Conversations with Victoria Reaves

Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Reaves.

Victoria, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started Victoria’s Joyful Creations in 2017, originally Joyful Creative Events & Production, as an event planning and luxury paper flower design business. Planning events has been far more than just a passion of to me. It is like the ultimate adrenaline rush. I have been planning events both professionally and personally for the past 17 years, when I began pursuing my passion for events by planning parties at my local Boys and Girls Club.

I have an extensive events background planning corporate events and meetings. My experience spans various industries including large non-profit agencies, trade associations, and franchising. In 2019, I decided to make a major change and pivot in a new direction. Because I received such a high demand for florals at events and for interior decorating, I chose to grow the floral side and shut off the event planning. My business has evolved to focus solely on expanding my paper floral design to include new materials and textiles; such as: foam, vinyl, and crepe paper. Flowers have always been a part of my personal identity – in fact, I am known for wearing a different flower in my hair which I started doing in my early 20s – and I am drawn to the intricate design elements of floral creations. Each flower arrangement I create is handcrafted and curated to my customer’s specific requests. Whether it’s a retail display, and interior decorative element, a spectacular social affair or giving a helping hand with concept and design, my goal is to create customized pieces that will last a lifetime!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
By no means has it been an easy road for me. I am a single mother, which includes your run of the mill chores: cooking, cleaning and homework. Before covid-19, I was working a full-time job while fulfilling requests for incoming orders. There was never a day off for me. I struggled with lifestyle balance; money management; fostering solid business relationships; building a business foundation, and properly learning to leverage my social media to market and advertise my business. I have made a lot of mistakes and suffered a lot of setbacks, but it’s those very things that I feel have positioned me to be a success. I don’t take for granted any of the struggles I experienced along the way because they were opportunities for growth. Someone once told me that failure is the pathway to success. If I’m not failing, I’m moving in the wrong direction. When I finally understood what that meant, I was able to get right back up, take notes, learn and move forward. I’m not naive in thinking there won’t be more challenges that lie ahead, but I am ready for them and know what to do.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I design floral decor from different materials, which include: Cardstock Paper, Crepe Paper, Isolon Foam, EVA Foam or Foamiran, and Vinyl. I design interior treatments, photo zone backdrops and floral walls. I also design standing lifelike growth flowers, rose lamps and floral night lights. I am most known for my intricate design work and customization. I don’t just take a flower template and follow youtube and make a design. I make it my own by adding realistic shading or bedazzle it to shine and I even put lighting behind it to make it glow. I most proud of how my artwork has evolved and what I design now compared to three years ago. I didn’t want to just be known for paper flowers because people seem to equate that to just arts and crafts. I wanted to do more.

So, on social media, I started see these crazy large, realistic flowers and realized they were women in Russia. I didn’t let the language barrier stop me from inquiring about how to do these designs. I needed to know. After research and a lot of google translate, material purchases from Russia, I was able to evolve from paper flowers to paper floral design. I feel like what sets me apart from others is my tenacity, passion and my drive to do what I love. As my business evolves, I am realizing there aren’t really many women of color who do what I do to scale in which it is done. It makes me feel unique! My sincerest hope is to inspire young black women and women of color to pursue their creative passions like me.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a firecrackers. My first two loves were dancing and music. Most days, you could find me in front of the tv learning dance routines from Michael Jackson, Aaliyah, N’sync. You name it. As a means to escape, I wrote poetry and songs. It was the best way for me to let out my emotions and recenter when I didn’t have a listening ear or friend to talk to. I talked a lot and got on both my brother’s nerves OFTEN. Or I was singing the words to every single song that came on. I was the girl who had the radio on RECORD/PLAY and PAUSE in case my favorite song on the radio came on so I could record it. Then, I would write every song lyric down so I knew the words verbatim. I was that girl. I was a social butterfly, and I still am. I was very bubbly, happy-go-lucky with an infectious laugh. You can say I was the life of the party. I struck a conversation with just about every person I came in contact with. I could blend in with any group but I was never a part of a particular click. I was always a loyal friend to those who let me in, but I was never committed to any particular group of people. Wasn’t my style.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 818-798-8803
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/victorias_joyful_creations
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/victoriasjoyfulcreations
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/joyfulcreations85

Image Credits
W10