaker
So go ahead. Go, Laura. I was just wondering how that led you into the floral world. like That was my question. how you I thought you were going to say you photographed flowers or still lives or something, but no. So how did that happen?
00:09:59
Speaker
You know, it's it's kind of funny. um i You know, i like in flowers, I was not a great photographer, but I was great at production, meaning I was there.
00:10:10
Speaker
with all my gear ready to go, you know, and like, that's where I spent like, ah and then the time to shoot the photos, like I kind of didn't have as much of a vision for it or um as much of a skill for it as I wanted, you know, ah you know, just, it was just another day shooting another wedding and I just, I couldn't really connect.
00:10:29
Speaker
I felt like with a lot of the subjects, I mean, I connected enough, but I just saw other people connecting much better. And I was like, you know, maybe this isn't the perfect thing for me. Um, and at the time, my partner and I had, she had decided that, um, she wanted to also have her own business because, you know, having your own business and pursuing your own passion is exciting and fun.
00:10:54
Speaker
And, uh, she had realized that she didn't want to do the corporate grind anymore either. And so, um, we took classes at this little tiny one room flower school and it was called flower school New York.
00:11:08
Speaker
And then we went right ahead and opened up a business and, you know, put down the deposit, spend a bunch of money. And it turns out my partner didn't really like it as much as i did.
00:11:19
Speaker
And I had a lot more production experience, a lot more passion for this flower project. And I kind of ended up taking it over and quitting the photography game and just going full-time into flowers because I felt there was more excitement in it and there was more opportunity. um Because if you guys have done flowers before, you realize that most of the work is the production of it.
00:11:43
Speaker
The flowers do all the work. I mean, if you can get the flower into the correct place, that's the job. You know, you don't have to like, you know, do anything else. Yeah.
00:11:54
Speaker
So you bought, about what year was this Calvert that you
Taking Over Flower School NY and Gaining Accreditation
00:11:57
Speaker
bought? Um, we started in the flower business around 2006, 2005, 2006. Um, and the flower school in New York had just started. Yeah. And I, around 20, no, yeah, 2010, the, ah the then owner of the flower school had reached out to us and they had, um,
00:12:19
Speaker
um um ah they had, ah were having trouble kind of running the school and um it's because they didn't have any experience in the flower business.
00:12:30
Speaker
um And they said, you know, we're looking for partners to maybe take it over. And so we just bought the school because we had such success in our flower shop business. we were like, well, you know, school would be a great opportunity for us.
00:12:42
Speaker
And when we got there and started doing the school, realized that this was going to be a little bit more of a challenge. there was no real program to be said. Um, yeah there was, um, you know, it's just, it's just flower arranging classes, basically.
00:12:55
Speaker
That's all they were doing. And we kind of don't really do a lot of flower arranging classes. We do programs where people learn flowers and learn how to do it professionally. And so we just slowly started building the program and, uh, asking florists what they need out of their employees and started teaching those lessons, um, started, um,
00:13:18
Speaker
expanding and getting larger. And ah eventually the trajectory of our program building, we were awarded license to teach business programs from the New York Department of Education, ah which kind of you know put a flag in the ground saying, you know you guys are like ah teaching a legitimate career development program for people to do this as a business.
00:13:39
Speaker
And we're we're still doing that. And we're really proud of that. and and you should And you should be because you're accredited and to be part of an accredited program or to have an accredited accredited program is huge. And yeah, that's fabulous. Go ahead, Lori. I just want to go back just a second. So you you were realizing that maybe the photography that you were doing was not a good fit.
00:14:03
Speaker
But what made you decide to take a floral class? Like, were were you, did was that an interest of yours? Or you just wanted to do something for fun? yeah well, you know, my partner was the one who kind of initiated it.
00:14:17
Speaker
um I guess that she just felt that um our neighborhood needed a flower shop. Okay. So you went into it maybe thinking it was going to be a business.
