We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Wurst Finkes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lauren thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?

Oddly enough, my dad and his 3 siblings all have their own family businesses. My dad Eric, and his younger brother David run a film composing studio, Wurst Brothers Music in Southern California. His older brother Paul ran a business that served adults with developmental disabilities living in their own homes called Options in Supported Living in Sacramento. And his younger sister Anne and her husband Pete run Pete Mueller Performance Group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Of these, only Anne and Pete have a child who has joined the family business! I think growing up close with all of my cousins it seemed far more normal to me to have parents who set their own work schedules and were their own bosses. As an adult, I realize the luxury, and challenge, of that. I think we all were able to spend greater quality time with our parents, and I think all of our parents were good about not pressuring us into continuing on the businesses they started. I think it also lent itself well to many of us being entrepreneurs ourselves. Of all of us cousins, nearly half of us have started our own businesses. So while I’m certain my children will spend plenty of time playing with and around flowers, I hope instead of feeling in any way pressured to follow in my footsteps they instead know to press into their passions and work hard towards their dreams

Lauren, 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?

My name is Lauren Wurst Finkes and I am the dried and pressed flower artist and freelance florist behind Paper Daisy Florals!

Paper Daisy Florals started out as a nothing more than a desire to play with flowers, and this business came about by a leap of faith and a lot of hard (and fun) work.

I was born and raised in southern California, now living on the central coast of California with my husband and daughter. With an 8 year career in architecture, designing with flowers started as a means of play and creative outlet for me. I started growing and arranging my own flowers before freelancing with a wonderful farmer-florist in Florida on weekends. Eventually, I worked a few weddings on my own and started to create everlasting wreaths and pressed floral art as keepsake gifts for friends and family. In late 2023, I got pregnant with my sweet girlie pop. Not long after, I decided to leave architecture behind for two reasons: to be home with her, and to go all in and turn my growing hobby into a full-fledged business!

I love to the freedom to play with fresh and dried flowers alike – from designing whimsy, romantic floral arrangements and installations, to handcrafting everlasting wreaths and pressed floral art that is able to be enjoyed for years to come. I hope my story and these flowers bring you as much joy as they’ve brought me.

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

My local community and friends of friends are truly how I find the best connections and new clientele. And truthfully, I love to know that someone trusts me and my art enough to recommend it to other friends, family and sometimes even strangers.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

So much of what I do is by hand! Sure I sometimes buy wreath bases and twine and other general supplies, but the art and all the wood frames and floral presses I used are designed in house. I have always considered myself lucky to be creative, but I think architecture school honed my abilities to better understand composition and design. Learning to create dried floral wreaths just came down to me being bored one afternoon and wanting to make a wreath for my front door – I sat down, grabbed some dried plants and twine, and set to work making mini bunches that I then attached to the wreath base with more twine. Since starting, I’ve also looked to other dried wreath artists to see if they have any favorite tips or tricks but mostly have stuck with my original method. Pressed florals are more of the same, mostly experimental – trying one way and hoping it works, if not trying something new. I also lucked out in having a handy husband who builds all of my floral presses and frames for my pressed floral art from various hardwoods in our small garage turned make-shift wood shop.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://paperdaisyflorals.com
• Instagram: paperdaisyflorals