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

Keturah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the toughest things about entrepreneurship is that there is almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

My business is based on sourcing locally grown flowers from local farms. I knew before day 1 that was a cornerstone of my brand. What I did NOT understand was the fleeting and unpredictable nature of Mother Nature. She’s fickle. I can look at last year’s availability for the same week and yet completely different flowers are available this year.

The last & first frost dates of the year can vary by a month, skewing the growing season a month in either direction. It makes planning a bit more difficult, because I can hope for a certain flower, but yet, before each wedding, about 2 weeks out, I’m texting and emailing my farms and waiting to see what’s available. Depending on their answer, it could mean rebuilding my design ‘recipes’ from the ground up.

I’ve learned to plan for my designs in loose terms of color and type of flower, rather than specific variety. It’s much easier to switch gears. For example, I used to say, I need a white sunflower for this bouquet. Now, I say, I need a large white focal flower, so if the sunflowers aren’t available, maybe a dahlia is instead and it’s easier to wrap my brain around that switch.

Not getting too hung up on the exact variety I was hoping for or clinging too tightly to my original idea has allowed my art to grow and change and I end up creating designs I’m truly proud of.

Keturah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a floral designer. I was introduced to floral design when my sister-in-law started growing cut flowers. I started buying flowers from her for family parties and events and discovered I LOVED playing around with them. Another sister-in-law got married and asked me to do her centerpieces and arbor for her elopement. I literally asked “why would you ask me to do this?” I enjoyed it so much, it was hard and I didn’t know what I was doing, but I fell in love.

Then, I started looking at floral installations on Pinterest and going, I think I could do this. I spent about a year thinking and praying about the idea. At one point, I mentioned it to my husband and he was ambivalent, so I laid the idea down, but it didn’t go away. About 3 months after that, I went back to my husband and this time, he was enthusiastic, so I DOVE IN.

I read every book on floral design the library had, I watched every video I could find on youtube, I started following florists, I spent HOURS for several months consuming every bit of content I could find. I found a wholesaler that sold to the public and I started buying $30 of flowers every few weeks to practice. We had NO money to invest, so I foraged flowers by the road and in our neighborhood. I watched and practiced and practiced.

A family member gave me the idea to look in bridal groups on Facebook and offer to design a few weddings for the cost of flowers. That was the true jumping-off point of my business. 1 bride trusted me to do it and I pulled it off. This was at the tail end of the pandemic, so weddings were being pushed off and while I was planning to do 3, it turned out that only 1 of the 3 weddings happened. But, it was enough.

The trust of that bride and the welcoming community of local farmers were what got me through those initial months of starting my business. It also solidified my determination to make this work and to run this business the way I want to, focusing on sustainable mechanics and locally sourced flowers.

I design in a whimsical, garden-gathered style. Clients say that my floral designs make them feel like they are in a fairy tale. And that’s exactly what I hope they feel. I spend a lot of time getting to know my clients and their story, what their likes and dislikes are. My goal is to add a floral element that enhances their fairy tale because everyone’s love story is a fairy tale, whether it’s traditional or not.

Each wedding is a unique work of art. I take inspiration from other’s work, but I don’t copy their work or my own. You’ll see similarities throughout my body of work, but you’ll also see evolution, because I’m always learning and tweaking. You’ll also see similarities through seasons, my work is directly inspired by the season we are in.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

This was tricky! I pivoted from essentially a mommy blog into floral design. I’ve always been vulnerable on my social media. People who follow me know that I’m a real person, with real struggles. That has carried through pivoting into a business based social media.

I invested in a social media marketing course from The Heart University. I highly recommend it. It helped me know how to identity who my ideal client is and how to share from that perspective.

I don’t have a large social media following, but I do have an extremely loyal and engaged following. My potential clients start following prior to their consults and continue following because we become friends, even when they don’t sign with me.

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

The absolute best way to find clients as a floral designer is to find photographers and wedding planners and do everything you can to make them like you. Participate in styled shoots and over-deliver. I have several wedding planners and photographers who refer to me and their referrals make up about 75% of my business. I treat them really well and I do everything I can to ensure a positive client experience!

Just a note, it probably won’t be your first styled shoot that you make these kinds of good connections, in fact, my second styled shoot was an epic disaster. But, I encourage you to keep trying, get a styled shoot contract, build your portfolio, and maintain the good connections!

My best planner friend and I met because we were both booked for the same wedding and it ended up being such a great connection!

Contact Info:

• Website: onelastavocado.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/onelastavocadofloraldesign
• Facebook: facebook.com/onelastavocado

Image Credits
Photography by Jo Remy Photography Boheme Bridal and Boudoir Maggie Martin Photography Carly Rose Photography