00:14:28
Speaker
So it wasn't just straight in. I just, went I had no idea. I knew nothing about flowers. Nothing. I mean, I had been photographing weddings and I've always liked them, but I just had no idea what it took to put together wedding that you would see.
00:14:43
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. But you being someone who loves the production and building a business is something that's a skill set that you really have. Yeah. Or a passion for it.
00:14:56
Speaker
Right. can't say it's a skill set because I'm like most of my students, unaware of what it takes to do some of these things. And I think that if you have a passion for something that trumps everything else, yeah because you're just going to,
00:15:12
Speaker
feed that passion and get the enjoyment and the feeling of accomplishment for yourself that you had done that. I'm sure there are plenty of other things out there that come easily to me that I don't pursue.
00:15:26
Speaker
But this particular one, um the rewards that you get from doing flowers well, in my opinion, trumps a lot of other things. And that you know now you but you develop a passion for it.
00:15:41
Speaker
You are 100% correct. And, you know, it's interesting, Calvert, because i you remind me, mean, you're such an entrepreneur. And I think a good entrepreneur is someone who just says, okay, I believe in this. I like this idea. I'm going after it. And I'll figure out the other, I'll figure out the hard stuff later.
00:15:59
Speaker
And yeah, there's hard stuff. But to your point, there's often great rewards. What are some of the the hard challenges of owning the Flower School New York in the early days? What were some of it? I know one in 2020 that I can talk to you about because I was personally there. and but um to Early on, like what were some of the challenges that now looking back, you think, yeah, that was tough. But you know what? We figured it out. We got it.
00:16:21
Speaker
And we we owned it. We moved on. Yeah. Well, you know, there are big challenges and little challenges. I guess the big challenge is fighting all the little challenges. so Yeah.
00:16:32
Speaker
But I think that, you know, um we we we are regularly in contact with some of the top design studios here in New York City. ah And we're always asking them, you know, what are the things that you need people to know how to do?
00:16:48
Speaker
um You know, for example, you know, painting of leaves and flowers ah is something that people did a couple of years ago. People aren't doing it anymore, but like, you know, the the the needs of the creative industry are always changing.
00:17:02
Speaker
So you always have to have your ear to the ground and especially in New York city where it's just the top place and in the world to do a lot of this stuff. ah But you know, the last week or two weeks ago, we had a meeting with one of our affiliates where we send interns regularly.
00:17:17
Speaker
And she looked at me and said, you know, I don't understand what it is, Cal. You know, it's not just flower school students. It's, um but it's everyone. When I bring in freelancers, people get so nervous or confident or what they, they, they just don't even cut the flowers at an angle, huh which is like the number one thing that people are supposed to do. Even I know that. I think that they just, i think it's,
00:17:45
Speaker
the um trying to first you teach someone to cut the flowers at an angle. But then when you put them on the line where people are doing flowers, so they'll get so nervous that they'll forget because they're just trying to go really fast. And, you know, and I think it's the reason why this is such an apprenticeship business is because you are kind of trained to do this thing and then not to think just do it like this every time.
00:18:10
Speaker
And people always want to revert to their old oh, well, I'm just going to use a clipper and just cut it and put it in the water. And it's like, no, that is not how professionals do it. And we have to constantly remind people. So it's funny too. the One of the challenges is sort of sort of untraining some people and then having them in a real situation to to do it the correct way as they go.
00:18:32
Speaker
um And it's I think that that's like one challenge is, I guess, working with the students to have them remember their training. yeah yeah So that's one challenge.
00:18:43
Speaker
But, you know, I think that when you're a business owner, you have all of the other challenges. I think that the number one challenge that all business owners have is hiring and training people from day one. yeah Every business, it's really always about getting the right staff. And I have to remind a lot of my, um a lot of the shops that we work with that, you know, finding one person and putting them in is not the solutions.
00:19:11
Speaker
having an actual training program for a lot of people to come in. So you're constantly seeing new people to wait until the right person with the right attitude, the right skills and the right passion walk in the door and then boom, now you've nailed the right person.
