Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dana Turner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Dana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

I will tell you all the tale of my SXSW journey. SXSW is a huge, week-long music and media conference and festival here in Austin, TX. No celebrity sightings, but it does feature a pushy event planner from L.A. trying to boss us around. It felt like we were in a movie! So fun!
“Taj” contacted us to do “dark and moody” flowers for the Atmosphere TV event at SXSW featuring original art by Banksy. And because I once saw a documentary about Banksy 10 years ago, I said yes!

Taj liked all my suggestions – especially my idea to add florals to one of the chandeliers in the space. She paid promptly. We ordered flowers. She added 10 more cocktail table arrangements. We ordered more flowers and more containers. She added three more pieces. We ordered more flowers. She moved delivery time up by three hours. I canceled my dermatologist appointment. Exhilarating!

Then the big day arrived – Installation Day. We figured it would take about 45 minutes. We told our assistant we would be right back. Silly. Our odyssey had only just begun.

Have you ever tried to park a delivery van on Congress Avenue during SXSW prep week?! What a rush!

The space was actually really impressive. I was blown away. It was way better than what I was expecting. Huge art installations. Cool lighting. Stadium seating in one area. VR headsets. A VIP lounge upstairs. Craft services!!!! This was a very legit exhibit with like 40 important people running around doing various important things.

So we get started and here’s my first clue that we aren’t in Kansas anymore. Usually when Chelsea and I arrive at a wedding with flowers, everyone starts oooo-ing and ahhh-ing. “Those flowers are so pretty!” “Wow – you are so talented!” “Oh my goodness – you’re doing a floral installation!”

At the Banksy exhibit – NO ONE CARED. LOL! No one even looked at us. We were NOT the featured artist. Banksy upstaged us! The nerve!

Anyway, we do our small installation on the chandelier and get ready to leave – but then Taj intervened. She assumed we were doing a huge installation on both of the chandeliers. There had clearly been a misunderstanding. We stared at each other a while. In silence. I tell her she only paid for a small installation on one chandelier. She says her client expects a huge installation on both. We say we don’t have any more materials here. She says – go get more. We say we don’t have the time. She says – the exhibit doesn’t open until 5. We say WE don’t have the time. We have three weddings to prep for. She says WHO GETS MARRIED DURING SXSW?! More staring in silence. Apparently, Taj thinks the world stops turning during SXSW.

So, Chelsea and I go get more flowers. We frantically finish the installation by 5. We are exhausted. We charge them a ton of money. The pay promptly.

We “refreshed” the flowers Monday morning – the house was packed with people drinking at the bar before noon.

That Sunday, I returned and took everything down. Very easy to park on Congress Avenue the morning AFTER SXSW.

Here are my takeaways:
– Corporate gigs are hard.
– Banksy is cooler than us.
– Taj needs xanax.

All in all – a wild success for everyone!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We are wedding and event florists in Austin, TX. Chelsea and I are best friends who decided to start a business. Did we have any business training? No. Did we have any floral training? Nope. Did we have any experience working in the wedding industry? Of course not! We are 100% self-taught. And we are pretty darn proud of what we have built.

Chelsea and I met years 13 years ago when our first-born children were small. We became dedicated friends and confidants. As time went on and more babies were born, we knew we needed more out of our lives. Being stay-at-home moms is hard. Too hard. It felt like we were constantly serving the needs of others, never getting time for ourselves. It was time for our “second act” – meaning it was time for a new start, new careers.

But neither of us had any clue what that would look like, We were open to whatever life brought us. And we got really lucky. Chelsea’s cousin got married, and Chelsea offered to do the wedding flowers as her gift to her cousin. I helped a little. The flowers were a huge success. Chelsea’s cousin happens to be a successful wedding photographer in Central Texas, and she encouraged us to start our own business. She even set up our first photo shoot. We owe everything to her.

Christie Turner Floral Design was born in the Spring of 2019, and we jumped in. We started at the bottom, worked crazy hard, paid our dues again and again, and begin to make a name for ourselves in the Austin Wedding Industry.

What is our brand? What sets us apart from all the other talented florists in the Austin area? We are moms – we are driven, we are organized, we are reliable, we are sensible, we are there for our clients. And we are also best friends – we are fun, we are silly, we are easy to talk to, we want to make the experience of working with us enjoyable. It’s all about the customer experience. Each client is special to us- truly. We will be there on their wedding day, and we understand what an honor that is.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We continually build relationships with others in the wedding industry. Each and every wedding is an opportunity to develop connections with photographers, planners, venues, and all the other vendors involved in a wedding we show up ready to greet others warmly and professionally. We are essentially networking at every wedding we work. And are communicating with these other professionals in the weeks leading up to the wedding and during the weeks following the wedding as photography is distributed and posted on social media. These relationships have built our reputation in the industry.

Weddings are collaborations. We depend on each other. Photographers need good florists to show up. Planners need good florists to show up. Venues need good florists to show up. And we need all of the them to make the magic happen. So we begin to lean on each other and recommend each other. We all want a successful event for our clients and for the growth of our businesses. We support our vendor-friends with our consistent professionalism and kindness. And they offer the same to us.

Any advice for managing a team?

We are exceedingly lucky to have our team of hard-working ladies. I love each of them dearly. Most of the “managing” is handled by me. I try to work just as hard as my team. I do the yucky work too. I “ask” rather than “tell.” If I can offer one of them the night off, I do. I bring them coffee. We go out to movies. I let them know that their kids and families come first – and I mean it.

We could not do what we do without them, They are the key to the whole system. They deserve respect, and they deserve a living wage.

I also give them the opportunity to learn and grow as florists and as businesspeople. I bring them in on decision-making. We are a team and sort things out together.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.christieturnerdesign.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christieturnerdesigns/

Image Credits
Portraits by Katia Forero