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

Laura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

When I was in high school I had a teacher who always wrote a daily quote on the chalkboard; one that always stuck with me was “I want it said of me by those who know me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow”. This is how I hope to be remembered, as a woman, a wife, a friend, a human, as a person that always succeeds in cultivating kindness and love.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi there, my name is laura richards, i started Flaura in 2019. My husband and i were building a house and i wanted new fresh wall art. My vision was pressed florals in wooden frames. I searched Etsy for what i wanted and i found it, 2 georgeous frames filled with a variety of pressed flowers coming all the way from Ireland. I paid as much for shipping and customs as i did for my pieces. When they arrived i was in love, but also discovered that i probably could have made them myself. I bought my first box of resin and various vessels for flowers and got to work. I got into my first art show and palafox farmers market in the beginning of 2020. Both events never happened for me because of Covid. I then had a lot of time to perfect my work. When the world opened back up my first event was gallery night pensacola. I went with small framed pictures with real dried and pressed flowers and keychains. Today i have rings, earrings, necklaces, bookmarks, wall art, coasters, bottle openers and more. My jewelry is now for sale in 3 shops around town. I expanded Flaura by becoming the first local person to preserve bridal bouqets. I love what i do. I love to bring others own visions into a real tangible piece of work that they can display and remember their big day every time they see it. Every time a clients eyes light up at seeing their preserved bouqet i feel joy. I constantly look for new ways to improve my craft and i am not afraid to fail. I have a drawer full of failed attempts and all it does is remind me of how far i have come, on my own, with no guidance or tutelage from anyone. I did this. I will continue to do this. I will grow and thrive.

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

Word of mouth. A friend of a friend. Though social media is no doubt incredibly effective in getting my business out there, its when a bride tells a soon to be bride that i created them a beautiful and affordable piece that really works for me. It takes the work and the guessing out of it. I put out a consistently good product, made with love, and i like to think it shows.

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

Whats done is not always done with resin. There are certain things that you can not come back from when pouring resin, but where there is a will there is a way some cases. Early on in my work i was creating a bridal piece and definately thought i knew everything about resin at this point. So i paid no mind to the directions of a new resin that i was working with. Well let me tell you that directions for resin are not just a suggestion they are an absolute. I made what was sure to be my most beautiful piece to date. I had already done my first pour and was so proud of how it was turning out. Now for the second pour, Done. Went to handle some chores around the house. Came back and straight up thought there was an intruder in my home messing with my work. It looked as if someone had set fire to it and it had buckled. So upon reading the instructions i learned that this particular resin was not deep pour and that due to the amount i poured it flash cured and was ruined. I cried and cried. How was i going to tell this bride what had happened to her bouqet. I learned that resin can be sanded. Luckily the first pour was deep enough that it encased the flowers and the second pour was just to fill the rest of the mold. So i went and bought an orbital sander and spent what felt like an eternity sanding off all of the bad resin. I was then able to pour a top coat and no one was the wiser ( until now ) lol. As i said before i didnt have a teacher or a mentor. Everything i had done was self taught, trial and error. There was not proverbial hand book that illustrated how to get out of this situation. So i felt very proud that i had overcome what could have been a really awful thing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: flaurabylaurarichards/insta
• Facebook: flaurabylaurarichards/facebook