00:19:31
Speaker
And you know i think that that is the job of the entrepreneur is to really recognize talent and to be ready to bring them on board day one because yeah a good person who has the right passion is the engine of your business.
00:19:49
Speaker
I have a question about your students. Are they, is there a typical age range and are some of them, you know, were they raised in the floral world or some of them making pivots themselves in their lives?
00:20:03
Speaker
ah That's a great question, Laurie. Yeah. Because people come to flowers all from all ways um Luckily here at Flower School, we have a really diverse ah group of people coming from all over the world.
00:20:17
Speaker
Our youngest people will come in. Some have come right out of high school. Instead of going to college, they have realized that events is their passion and they don't need to go to college.
00:20:29
Speaker
They want to start producing events right there. And we've helped a lot of young people um do our program. Instead of college, either they do it for a few years and then they go back to college or they have just been doing it ever since and have built huge businesses.
00:20:45
Speaker
And then we also have people who are on their second and third and fourth careers. And some, a couple of people in particular can give a little shout out to Charmaine Brooks, who was here.
00:20:57
Speaker
She's in her seventies. She decided that she always had a passion to do this and loves flowers and decided to just go ahead and and bite the bullet. After doing the program, she did a bunch of freelance jobs and then we hired her here part time to help us with the education part.
00:21:13
Speaker
And it turns out one of her favorite things is to just work with people and to do flowers with people. And so, you know, there's a lot. I think that one of the big values of the program is that there's a lot of different jobs within the event and design industry that you can do. And in the flower industry that anyone of any age can do.
00:21:35
Speaker
And so we find a lot of people pivoting to this, kind of not knowing that much about it, but once they've learned, they find a place and then they can continue on with their passion.
00:21:46
Speaker
So, so true. And, you know, it's interesting, um Cal, I was one of his instructors for a short time, and it was such an honor. I taught the social media class for Cal um to some of the students. And to your point, Lori, there was a whole range. They were they were international, um all ages.
00:22:05
Speaker
And I loved seeing either the new person or the pivots along the way. And it was it was really um pretty cool to see all of those people who are just following their passion and following their dreams. And Calvert's program is just so great that it it allows for that. it allows for somebody to come in and really um follow the follow their dreams. And it's it's just a wonderfully set up program. And yeah, it was fun.
00:22:32
Speaker
Yeah, you know, um it's it's such an interesting thing, the the pivots. The pivots are um are fascinating. And I find that they all sort of have one thing in common.
00:22:44
Speaker
We've had pivots who have had big careers as corporate lawyers or bankers or dentists or just, you know, shop managers. um they All sorts of different things. And the one thing that they all have in common is that they don't feel as though they're able to really attach to their passion.
00:23:03
Speaker
what they're doing before. And even if they've made lots of money doing what they're doing, it's never enough because they don't feel fully whole because they're not able to do their art or do their craft.
00:23:19
Speaker
ah full time. And I think that they're always waiting for that next moment to say, hey, you know, now I'm ready. But it's like, no, now I'm ready. Or I need just another, or maybe just one more, or maybe five more years. And they they never really get there. And yeah what they do is they say, well, what?
00:23:36
Speaker
I'm done. I'm switching. yeah And they just put a line in the sand and say, I'm going forward. Yeah. Let's take a quick minute and thank our amazing sponsors. Our podcast is proudly brought to you today by Jet Creative and Urban Stems.
00:23:52
Speaker
Jet Creative is a women-owned marketing firm committed to community and empowerment since 2013. Are you ready to rebloom and build a website or start a podcast? Visit jetcreative.com backslash podcast to kickstart your journey.
00:24:08
Speaker
They will help you bloom in ways you never imagined. And bonus, our listeners get an exclusive discount when you mention rebloom. And a huge thanks to Urban Stems, your go-to and our go-to source for fresh, gorgeous bouquets and gifts delivered coast to coast.
