Life & Work with Chelsea Cheung of Los Feliz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Cheung.

Hi Chelsea, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I think like most florists, I happened to serendipitously stumble upon it – you don’t really find many people saying, ‘I want to be a florist when I grow up’. I lost my software engineering job (I was an engineer for my whole professional career prior to floristry), but I knew deep in my gut for years that wasn’t the path for me. So, I took advantage of this untethered time to explore different forms of creativity. It was incredibly terrifying, because for the first time in my life, I didn’t have the slightest inkling of what was next for me. I guess the only thing I was sure of was that it wasn’t going to be engineering. I referred to this time as me just ‘floating in the abyss’ a lot.
I spent that year of unemployment exploring: ceramics, oil painting, recipe developing, hosting, dancing, and more. And then as I just about reached my one year mark of ‘floating in the abyss’, at the top of Spring, I found myself in my backyard with my good friend trying our best to make an ikebana arrangement.
I loved going to the flower market every now and then to attempt to make arrangements for my space, and making amateur bouquets/arrangements was my favorite way to show love to my friends for their birthdays. As we were playing around I said to her ‘This would be so fun if I could do this for a living’ in and she responded ‘Well, you could…’ and that was when the seed first got planted. I kind of just jumped straight into it.. I experimented with my own personal style, reached out to folks in the industry, and started to share my work online (truly the scariest, haha). I really didn’t have a game plan – I just went off the momentum of my curiosity and excitement.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not, but I would say most of my struggles are self-inflicted and not from any bad experiences, so for that I’m so grateful! If I could pick the biggest struggle, I would definitely say it’s my constant wrestling with finding my artistic voice. I’m regularly asking myself with my work ‘does this best represent me?’. Being in such a thriving city like LA where it’s filled with endless creative talent, it’s easy to feel so small. But truly, I do my best work when I tune out all the noise and go with my intuition.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a floral designer who specializes in experimental and thoughtful designs for events and everything in between. My work centers around form and texture, honoring what’s in season and finding ways to show respect to each stem. Tactile art forms like floristry feel deeply connected to earth and nature, and I love using that to tell a story and ground others through it.
I think the most obvious answer would be that I’m proud of all of the beautiful work I’ve created, but beyond that, I’m so proud of all the meaningful connections I’ve made through this journey, and the ability to make people feel with my art.
I’m so deeply proud that I was able to foster my relationship with this medium into what it is now. I love taking a step back from time to time to look at Gentle Offerings and be like ‘Wow, I did that?’. My past software engineer self would have never been able to comprehend how.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
I think going back to my answer about my struggles, my biggest advice is to create from within. The more connected you are to yourself, the stronger your intuition is, and I think that’ll show through your work.
As artists, we are so incredibly critical of our work – I overanalyze so much, even the emails I send. It can be so mentally taxing. There’s a fine line between working with intention and slipping into perfectionism that leaves you depleted.
It’s important to stay rooted in the joy of creating, because that will remind you that it doesn’t always have to feel so intense. Especially when you’re just starting out, everything will feel so novel and exciting (at least I hope so!). And as your business grows, there will be not-so-fun things that come with it, as it’s a job after all – but I implore you to remember and hold onto that excitement when you cross these not-so-fun bridges.

Pricing:

• Delivery arrangements starting at $215
• Full service wedding minimum $7,000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gentleofferings.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gentleofferings