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

Tayleur and Zoe, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

We have a client who has ordered flowers from us regularly since the beginning of our business. He always has a color, theme, or style inspirations for us. He gives us a budget and we take it from there! It has been amazing seeing their relationship grow from doing bi-weekly arrangements, to doing their flowers for their engagement, to their maternity photoshoot. More recently we did their arrangements to welcome their new baby twins! We made arrangements for the nurses, doctors, and everyone involved who helped with what was a difficult delivery. We were honored every time to do so. It’s a beautiful and humbling experience to be able to create unique floral designs for our clients, and also be a witness to such special moments. As they grow, we do too.

Tayleur and Zoe, 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?

Zoe: I’ve been working as a florist for over 8 years. I have since relocated to South of Atlanta, but Tayleur and I met as coworkers at a charming florist in Atlanta back in 2019. I was struggling deeply with mental health for some time and ultimately made an attempt on my life. I was at a very confusing and sad point in my life when I met her. It was right after I came back to work to help with Mother’s Day, when this girl I had never seen before showed me so much kindness. We continued to grow our friendship after both leaving the company due to Covid and me moving to Henry County. We were two girls stuck in quarantine, a bit jaded by the world, and not knowing what was going to happen next, like so many people around the world at the time. In the midst of what felt like a long fever dream now, Tayleur had bigger plans. We both had an affinity for floral design, and a passion to make things better, bring out the beauty in the world. So one day, she asked if I wanted to start a floral business with her. We didn’t know much about starting a business at the time, but we knew we were such close and amazing friends and we loved working together with flowers. I believe that’s what sets us apart from other businesses. We do it together and genuinely enjoy doing our work, and all the hard work that comes with it. It’s rewarding in that we have slowly over the years built a clientele that we are proud of, and a company that started with two young women who have continued to show love and support for one another despite the challenges life has. We are a company based on solid friendship and a whimsical, fun, and unique style.

Tayleur: Hi! Before meeting Zoe, I myself was going through a difficult time in my life. I recently left my job at a grocery store to be a florist, and stopped going to school to further my education in the floral world. I was starting over in a way. I didn’t know what to expect, I just kind of trusted the universe to guide me. Then I met Zoe. It was my first week working at the florist shop when I noticed Zoe working on corsages and boutonnières. I had a good feeling about her. I bothered her all day, talking to her, wanting to know everything about her! On our first meeting haha. We eventually hung out and we just clicked. I call her my muse and mentor. She has a way of describing florals in such a poetic way that I understood. She would explain to me how tall arrangements needed to look like branches reaching out, like hands. It stuck with me. Zoe has helped me grow as a florist. To have confidence in my work and be proud of it, even if I struggled. I see the world in more vivid colors now because of Zoe, and I am incredibly grateful for that. Our friendship and love for all things flowers shows in our work. We love what we do, and we love that we get to create beautiful and unique pieces that tell a story of love and friendship every time.

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

Oh most definitely social media and word of mouth. We are both very lucky to know people who have hired us for weddings, events, and everyday florals. Social media is amazing and has given us the tools to reach a bigger audience, but it has been within our community that we have been able to have new and returning clients. We cannot thank our community enough for always supporting us and our dream to do what we love.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Our saying is “creating floral magic.” and we truly meant it when we decided to put that as our tag line and mission. Not only do we want to create beautiful arrangements, but we want to have that magic that lingers with our clients well after the flowers are delivered. This magic is what drives us to put out our best work every single day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: needle_and_thorn
• Other: Email: [email protected]