00:24:27
Speaker
Use Bloom Big 20 and save 20% on your next order. And don't forget to subscribe to this podcast and follow us on Instagram and Facebook at ReBloom Podcast.
00:24:40
Speaker
Thanks to our sponsors and thanks to you for joining us today.
00:24:46
Speaker
Now, as executive director, are you finding that your buckets are full with your creativity? the i mean, there's still the challenges. i do want to i do want to share one story. I was teaching at the Flower School New York.
00:25:01
Speaker
March 13th, there are so certain days that are March 13th, let me say 2020, that are imprinted in your brain. And I was teaching and, you know, and the school, where everything was shutting down in New York.
00:25:17
Speaker
um And it was such a crazy time. But I have to say, from an observer standpoint to Calvert, watching you pivot the pandemic is and pivot your business and move it from, okay, we were all like, oh, it'll be back to class. Nope. We're going to do everything online. And you were shipping flowers. And and again, that's part of the entrepreneurial spirit. You're bringing, you're making it happen. what do What else choice did we have to do? And you, you made it happen. You, you made it thrive. I mean, it's incredible.
00:25:46
Speaker
And yeah. Yeah. It's funny of pivot. You know, I find like anxiety sets in yeah and all of a sudden you're willing to try anything. Yeah.
00:25:58
Speaker
Yeah. But you pivoted. So now but sort of sort of back to my question, and I've got sidetracked, but you know, you've got this very creative heart and are you finding that now you're, you're many years into this, into the flower school, New York, flower school, l a writing books, still working with students. Are you finding your own buckets filled?
Future Plans: Expanding into an Institute for the Living Arts
00:26:19
Speaker
Yeah.
00:26:19
Speaker
your creative buckets. um I think that um fortunately or unfortunately for me, ah being creative means that you are always trying to find that next thing yeah to do, you know, and you, yeah, you fill a bucket and then you make another bucket. And there's, there's at least seven or 8,000 buckets ahead of me.
00:26:48
Speaker
Oh my God, that's so true. Yeah, yeah. Well, speaking of future buckets, do you have anything on the horizon that you're kind of like, do you see Flower School New York or Flower School LA evolving into something different or is it going to stay on its same path?
00:27:04
Speaker
Oh yeah, good question. You know, so um we haven't told anyone yet, so but I'm i'm happy to um to let you guys in on secret. Scoop. Big Big news. and news So um we we are considering a name change for the school ah to incorporate more of the things that we do.
00:27:23
Speaker
ah So over the past couple of years, we have put together a really fun and nice event. um um ah essential oils classes where people can make nice elixirs and ah more of like ah a wellness aspect to them because we all know that plants and herbs can release wonderful ah vibes and and have wonderful wellness properties.
00:27:50
Speaker
ah We also have a a dinner series that we're putting together. We have access to a lot of really great Michelin-starred chefs here in New York City who want to try out specialty dinners that are, you know sort of plant and wellness focused where, you know, people can come together and have a wonderful dinner.
00:28:08
Speaker
which means that we're putting on more events. So we also have an event design and planning program that we've run a couple of times, which we're going to spend more time running in the future.
00:28:19
Speaker
ah And, you know, we have other things like, um you know, mocktail and cocktail programs, which are both recreation and professional for people who want to learn how to make cocktails.
00:28:30
Speaker
So we're kind of doing, and we also have travel programs. We have one to Holland, one to Mexico City, and then one to ah Japan, which we're about to announce soon. wow Our students can go for a 10-day gardening design and crafting trip ah to Tokyo.
00:28:51
Speaker
And it's just a really fun you know time to be at Flower School. So we realized that the name Flower School ah kind of pigeonholes us a little bit. So we are going to have a much larger umbrella company ah titled the Institute for the Living Arts, where we have flower school and cocktail school and event design school and travel programs for all of these like-minded individuals.
00:29:17
Speaker
It feels like, and i always I always notice this, it feels like some of the things that you've done along the way are all incorporating themselves into what you're doing now. Because you traveled a lot.
