We recently connected with Katie Estrada and have shared our conversation below.

Katie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I was growing up, I had the incredible privilege of traveling to and living in France. I got to see iconic works of art, incredible architecture and amazing gardens. We stayed in Paris most of the time but on occasion, we got to travel across the countryside to see different historical sites. I remember once traveling to a medieval castle. It was a large, cold building made of rough grey stones. We toured the various rooms, halls, towers and kitchens. The last stop on our tour of the building was in the dungeon. Yes, it was a real dungeon. I was certain we would see chains, cells and torture devices. Instead, we saw a gorgeous tapestry. It depicted a woman and a Unicorn. There were five panels, each exploring the five senses. The images were beautiful and charming. I remember being impressed at how detailed they were for being hand made. They were incredibly preserved and made a lasting impression. At the end of the tour, we stopped in the gift shop. My parents bought me a bunny. It was modeled after the bunnies seen in the tapestry. I slept with that bunny every night for years. It was my absolute favorite souvenir from those trips. I still have it to this day.

When I decided to start my business, I wanted to pay tribute to my upbringing. Traveling to Europe deeply influenced me and gave me the courage to pursue a career as a creative. I landed on “Tapestry Floral” as the name of my business. My logo depicts the same bunny I loved and still love so much. My business name and logo remind me of those trips, the beautiful memories made and the essence of who I am today.

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?

I began my journey in floral design working in the retail space. I learned the basics of flower care and design during my time there. I always longed for the delicate, precious blooms that are used in wedding work, I started offering my design skills to family and friends for their weddings. After my first few weddings, I was completely hooked. I now exclusively work on the event side of floral design. I primarily have wedding clients, but will occasionally provide my services for other types of events.

My design style is ever changing and evolving. I love organic, wispy designs. I am always chasing down the most unique varieties and I always try to include as much texture in my work as possible. I prefer a minimalist approach when it comes to handheld bouquets, but I am a maximalist when it comes to decor. I strive to provide my clients with custom designs tailored to their vision.

I am a mother to a very passionate ocean enthusiast (he’s 5). As a result, and as a concerned citizen, I do my best to provide sustainably minded floristry to my clients. In doing so, I source as many blooms as I can from local flower farms. This provides a gathered, seasonal feeling to my work which I have come to adore. In addition to sourcing product locally, I do my best to use vessels and water sources that can be re-used or composted. I see that my industry is following this trend and I hope to be able to be 100% green in my practices one day!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I have the incredible privilege of being a part of the florist community in my state. I have met some absolutely incredible designers who also happen to be wonderful humans. I have found that networking with other florists and wedding vendors has been a powerful source of referrals that turn into clients. A glowing recommendation is a powerful thing when it comes to something as personal as a wedding.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My first year in business I was fortunate enough to book a high-end luxury wedding at a ski resort. It was definitely the biggest project I had ever tackled on my own. I hired help, rented a studio with a walk-in cooler and had carefully pre-ordered specialty flowers. My team and I finished all the designs early the day before the wedding and I went to bed excited for the next day. I woke to a frantic call from the studio owner. The cooler temperature had dropped to 13 degrees fahrenheit. A far cry from the ideal 40 degrees for flowers. Everything had frozen solid. The studio owner and my assistant got to work pulling blocks of ice with flowers from vessels, watching the blooms turn black the minute they began to warm up. Nothing was salvageable. I drove to the nearest wholesale market and began pulling as many bunches in the required color pallet to replace what had been lost. The studio owner called her team and everyone pulled together an entire wedding in a a few hours. We made it to the venue on-time and got everything set up.

By some miracle, the new designs were even better than the ones from the day before. The studio owner graciously covered the cost of her teams’ wages. My flower wholesale rep heard what had happened and discounted the product by 50%. I could not have done what we did without the amazing community of florists and flower professionals behind me. It was a gargantuan effort, and the bride was none the wiser.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @tapestryfloral_

Image Credits
Photos: Lexie Bills Model: Addi Beckman