Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Sullivan
Hi Brittany, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Oh my! Where do I start? The short answer would be my mom was a florist and I started filling water tubes and stripping roses at a very young age in an old school flower shop in New Jersey. But the longer answer is that I started my professional career at a company called Fuse TV after I graduated film school. I worked in the music + talent department and was responsible for all the music video submissions and programming those videos on the channel (there was also a lot of fun celebrity encounters but I’ll save that for another time). I was there for 4 years but ultimately I wanted to get back into production. Once I realized that no longer filled my cup I managed a friend’s hair salon in Williamsburg *just* until I figured out what I wanted to do with myself. Four years later….I started putting together small arrangements with bodega flowers for the stylists’ stations. I really enjoyed doing this and it gave my mom and I a fun thing to talk about as I’d constantly be sending her photos of these and asking her what the names of flowers were. I found a fullment in it that I hadn’t experienced since high school when I got into filmmaking. From there I did the professional program at FlowerSchool NY, moved to Portland, ME for a hot minute and worked on a flower farm and retail shops. Ultimately, I moved back to Brooklyn, had a baby and started Grace and Grit Flowers.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting a business 6 months after having a baby was definitely a challenge. Lucy was not fond of sleeping through the night for a REALLY long time. Installing weddings on (maybe) 4 hours of sleep and then going back in the middle of the night to break them down was a struggle that I only got through with the adrenaline of being excited about what I was doing. It’s always been a dream of mine to be my own boss but it took me a while to figure out what I wanted that business to be. For the first couple years it was the typical struggle but then 2020 hit and well, we all know what happened then. Cue Ross Gellar yelling “PIVOT!”
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
After almost ten years as a floral designer I think I’m finally settled in and comfortable with the “alternative gothy florist” some like to call me (though I do ALL types of designs, this type just speaks to how I am as a person). Instagram was such a great tool when I first started in the industry because it really let me explore what people were putting out there but ultimately none of it really spoke to me. It was all “light and airy”. And I am…not. My personal chosen palettes tend to be moody, my business motto is “let’s get weird” and I’m an indoor kid (please don’t ask me to go on a hike). I truly didn’t know where I fit in in this industry until I was introduced to Asrai Garden (shout out to founder, Elizabeth Cronin!), a really wonderful shop in Chicago that just closed after 25 very successful years in business. I saw what she was doing and realized I could really just lean into who I was and stop pretending to design in a way that I thought would attract the most people. Instead I saw the importance of developing my own style in a way that honored just doing what *I* wanted to do and being comfortable with the notion that I’m not for everyone. Collaborating with similar folks like True Hand Society in Philadelphia who did my branding really helped set me apart from the getgo. And while I’m proud to have honed in on my style I’m also really proud to have developed a business that empowers it’s staff to do the same. I work with a very wonderful team of freelance designers who each bring their own flair where I give them the materials, tell them what the piece should feel like and then say “have fun with it”. There are so many times where they’ve taken a little bit of my breath away with what they wind up creating!
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What a loaded question! I moved here in 2001 after growing up in North Jersey so I’m proud to call myself a New Yorker. But MAN does this city really make you work for it. I have had a few conversations with folks looking to move here to work in the flower business and I always say “if you can navigate it here you can do it literally anywhere else”. I didn’t know how easy I had it working weddings in Maine where everything is on the water, parking is plentiful, venues give you like, a decade to set up and a week to breakdown and the end of every install ends with a trip to an ice cream shop. Coming from the film industry I excel in logistics so it hasn’t been as challenging as it could be but wow do we put up with a lot here trying to run a small business! This city is just not kind or accommodating to us. Ask anyone who’s gotten a $100 ticket for double parking on 28th street just trying to load their flowers into their car. Other than that, IT’S THE GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD – FIGHT ME!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.graceandgritflowers.com
- Instagram: @graceandgritflowers
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/graceandgritflowers/