00:29:30
Speaker
Like I could see you doing photography-based courses of, you know, photography. Shooting flowers. We'll have to bring Jamie to run all those programs. I want to come. I'll come back. Anytime. You know I will. i maybe said that because of that.
00:29:47
Speaker
I would absolutely come back in a heartbeat. no it's and and But I love that you're looking towards the future because I think that is also what happens sometimes with entrepreneurs is they get so stuck. and And Lord knows our world is pivoting.
00:30:03
Speaker
our Our world is pivoting around us, so we have to be ready to respond and respond to the needs of, of as you said, of the florists, of your customers, and it sounds like you're growing in in really beautiful ways.
00:30:19
Speaker
This is just a creative question. So you said you you stay in touch with the top designers and there are trends in floral design. what are I'm just curious what some of the trends are now.
00:30:32
Speaker
You know, it's always like a little bit of a rubber band. So, for example, um about 10 years ago, ah maybe a little more, telangios and succulents and those types of varieties that are very unflowery flowers, mosses and things were becoming very, very popular.
00:30:53
Speaker
but they had like an organic, um, tint to it. And I think it got a little bit, uh, boring, boring, um, for a lot of designers. Cause again, if you're a designer, always trying to do a new thing.
00:31:05
Speaker
And then, um, people started doing a lot more tropicals and started doing dried tropicals, painted tropicals, um, and and And so that was going for a while. And then it was preserved flowers, preserved roses, you know preserved things.
00:31:22
Speaker
And then that sort of ebbed back. And I think that there's now just a little bit more of a focus on ah natural, ah real flowers. you know Because I think people, it's kind of slingshots away and then kind of comes back. And then it will slowly slingshot in another direction ah pretty soon. But I think that the thing that people are most excited now are sort of ah unworldly ah tropicals and exotics. For for example,
00:31:51
Speaker
I have for ah a client right now who is interested a lot in um very weird foliage. So we're doing a lot of begonias, which, as you guys know, can kind of look like plants that are from ah ah different planet. it And um they're incorporating natural but exotic elements into their flower arrangements, which is quite fun.
00:32:15
Speaker
Oh, I love that. I love it. um I want to just give a shout out to your shorter classes, too. I know you have the accredited six-week class, Calvert, but you also have smaller courses, which is the one that I took, which is the one-week course, which for anyone out there who wants to take, to really understand the foundations of flowers, foundation of flowers,
00:32:38
Speaker
of but I mean, it was just the most magical week of my life. It was just fabulous. um Can you talk to us a little bit about your weekend programs and and your you're shorter programs that you have too?
00:32:50
Speaker
Sure. um Yep. Thanks for the comment. um I appreciate your support, Jamie. It was lovely. we we are we have um recreation classes, which are just one-time classes, and those are include like – ah We have a master class series where you get to work with a master florist.
00:33:09
Speaker
You do not have to be a master. It's just a recreation class where you get to see mastery and they help you make a masterpiece in their image. um the um The other programs we're talking about, those are um like we would call them modules.
00:33:23
Speaker
And each module is has sort of a different flavor. ah The modules in the beginning are what we would call technical training. And the program that you took is our introduction series and our intermediate series, which if you do them during the week, it's a five day program called our intensive series.
00:33:41
Speaker
ah But you can also take those programs, those modules on the weekends. And that would be our weekend forest. It's the same skills. It's like there's there's just the basic skills, cutting on the angle, skinning the stems, you know how to hydrate things, where they come from.
00:33:55
Speaker
And I think that it gives people a really good idea of how to do flowers in the most basic sense very well. um And then as the programs go on, we kind of get into rather than doing sort of like skills, I mean, everyone's expected to know how to do the skills.
00:34:09
Speaker
We get into a little bit more of management training and management means you know You're working as a group. ah the the The lead time for everything is much longer. So it's a two-week project, a three-week project.
