Brand Client Feature | The Old Soul Flower Co | West, Seattle, WA
Happy Monday!! It’s day four of my weeklong “meet the florist” series in celebration of the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday and hopes to steer you into shopping local this year for your flowers on the new LORA Bloom online floral marketplace or through your local florist directly.
Today I’d love for you to meet Sophie Strongman of The Old Soul Flower Co, based in West Seattle, WA. The Old Soul Flower Co services all of the West Seattle neighborhood from the Admiral District to Westwood Village, as well as, SoDo and parts of North Burien.
Sophie has been working in the floral industry for three years and started The Old Soul Flower Co a year and a half ago. Her story in the floral world started while working for a full-service floral department at a gourmet grocery store. Her eyes started to open to the ugly and environmentally unfriendly side of flowers as she began to notice that at least 50% of her store's flowers came from South America, and when she mentioned to her manager that they should try to focus on American-grown flowers, I was told, "yes, international flowers create a bigger carbon footprint, but no, things are not going to change". It was at that point, she realized if she couldn't change this floral department in her grocery story, it'd be best for her sanity and Mother Nature's future to create branch off on her own and create a business centered around local flowers, sustainability, and making the conscious effort to lessen her own carbon footprint, all while working with and around other florists who share the same passion for the environment
Sophie currently works alone from her home-based studio out of her West Seattle home and says she gets the majority of her inspiration for her work from her Mama. She grew up watching her Mama arrange flowers from her garden - which is still around today- and she learned her tried and true technique to build simple vase arrangements from her. She said if you were to put pictures of their arrangements side-by-side, you see the resemblance instantly, the same goes for their physical human appearance!
She is also inspired by color, whether it's a sunset, in a makeup palette, or a moody ensemble I see an elderly lady might be wearing. She said, "I follow the feeling of joy that fills my chest when I see a cobalt blue and hot magenta pink swirled against a background of gray dusty miller, or a rainbow crossing the icy blue sky during Seattle winters. Color, and the myriad shades each one comes in, will never get old to me, there are always new color combos that spark a different feeling or reaction, always intriguing, never daunting. "
When asked what her favorite flower to work with is, she had a hard time choosing just one, so she explained her favorite flower by season.
In the winter she loves Winter Daphne - which is the queen of scented flowers and beautiful shrubs. The Winter Daphne is also an early sign of spring, when it's still winter but right on the edge of budding daffodils and other narcissus.
When spring rolls around she can never get enough of the tulip. They are easily one of her favorites to work with because when she makes an arrangement she nestles the tulips in an almost obscure way because of their growing patterns even after being cut- their stems lengthen and they get gracefully floppy, emerging from the arrangement and opening up sometimes wildly and others elegantly.
Her favorite summer flowers are sweet peas and dahlias and she said to not make her choose one or the other because she just can't! She went on to explain, "There is an incredible number of different dahlias out there, some the size of my face, others the size of a silver dollar coin. Every "hot" color you can imagine, a dahlia has given it to the world of flowers. And, when cut directly from the garden *cough cough* LOCAL *cough* their vase life can push 7-10 days. Sweet Peas? I don't think I have to elaborate, they're wonderful."
In the late-summer, through fall she loves working with zinnias because they can put up with the heat and also survive cold spells. She has really enjoyed using zinnias in Thanksgiving arrangements for the past couple of years.
One thing that I learned (and love) about Sophie is that being sustainable in everything she does is incredibly important to her right now. She grew up learning about climate change and also experiencing helplessness while looking at our world leaders fail time and time again to step up and battle the looming condition of our beautiful planet. It's taken her twenty three years to realize change starts small, and it can start in her neighborhood. Her hope for the future of our planet is bound in the possibilities of a local, sustainable, and fun group of florist partners, committed to low or zero-waste practices accompanied by product from the Pacific Northwest and no further than the United States borders. She feels strongly that she and her florist peers that feel the same way are all in this together, one household, one business, one person and heart at a time and asks that you tap in to local!
With Valentine's Day coming up later this week, I asked Sophie if she had any tips for her customers and she said, "Pay attention to your partner! Although you may feel like you have no idea what they want, chances are there are comments and/or gestures you can pick up on. Do they like to stay in? Have the flowers sent to their home address. Have they been stressed at work? Maybe they need a plant delivered to the office with an encouraging and loving note. Knowing their favorite color is important too. I always encourage pre-ordering or placing the order as far in advance as possible, it never hurts (and usually helps). Flowers like fresh water every 2-3 days, and if possible, a fresh 1-2 inch cut. Lastly, the water in your vase should be lukewarm, not cold." She also wanted to mention that if placing an order through her for your V-day flowers, please note that she kindly asks for a 48-hour turnaround to perfect and deliver your arrangement.
I want to give a big thanks to Sophie for allowing me to help capture a little piece of her brand and products to share with you on the new LORA Bloom site. This was my first time meeting and working with Sophie and she came to our shoot with lots of good energy and optimism - something the world could always use more of! And to echo Sophie's beliefs, I can’t stress it enough, people - please check out both LORA Bloom and The Old Soul Flower Co and support local this V-day and all special occasions moving forward. When you purchase local there is an actual person on the other end doing a happy dance. 😊
P.S. Want to something incredible that Sophie is working on? Head to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show February 26th - March 1, 2020. Sophie will be participating in two the grand event's shows; She will be partnering up with other LORA Bloom partners on a display of floral art using mannequins for the FLEURS de VILLES event that will be featured Pacific Place.
