We were lucky to catch up with Priscilla Rivera-fields recently and have shared our conversation below.

Priscilla, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Often the greatest growth and the biggest wins come right after a defeat. Other times the failure serves as a lesson that’s helpful later in your journey. We’d appreciate if you could open up about a time you’ve failed.

As a floral preservationist, I have failed and given up, years prior to actually trying again. Many people think they can watch a YouTube video and mock the details of preservation for flowers, but it takes failing multiple times, before understanding the method.
In 2020, I had attempted to learn how to do floral preservations, but quickly gave up. It is an expensive hobby, that I didn’t have the patience, at the time, to learn. Fast forward to 2022, when I married my husband(Robert); he seen the wedding bouquet preservation I had an artist create for me. I mentioned, “this was what I attempted to learn, but gave up.” Robert gave me the encouragement to try again because he knew I could do it, when I had given up the first time. With lots of practice and patience, I was finally able to take my first client in October 2023. A Touch of Life Preservations has since grown full of clients that trust my work. I am grateful for all the opportunities I have been given and all of the vendors I’ve had the opportunity to work with.

Priscilla, 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?

I am an extremely crafty person with many hobbies. In the past, I would see a craft and attempt to DIY the craft, in my free time. I stumbled upon a photo of a floral preservation, that peaked my interest in 2020, during the COVID shutdown. I had no intention of attempting to start a business, at the time, nor did I ever believe two years later, the thought of preservations would come up again. Once I attempted the preservation in 2020 on flowers I was given from my now husband(Robert), I created a mess and quickly gave up. It was a short lived DIY that i immediately told myself didn’t work. I didn’t think, in 2022 my husband would encourage me to try again. He is my biggest supporter and how I found myself back in the industry with a business.

I believe what sets me apart from others is being ambitious enough to try new projects. The world has trends and if you do not follow the new trends, eventually the business will slow down. People have different tastes and I want to accommodate as many of their visions as I can. It gets me out of my comfort zone and allows me to bring out my creativity side. I am most proud of the fact that I have built this business from the ground up and want to continue to build on it. There are many obstacles that I am still learning to get through, but with time, I am gradually progressing.

I am most proud of the pieces I create for clients. These pieces are extremely sentimental, whether it is a memorial, bouquet, or just because piece. Each piece has a tremendous amount of time and attention from me. A Touch of Life Preservations has a vision to make sure our clients are able to love and cherish their piece(s) forever.

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

The best source of new clients for me has been by word of mouth. I take pride in only accepting a small amount of clients a month, as A Touch of Life Preservations, is currently a side business for me. I treat each piece as if it were my own and want clients to love them forever. I have gotten many clients by word of mouth, which not only makes me proud, but encourages me to want to branch out to different products over time. I am thankful for all of the trusted clients who have allowed me to create beautiful piece(s) they can cherish forever.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Building my reputation in the market was extremely difficult. I made sure I was completely ready to take on a clients wedding bouquets, before accepting my first order. Even though I waited a year before my first order, many brides are afraid to trust someone with such a sentimental item they had in their wedding. My prices were “too good to be true,” but my intention was to pay my dues to get my foot in the door and earn trust within the wedding industry. Once I was able to book my first few orders and prove to clients I was trust worthy, I was able to create a reputation within the wedding industry. This led into doing memorial piece(s), along with just because piece(s). No matter what the situation is, all flowers are treated the same when creating our clients final vision.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atouchoflifepreservations/profilecard/?igsh=YjVqdXdrdzN4NGFt
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/uMnGjdbjGtLNf8sq/?mibextid=kFxxJD