00:34:20
Speaker
And you know it's more focused on how to get the flowers right for an event, et cetera, et cetera. And then um our final part of the program we would call our... entrepreneurial part. That's where you get into the um simulated learning where you have to do events, you have to run your shop, and you're in charge, and we just help you do the vision that you have. So I think that um in the world of education, there's I do it and then you do it.
00:34:49
Speaker
right not Not me personally, but someone shows you and then you copy. ah The second level would be let's work on this together. And so, you know, I have the idea, but we're going to do it together.
00:35:01
Speaker
the ah The third iteration of our program is where you're in charge of doing it, your own ideas. And I am here to help you if you have trouble, and to help you remind your training. So all of our modules, they're in one of these three buckets, a technical training, management training, and entrepreneurial training.
00:35:24
Speaker
And so our five-day intensive series is the most comprehensive technical program in the world. I'm very confident in saying that it's probably the best five days of floral design education offered globally.
00:35:40
Speaker
And the reason why I know this is because every time I look at our competitors, I see them trying to copy it. And yeah I can see they're missing the point because it's like it's not just about making a flower arrangement.
00:35:53
Speaker
It's about the production going quickly, not damaging the flowers, where they come from, and sort of how to do this professionally. Yeah. i i couldn't I couldn't agree more. And I think I walked away from that five days with just such a strong foundation as does as do your students from all your other programs. And that's the thing. You're creating these amazing amazing this amazing foundation for everyone.
00:36:20
Speaker
Well, I have to know about your travel courses. I i love to travel. So what are what do those look like? Oh, great question. ah You know, I don't know how we started doing this, but um I can just tell you where we are now.
Exclusive Travel Programs and Cultural Engagements
00:36:36
Speaker
Okay, so our programs are limited to only 12 people because the typical passenger van that goes behind the scenes only fits 15. And that's sort for two support staff, a driver and and the students.
00:36:50
Speaker
And we keep our programs light and sweet, meaning that we have a lot of contacts everywhere we go. We will go to one or two tourist attractions.
00:37:02
Speaker
But most of it is behind the scenes. Most of it is a restaurant that no one can get into. It is a go to a antiques dealer that doesn't have a shop and go to their studios. You meet artisans, crafts people.
00:37:17
Speaker
We have a program also to Italy, which we're going to do this fall. It's really for event designers and flower and event businesses where we're going to go to Venice and meet all of the artisans and we can purchase all wonderful Venetian glass and all sorts of things, Murano glass, directly from the manufacturers.
00:37:38
Speaker
And it's sort of a behind the scenes. We're also, where that trip is half in Venice and plus is great food and and great fun. And the other half is going to be in Milan with all the textiles and you know the pillows and all of those wonderful things.
00:37:52
Speaker
And we're organizing the shipping of the materials back to where you are. So like that way people can go and if they have a little bit of budget left ah for the year, they can go on a nice trip, enjoy really good company, go behind the scenes and maybe purchase a couple of items that they might want to rent or sell to their customers.
00:38:12
Speaker
i love You get to go on these or are you back running the school? I'm usually back running the school. yeah um You know, again, as a business owner,
00:38:24
Speaker
An important thing to me is that my staff enjoys being here as well. And having them run these programs is exciting for me because they get a chance to get into it. I wouldn't dare do a trip to Italy not knowing how to speak Italian, but luckily we have an incredible events director here and she's hilarious and wonderful and is Italian. Amazing. So she's going to go and show everyone where the restaurants are and, you know, like a local.
00:38:50
Speaker
And that's why we keep the numbers down to just 12 people. Is there a floral component um threaded through these as well? Yeah, I think that the floral components, we've we've done a lot of these travel trips before for florists.
00:39:04
Speaker
And i think Amsterdam is a really great example is we spent every day doing flower classes the first time. And for most florists, they don't really want to sit around and work all day.
