We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anne Dickson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anne , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Over the course of the seven years that I’ve operated my own business, I’ve doubled the revenue year over year. That has meant constant and rapid fire growth, continually adapting to needs and demands internally and externally.

The key to success in my experience is hiring great people. I have managed to assemble a team of highly talented women who are pushing the company’s mission and vision forward. I look for people with the right kind of energy. My expectation, though perhaps sounding high, is that people come to work ready to give 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. We are women on the rise! I want us to feel and be inspired by that energy amongst each other as a team, and for our clients to feel it outwardly in the work and soul that we put into our creativity. Being able to effectively problem solve is another core trait that I look for in my team. The floral industry is chaotic by nature. Floral prices change daily and our product is perishable. Bringing clarity, calm and a solution oriented mentality to work is imperative.

So, it’s the incredibly talented and hardworking people that make my company what it is, and allow us to grow.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

After graduating from Denison University, I followed my love of design to New York City, where I was days away from starting a Masters program of Interior Design at Pratt Institute. I had interned in the Marketing Department of Tommy Hilfiger the summer prior, and a full-time position became available. I ended up deferring graduate school and working for Tommy Hilfiger as a Manager of Corporate Communications for two years. I traveled all over the country launching new lines, drafting press releases, pitching media and supporting the marketing team. I eventually left Tommy and took a job at Dolce & Gabbana as a Public Relations Manager. Here I serviced magazine editors, learning how to curate editorial content and hob-knob with some of the most interesting and well-known fashion industry leaders.

Five months after my wedding and five days after my 26th Birthday, my dad died of sudden heart failure. Devastated, my husband Andrew and I moved back to my hometown of Pittsburgh to be close to my mom and escape the grind of New York CIty. We bought a quiet house on the park with a big front porch and settled into a new life together. After a brief stint at a Marketing Agency, I became the Director of Marketing and Development for Propel Schools, a non-profit charter school . My dad had been on the Board of Directors and it was the perfect blend of mission driven work and deep sense of connection for me. I was there for six years, through the birth of my second son.

This is where the flowers come in.

Andrew and I moved to a seven acre farmhouse with our son George (not yet 2) and welcomed our son Foster months later. An idyllic pastoral setting complete with a barn and a tractor. Life looked magical on the outside, but I was deeply lonely and and terrified on the inside. As a mother of two under two, alone in all this new space, with no community and no longer in the professional world that I was so familiar with.

In this way, flowers really found me. At what was possibly the most challenging time for me, I discovered the healing power of nature. Something bigger than myself put me right there, right then. I spent my days with my babies, wandering the garden and the woods, cutting flowers, weeds, branches. I felt alive and awake. I made arrangements and dropped them at the doorsteps of my friends, wanting to share beauty with the people that I love. Friends and family started asking me to put things together for a dinner party, a book club, a loved one. And hence, Fox and the Fleur came into full bloom. Organically, passionately and from a place of purpose.

Today, Fox and the Fleur employees over thirteen women and has two locations in the Pittsburgh region. We offer cut floral design and deliveries, custom wedding and event florals, classes and workshops, holiday decorating, container gardening and home and garden merchandise.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I have a desire to bring elemental beauty into people’s lives. Having flowers at home, whether purchased or cut from the garden, is an essential and accessible luxury. The joy and inspiration that flowers offer have the power to lift spirits and change perspectives. This is the most rewarding aspect of being a creative!

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Keep a sense of humor and bring as much energy to work as possible. A sense of humor has brought my team and I though many tough and uncomfortable situations. Being able to laugh and keep it all in perspective is critical to morale and stamina!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.foxandthefleurdesign.com
• Instagram: @fox.andthefleur

Image Credits
All image credits: Joey Kennedy