Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Norris.
Kate, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am the owner and face behind Foxgloves & Folly. Whilst I’ve always had a yearning for all things green and flowery, I spent rather too many years working as a banking lawyer in London! However, after a spell in LA and undertaking a floristry course with the globally renowned florist, McQueens, I decided to take a chance and pursue my passion for flowers. I spent a couple of years combining both law and floristry but was then ready to take the leap into floristry full time. This, in conjunction with my love of LA, was the beginning of Foxgloves & Folly. We’ve been going for a couple of years now and it has been so exciting to see the business grow – we cross the whole floristry business spectrum, from daily deliveries to weekly flowers for businesses and private residences and from wedding and event flowers to bespoke workshops and flower pop-ups.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We are still relatively new and we are still growing and entrenching our base as a business. For me personally, making the change from law to floristry was a leap of faith really. I really valued my legal career and had the opportunity to work with some great people and on some great deals but I longed to be doing something that also fulfilled my more creative side. Transitioning from being an employee to running my own business, in a completely different field, has been a huge learning curve – it’s lucky that I’m generally a pretty optimistic person! Growing a business from scratch in a new country, without a supportive network of friends and family, has also been very eye-opening and I have learned so much, and I am still learning something new pretty much every day. I really enjoy the challenges and freedom of running my own business, and I see the everyday ups and downs as just part of that. My biggest struggle is taking time out – it is tempting to work 24/7 and when it is your own business, there is always something to be done. But it is really important to make time for yourself – for both your own peace of mind and your family, It’s also good to remember that it is often those moments of downtime which usually spark the most inspiration. Another struggle is knowing what to say yes and no to – as a small business, it is so tempting to say yes to everything that comes your way but sometimes, you need to take a step back and really think about whether something is the right thing for you and your business.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Foxgloves & Folly story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a full-service boutique floristry studio.
In terms of the business, we have an online store offering a range of bouquets and flower arrangements, as well as a range of plants and succulents, and we also provide bespoke arrangements/bouquets. We also provide flowers for all types of events, from an intimate dinner party to a baby shower to a wedding – no matter how big or small! We also provide weekly flowers for both businesses and homes and we have a dedicated corporate and home account focus. We also offer bespoke workshops, whether it be a 1:1 or a workshop for a spot of corporate team building or for a bachelorette party, and pop up flower bars. We are happy to tailor our workshops to your particular requirement and, first and foremost, the aim is always to have fun.
Our overarching style is very natural, loose, free-flowing, asymmetrical and lush with an emphasis on greenery and textures – we would describe it as a ‘refined wildness’! We like our bouquets/arrangements to reflect the movement and placing of flowers in the wild. Our aesthetic is also very much influenced by our London background which gives it a slight edge and we think our style is a little different from that which is more generally seen in LA. We place the utmost importance on using seasonal and locally sourced materials wherever possible. We create arrangements that are beautiful but which appear effortless, each arrangement is bespoke and no two will ever be the same – this is the ethos behind Foxgloves & Folly.
Ultimately, we want to become the go-to florist for people looking for something gorgeous, lush, natural and cool (all mixed up together!), whether that be for bouquets, flowers for their businesses and business events, flowers for their homes, or flowers for those special occasions and life events.
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
Be open and friendly generally, and try to meet people within your particular industry. It is invaluable to have friends within your industry. In the past, the floristry world hasn’t always been a particularly supportive community but this has drastically changed over the last few years and the mantra amongst today’s florists tends to emphasize community over competition, which is great,
Contact Info:
- Website: www.foxglovesandfolly.com
- Phone: 213 705 2240
- Email: kate@foxglovesandfolly.com
- Instagram: @foxglovesandfolly
Image Credit:
MCJ Impressions, Aurelia D’Amore Photography
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