00:39:15
Speaker
That's what they do at home. What they want to do is really kind of shop, get immersed into the culture a little bit. I mean, one flower design opportunity is like enough, you know, where you get access to unique products that you don't necessarily have in New York. So a flower activation for us might mean a couple of armloads of flowers that we got directly from the farmer's market,
00:39:41
Speaker
brought to the Murano glass facility and they test out a few vases and then they, you know, purchase 50 or 80 or a hundred and send them. Amazing. i you know It's not really like, Oh, you know, I'm going to be carrying this flower arrangement around with me on all my program. It's like, you know, a couple of great opportunities to work with a few well-known designers is, is enough, but you know, having flowers at the dinners and all of those things. Yeah. We want do that. i have to I have to tell a funny little story. I've been to the Murano Glass Factory and I went with my kids and we went in and my son has ADD.
00:40:14
Speaker
And the guy who welcomed us in goes, hey, it's okay. We're insured. You can touch anything. And I spent the next hour freaked out because he was walking around touching every bazillion dollar chandelier. And I'm like, I'm going i'm going to kill this guy. Like just wanted to just lose it. Yeah. But it is a phenomenal facility and it is beautiful. And what a treat for for the people that are going on this trip. That's going to be incredible.
00:40:41
Speaker
Absolutely incredible. Yeah. I mean, the world is a wonderful place. And if your passions can take you to those places, then have more passions. Yeah, I love i love it.
00:40:52
Speaker
Well, I want to ask a question. Speaking of master florists, you provide the foundation, these and this incredible education and foundation. Can we kind of talk up some of your alums? You've got some pretty fabulous alums out there in the world that are masters themselves now that started with you and really are shining a bright light on on the Flower School of New York and the Flower School of L.A.
00:41:19
Speaker
Yeah. Well, thank you. We're so proud of all of our alumni. At this point, it must be thousands of people out there working in the flower industry. ah Wherever they are, they either own businesses, they're working in businesses, they're working the events field.
00:41:35
Speaker
um It seems like every time I go to the flower market, I run into four or five people who are just doing it and and enjoying it. And I think it's a ah big difference because anyone can go to the flower market and buy flowers, but not everyone can go to the flower market, enjoy it, be not be stressed, have a business where they're making good money and they're enjoying their their experience.
00:41:58
Speaker
And I think that that's the one characteristic that flower school graduates have is that they're organized enough and know how to how to have a business making money so that they can enjoy it even more.
00:42:11
Speaker
um And yeah, so, um you know, we we we we have um we've had you know hundreds of people open businesses. And you know I think that in order for us to consider someone a master, it really takes 10 years of really great experience working with some of the top commissions in order to really say, hey, you know what?
00:42:36
Speaker
I have mastered this. know that I have the confidence that I have mastered this. yeah And so um but one of our one of my favorite stories that we have is um a woman named Brittany Murray, whose company is called The Flower Slinger.
00:42:53
Speaker
And we invited her back to Flower School for a special alumni master class series. And she has really made a name for herself doing some of the most... um challenging flower arrangements and designs that you see out there in the world. And when I say challenging, I don't mean difficult to do as much as I mean, it takes a real creative eye.
00:43:18
Speaker
Yeah. You interpret the materials the way that she does it. And it is unlike anything anyone has seen. It has nothing to do with how it's painted or whatever. It's just the colors are highly contrasted.
00:43:35
Speaker
It's incredible. And then another woman ah from Flower Bodega, Aria, ah she is in New York. She is really focusing on on commercial clients and she does just incredible brand activations.
00:43:48
Speaker
and She came back for a class. We have Ingrid Karozi from Tin Can Studio. yeah Carlos from the Floratorium. And now this is a guy who has really taken anything that I may have taught him to a whole new level.
00:44:03
Speaker
ah Carlos came to flower school. thinking that he was you know he was an interior designer, maybe he should do flowers. What he's done is combined both. And so his company, the Floratorium, sort of revolutionized this wisteria vine flower facade that a lot of restaurants were doing during COVID to kind of bring in customers.
