Conversations with Ana Rosas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Rosas.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Flowers have always been a part of my life, but it wasn´t until I started working in my mother´s flower shop, back in 1998, that I paid close attention to the magic flowers bring to people´s lives. I never thought I would become a flower designer, I was working behind the scenes in sales and management, but one day, flowers called me and I began to play around with them putting into practice all that I had learned from watching my mother. I immediately felt the connection and have not to stop creating with them.

I worked at the flower shop for 12 years, being a part of so many people´s special moments, and watching the joy flowers brought into so many. It was back then that I began to wonder why most people thought flowers were only for special occasions and not part of their everyday life. Who wouldn`t want to have all that beauty in their lives. And that is when I began to give flower arranging workshops. I was on a mission to teach my community how doable and affordable it was to bring the magic of flowers to your home. Those workshops were a huge success, and they became more of a therapeutic place for my students to go and lose themselves in the world and flowers in my studio and then enjoy their creations at home. I was posting our fun at the studio on social media and that is when people from all over the world started writing me to say they wish they could come to my workshops, and that is how my youtube channel began in 2015.

A lot has happened since then, I keep sharing the magic, I´ve been invited to give a TedXTalk on the benefits of flowers, and this next spring, I will be a part of Bloom TV, the first network about all things flowers.

My mission is still the same, only that it has grown to a bigger audience. I promote the wellbeing flowers bring to our lives and I would like to inspire as many persons as possible to give flowers the opportunity to enter their lives.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. The biggest struggles are that most people believe flowers are expensive, that they don´t last long enough and that you need to be very creative to arrange them. But once I have been able to inspire others to do it and try it, the testimonials I´ve received are endless. Flowers have not only been able to bring joy to so many in depression, mourning or sick, they have brought hope to so many, because flowers are not eternal, we are able to enjoy the present moment, as well as to learn to let go. However, before the pandemia, not many were paying attention to flowers, people were always in a hurry and most florists were too busy doing special events and were not promoting everyday flowers. But then, the whole world stopped and went into isolation and it was the perfect moment for everyone to send floral hugs to their loved ones, so flowers were in everyone’s agenda. And florists could not do events, so they started to pay attention to everyday flowers. These past two years have reminded us how good we feel when flowers are in our homes.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an ambassador of joy through flowers. I help others understand and connect with flowers. I´ve developed some techniques that allow us to gain well-being by having flowers in our life. I also teach florists how to spread the joy of flowers in their communities.

I have online floristry design courses as well as hundreds of videos on Youtube. I promote sustainability in the flower industry.

I am known for being an enthusiastic and passionate florist that inspires others.

I am really proud that last year I was able to create a community of Hispanic flower lovers all over the world and created beautiful relationships with so many in the flower industry. Now, for 2022 I am helping to build Bloom Tv in Spanish. It has been a dream of mine for there to be a flower channel, and now that dream is about to become a reality in the next year.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Persistence has been key along the way. There have been so many projects that have not had the success I was expecting, so many doors closed, but I´ve never given up on my dreams and I keep going forward.

Contact Info:

• Email: galenarosas@gmail.com
• Website: http://www.anagalena.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/anagalena
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Escuelitagalena/
• Youtube: http://youtube.com/c/anagalena