We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brittany Anderson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brittany , appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Brittany , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
You may be surprised to know I had a very unconventional start in the floral world. I never intended on starting a flower business or becoming a florist! Amid a pandemic, quietly tucked away at home my ideas for West & Rock organically bloomed out of the most sacred of places for me; and my deep love for the West Coast of Florida and SoCal became the growing pot for my business and floral inspirations. I just never knew I had the courage to fulfill that dream!
One of the biggest driving forces was pursuing my vision with intention, building West & Rock with a desire to create a space to give back directly to outreach the community. With permission from our clients, any leftover florals are donated to organizations and non-profits that accept flower donations. It always cheers them up, and is such a thoughtful way to give back with such a short life-span of cut flowers.
I’d have to say I am most proud of being a completely self-taught florist and jumping into an industry in 2020 as a new vendor that no one had heard of. Thankfully I already had extensive knowledge in color theory from years in the beauty industry, I was motivated to learn as much as I could about the floral industry, flower varieties and all the other floral business needs. I took so many masterclasses and watched a lot of tutorials from renowned florists. That’s how I have learned everything I know today, it’s carried me and my business to a place I never would have imagined. I am so grateful!
Being set apart can be challenging in a vast industry, we have so many talented florists in our area, but it can be done. We work with a range of clients from all walks of life while focusing on weddings and milestone events, with a priority to our couples getting married. Weddings currently carry about 90% of my business, they all have such beautiful love stories and connecting with them is such a privilege, plus they’re so much fun to design for! My husband and I are celebrating 18 years of marriage this year, so I deeply resonate with our couples and fully believe in marriage. I want their wedding day to be one they will remember for a lifetime.
As the founder and lead floral artist, I value quality over quantity and only take on a limited number of events per year. I want our couples and clients to experience a beautiful, fun, and seamless floral journey. I strive to create intentional events and floral arrangements that are refined and unique to our clients, no two events are ever alike. Their reveal day is by far one of the best days for our team! It’s a place we get to see all of the hard work finally come together creating their floral dreams and lasting memories that will forever be an unforgettable experience for them.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
It’s so rewarding to be able to create the life and freedom I truly want as a wife, a mother and a business owner. My business was intended to make a difference while celebrating milestone moments; which is the essence of what life is all about.
My family comes first and is a continued driving force. It allows me to be intentional with my days and plan my life around the things that bring us the most joy. I’m incredibly proud of the floral business I have built in a very short few years, from what started as a solo-entrepreneur to building a team I can support, but also supports me. I couldn’t do it without them!
As I close out the final year in my 30’s I look forward to what a new season in life and the business looks like. Know yourself, be yourself – personally and artistically. Carving out a career in a creative industry requires artistic perspective, technical skill and an entrepreneurial spirit with a lot of gut to keep it moving. There are a lot of risks, so much discipline and unseen work, but not without an immense reward I created from a dream. I want to inspire other creatives and dreamers to live their best life because it’s entirely possible and never too late to start your creative venture!
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Community is everything!
As a busy wife and mom, it can be tough to find the time to build a community while running your business. There’s a lot of gatekeeping in the floral industry, in general, and some information is not easily available online. I found that the community can be hard to come by, but thankfully in today’s world of social media, there is more information viewable across the board.
As my success has grown, I promised myself that I would always be welcoming and giving to our industry and always value community, I wholeheartedly believe that we all can learn something from each other. I’ve been very fortunate enough to find that community of florists, fellow wedding vendors and even clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.westandrock.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westandrockdesigns/
Image Credits
Norma Garcia Photography Bianca Chevallier Photo Neoperspectives Jinny K. Photo Sam Copland Photo TRK Photography