00:44:24
Speaker
And now he's turning it the Floratorium home where he's doing really high-end floral installations with artificial flowers and out and real flowers and and plants in people's homes as an interior design aesthetic. So he's basically married floral design um you know installations with his interior design training. And now he has a location in Los Angeles, Miami, and in New York.
00:44:55
Speaker
Oh my God. And telling you, his company is getting huge. And he was just here the other day um just saying hi to the students and and talking and he was just saying you know i didn't think that doing flowers was actually a career but now after going to flower school now i see all of these other people doing this as a career doing a zillion different things but the foundation of hey this is a business i need to make money i learned that at flower school and that will take you everywhere
00:45:28
Speaker
That and cut your flowers at an angle, people. What an legacy. Yeah. thats yes You must be so proud yes of what you've created. And because flowers are so joyful. And then to have ah business around it. I mean, you wouldn't work a day in your life, basically, because it's it's all about joy.
00:45:52
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. That's true. And yeah I think that you just need a few skills. I think that our program is six weeks because you really only need a couple of weeks worth of skills.
00:46:04
Speaker
And then the entire world opens up it does to a place that you've never seen. It's just everywhere. Businesses. Most of our teachers who come back to teach, they're never worried about competition because they know that there's just so much business out there for someone who's creative.
00:46:22
Speaker
They can do a myriad of different things and enjoy all of Well, and it's so true. And, you know, it's interesting because um in when you're taking the classes, there there's a recipe and there's a teacher who's going to show you, okay well, this is what we're going to try to create. But it's amazing. You can look around the room and if there's 15 people in the room, you're going to have 15 different designs. i mean, they'll be so that using the same flowers. We're using the same compote. But, you Even so, someone's cut something a little shorter or made something, stick and it's you can see their creative eye happening happening even within the school.
00:46:59
Speaker
And it's like, oh, I never thought to do. you know it's just it's that's And that's where you begin to see their their soul and their person start to bloom. Yeah. Yeah.
00:47:09
Speaker
Oh, amazing. Amazing. You are incredible. um Anybody who is at at all loves flowers, this is the place, whether you're living in LA or New York, you want to go to the flower school of New York or the flower school of LA. Or if you want to go to Holland or Mexico. co dar one one Oh my gosh. check out Like-minded people.
00:47:33
Speaker
Yeah, and then Calvert has two amazing books as well. um We will have links to the books and to the school. And so if anybody has any questions, you can certainly reach out to the Flower School with questions. But um Calvert, one of the things that we like to do is we like to ask our guests if there's a piece of advice that they sort of follow or something that you give to your students um that we can share with our listeners.
00:48:02
Speaker
Mm-hmm. I think um one thing that is important that you all take heed to is make sure when your head is in the clouds that your feet are firmly planted on the ground. I love that. Yeah, I love it.
00:48:20
Speaker
I love it. Can you tell, exp expand expand on that a little bit? Well, you can have a business doing anything. You're wildest dreams. And usually the crazier, i mean, you've seen Pizza Rat.
00:48:35
Speaker
You've seen My Pet Rock. The crazier the idea, sometimes the better. But if you put together a good structure and make a business out of it, then you can do it forever.
00:48:48
Speaker
love it. I love it. I love it. Amen. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. i think ah hearing about the Flower School and listening to your story is so inspirational, and I know our listeners will love it. And we appreciate you spending time with us today.
00:49:06
Speaker
Thanks, guys. So great. Thank you so much. Good luck with your ah podcast. And I hope to i hear ah many wonderful stories from all of your listeners in the future.
00:49:18
Speaker
You will. You will. Well, thanks, Calvert. Thanks again. Oh, great to meet you and hear your story. I loved it. Thanks. Thanks. Life is too short not to follow your passions. So go out there and let your heart plant you where you are meant to be and grow your joy.
00:49:33
Speaker
We will be right here sharing more incredible stories of reinvention with you. Make sure to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode of Rebloom.
00:49:44
Speaker
Until next time, I'm Jamie Jameson. And I'm Lori Siebert. Peace, love and Rebloom, dear friends.