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

Sofia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

The previous job I worked at was an awesome store that encompassed coffee, flowers, and amazing gift goodies! I was drawn to this shop because of how they layered each element of their store into one cohesive experience. It was during covid that I moved home and began looking for jobs and was intrigued to learn more about two of my favorite things: flowers and coffee! Working here really helped develop my skillset behind these passions and launched my floral career in many ways I never thought were possible. In addition to learning how to really dive deeper into multiple areas at once, this job taught me my most important lesson that has helped me so much in my business today- when you truly love and care about what you are doing, others will love and care too. As simple as this concept may seem, it propelled the growth of my own business. Each day I love and appreciate all that I do when designing bouquets and arrangements, or adding florals to different events and occasions, and in return I feel the gratitude from my clientele. This keeps me motivated and excited to continue and further develop my floral journey with my community.

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 am the florist behind Sofaisy Designs. With Sofaisy Designs, I create floral bouquets and arrangements at my studio in sunny Venice, California, at the shop my family and I own, The Canal Market. I create custom arrangements and little grab ‘n go bouquets for the neighborhood and other shoppers. I also design the florals for events and weddings and any other occasion flowers might be in need for. I love being the florist that serves both the community that supports my family and I’s lovely market, and the community that I too am a part of. Flowers really brighten someone’s day and can really add a lot to special occasions. That’s why I love what I do! If I can make someone’s day just a little bit better with my floral designs, than that in turn makes my day that much better.

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

My most pivotal moment in life thus far is truly what launched my florist career. It began during the beginning of Covid, when I had to put a huge pause, or what I thought was a pause, on my professional ballet career. All theaters across the world were shut down for an unknowing amount of time, along with many other businesses. I moved back home and the longer time went on, the more I realized that my other passion of flowers were superseding my passion for ballet. I started to freelance for other florists as a way to just keep busy until the dance world began to come back to life, but the more and more time that pressed on the more I fell in love with the world of flowers! I found a way to keep my love for dance that I will always have alive and moving, while pursuing my floral career more full time. And it has been the scariest yet best decision I have made in my life, one that I will never look back on.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partners I have known my whole entire life- my family! I feel so fortunate to be in business with my dad and sister and mom, as they have always and will always be my number one support system. We decided to buy, what is now The Canal Market in Venice, as my floral career was expanding and I needed more space to design and create (my sister’s patio was not quite cutting it anymore) and to share our love for wine, good coffee, and great community to share it with. Between us all, we each have our own little something special that makes up The Canal Market and I can’t think of a better team to continue to develop our shop with than my wonderful family. They help support me and my floral career in so many ways and it is such an exciting time to continue to nurture each one of our passions in the outlet of our shop.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thecanalmarket.com/sofaisydesigns
• Instagram: @sofaisydesigns
• Other: https://www.thecanalmarket.com/

Image Credits
Samantha Dean Hannah Sloan