.png)
My love for flowers came from my childhood in Viet Nam. My family has a long history of working in agriculture and with plants there - we would grow everything in our garden, from fruits and vegetables to different seasonal blooms. Fast forward to living in New York City, I started practicing floral arrangement as a hobby and it became a form of therapy for me while living away from home. I loved playing with texture and colors and drew inspiration from the arts and fashion I would see around the city. My pivot to pursuing the craft professionally coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 when Joy, the previous owner, decided to retire. I was previously a regular in the neighborhood and we had talked about me taking over the store. Transitioning into the next phase of Joy, I worked with her every day for a month to learn the retail floral space. It was October 2020 when I officially took over the store and the rest is history.
Our name originated from the past life of the store when it was still Joy’s Flowers and Gifts under Joy, the previous owner. When I took over, I decided to keep that element of the name. Our whole vibe has always been spreading positivity and celebrating community through fresh blooms and we felt this name captured that, while paying homage to what was the iconic go-to flower spot in the Lower East Side.
We are an artisanal flower shop providing experimental and whimsical floral arts in the form of arrangements, installations, brand/private events, weddings, and community engagements. Our mission is to provide the people with more unique stems and styles you would find from a floral studio, but with retail access and New York personality.
I think the most interesting and motivating thing about the florist industry in New York is that it reflects the diversity of the people and tastes living here. You can find florists practicing vastly different styles of floral arts from classic to English garden to sculptural to experimental to ikebana. Every style has its own audience and is appreciated equally across brands and everyday flower enjoyers. It enables florists like me to find our niche while also thinking outside the box about what’s next.
To be honest, it was quite challenging. I didn’t have a strong floral background outside of being a hobbyist before I took over the store. I would equate the experience I had with Joy to essentially floral bootcamp, working long days and trying to absorb everything at once in a quick span of time. That said, it was one of the most rewarding and beautiful experiences I’ve had and I’m still looking to learn even more to improve my craft and services. In my eyes, the evolution is still happening.
I think for any business, having a strong community is essential for its existence and growth. It can be very hard to sustain in today’s economy without it - not only because our people gave us the opportunity to exist in the first place, but because most of us rely on regulars to keep the doors open. As an immigrant myself, I understand the struggles of getting started firsthand, especially for Vietnamese in New York where our population is not as large as some other states. I feel lucky to have been given the opportunities I have received and try to pay it forward. So many of our client base are locals from the neighborhood, so I really value creating that sense of knowing your neighbor where and when I can.