We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Annie Pertes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Annie below.

Annie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I used to be a teacher, but with a passion for summer veggie gardens. People would be blown away when they peaked out at my fire escape in Brooklyn to overflowing tomatoes, herbs, kale. I even grew snow peas once! One day a friend of mine approached me- she was starting a floral and landscape design business and wondered if I would be the grower. A few months in she needed help with a few floral installations. We would wake at the crack of dawn. Crawl our way to the flower district. Buy as many bunches as our four hands could carry on the subway to her installation sites. (Oh I’m reliving it now! One was in grand central and it was such a pain to get the huge branches in there.) But I loved it. I loved playing with shapes and colors. I loved telling little flower stories. I just really missed having my hands in the dirt. A few years in, circumstances moved my husband and I to Bucks County. We crowded into my Mother In Law’s in-law Suite with our two year old and swore to save up enough money to financially recover from a decade of living in Brooklyn. Then came March 2020. I found myself (along with everyone else) very much at home. I begged my husband to help me build a little garden in the backyard. I just wanted to grow a few flowers and veggies. By the end of that growing season I was hooked. I quit my teaching job and promised up and down that I would find a way to earn money while loving what I do. I doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled the size of that little garden and applied for the local farmer’s market. That first year of growing flowers for production was insane! I essentially had no idea what I was doing and began sleeping, eating, drinking cut flower knowledge to try to catch up to the thousands of plants I had put in the ground. Growing for sale is a whole different ball game. A few people asked if I could help with a micro wedding or a baby shower. What I found was this renewed sense of appreciation for designing. I’m honestly not sure if I even liked it as much when I was a “successful NYC florist” as I do now. As for what I’ve had to figure out, literally everything and now with so much more on my plate!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

As a farmer and designer I focus on using hyper local product as much as possible. I cherish in supporting other hard working farmers when I haven’t grown a specific product myself. I’m a full scale farmer and florist. Which means I own and operate a working flower farm (that beyond anyone’s wildest dreams is not actually very pretty because I cut everything that blooms!) and design for up to 25 weddings a year. I bring a distinctive style to all of my work. I love to juxtapose the wild and curated. Each of my designs tells an authentic and unique color story. I love to incorporate unusual varieties, surprising elements, and wispy pieces. (Always wispy pieces). I pride myself in continuing to provide clients with passionately designed flowers that I often saw all the way from seed to stem. I hope to provide each client with a one of a kind experience that’s been tailored just for them.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Instagram, instagram, instagram. Although people will warn you that there’s no such thing as becoming instagram famous anymore, (LOL the things people say!) I’ve almost exclusively grown my business through social media. To be honest, I would have never have thought that I would be using social media the way I do now. Typically, you’ll hear me complaining about creating content or that I HAVE to post today etc etc. But, it’s truly had a positive impact in many ways. Often, creating content ends up becoming a creative outlet for me. I try to think outside the box and make a new design or show an aspect of my job that people wouldn’t necessarily ever think of. I also find it a great place to share my message and the the core of my brand. I’ve found that when I’m my most authentic self- the feedback is always so positive. I think almost every event I’ve booked is either through social media or referral.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

This journey is both personal and professional, so bear with me. At the age of 20 my mother died of a rare cancer. It was a terrible time for our unsuspecting family and we all reeled in different ways. I flopped about aimlessly and suddenly became obsessed with security, safety something to ground me. And for some crazy reason I decided to become a teacher! (I did like kids, still do) 90% of my 8 years spent teaching was pretty brutal, but I stuck to it. For what real reason I can’t tell you other then that when everyone around you doesn’t really like their job either you may not think you need a change. Even to this day, I see my extremely successful dearest friends, miserable. As the years went on I experienced endless accounts of tragedy in my family that I don’t think we need to go over in detail, but suffice to say the saying “life is short” became so viscerally true I could hardly stand another moment. I experienced losses so profound I had no choice but to acknowledge my mortality. It’s insane how something so dark can force us to realize the most important life lessons. It was so obvious to me instantly. I deserve to be happy. So here I am, three years in. I’ve never ever been so happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.wildbirdflowers.com
• Instagram: @wildbird_flowers

Image Credits
Kristin Moore Photo Taylor Cotilla Photography