Today we’d like to introduce you to Talia Boone.
Hi Talia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Thank you so much for having me, I actually grew up in the LA area and went to college at San Diego State University so it’s extra special for me that Voyage wants to share my story with my fellow Angelenos.
Just after college I moved to Washington, DC where I worked for about 10 years and gained a wealth of experience in social impact, brand strategy, communications, marketing, public relations, promotions, sales and strategic partnerships before making the transition back to LA. Once back in LA, I founded a tactical solutions agency called INTER:SECT, where we work at the intersection of sports & entertainment, corporate & consumer brand, and social impact to promote socially and culturally relevant conversations leading to collective action resulting in measurable, long-lasting positive change. It was while running INTER:SECT that I was first introduced to and fell in love with the experience of arranging flowers as a form of self-care. I found flower arranging to be incredibly therapeutic and a healthy outlet for the stress and anxiety brought on by the day-to-day immersion in all of the moving parts that go into fighting for social change and trying hard to convince others of the importance of the work.
In the early, stressful days of the pandemic, I was desperate for my favorite form of stress relief: flower arranging. When lockdowns meant that I couldn’t go to the LA Flower Market for my floral fix, I searched for a company that could ship me bundles of high-quality flowers to arrange at home. That search led me to a flower wholesaler who shipped large volumes of flowers to retail clients all around the world. I called to see if I could convince him to reduce his minimums and ship me a small order of flowers that I could arrange at home. Although he was not able to fulfill my request, that conversation lasted more than 2hrs. By the end of call, I realized that there was a gaping hole in the massive floral industry and I knew I could fill it.
I immediately went to work putting together a wireframe for what the business could look like. That was in May 2020, just before Mother’s Day. By late July, we launched in beta with nearly 20 domestic farm partners signed up to ship for us and never looked back. Today, we’re shipping fresh cut flowers to our customers all across the country for them to create their own DIY flower arrangements at home.
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?
Although I’d consider myself to be a seasoned entrepreneur by the time I started Postal Petals®, I had no experience in the floral industry and worked hard to establish relevant relationships and learn the ropes. Fortunately for me, I’m a people person and found that making new friends who were eager to support my vision was even easier than I’d hoped. The biggest lesson there is to never be too proud to ask for help. I was confident in what I did know so there was no reason for me to be shy or embarrassed about asking for help to learn about the things that I didn’t know; things that would help me grow and succeed as a startup founder in the floral industry. For this reason, I’d say, in retrospect, it was far smoother than it could have been had no one taken me under their wing.
That’s not to say that building this company has been without it’s challenges. In addition to never having worked in the floral industry, I’d also never built an e-commerce brand so it took several misses at finding the right platform on which to base the business before finally landing on Shopify. There was also a bit of a learning curve when it came to figuring out the best hiring strategy for the company’s unique needs and growth trajectory. Luckily, we’ve overcome a lot of those early obstacles and I have been able to build an amazing support team across departments who help this business run smoothly.
We’ve been impressed with Postal Petals®, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Thank you, I really appreciate that.
More than just a flower company, I consider Postal Petals® to be a multi-touchpoint self-care + wellness company that partners with domestic flower farms to ship bundles of fresh cut flowers to our customers to design their own do-it-yourself flower arrangements as a form of creative expression and relaxation. We are unique in that we do not do any floral design work whatsoever. Instead, we curate flower recipes with the “ingredients” being bundles of seasonal high-quality flowers based on what we think will look good together. We then ship them to our customers for them to break apart, prep and design in a way that best suits their creative musings.
The order process is simple once you log onto PostalPetals.com:
- Select the flower recipe that includes the blooms that you are most drawn to.
- Choose from our three available size options based on how many flower arrangements you want to create.
- Finally, tell us when and how often you want us to deliver your DIY bloom box. We offer weekly, bi-weekly and monthly subscriptions.
Our goal is to evolve the way people engage with flowers from a ready-to-use product to an interactive wellness experience. One that uses DIY flower arranging to meet the booming demand for self-care solutions.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I love that question!
The pandemic caused a fascinating shift in consumer behaviors. Consumers are no longer just looking for products. They’re looking for experiences that end with the satisfaction of completing a project on their own or customizing products with their own unique flair. People want to express their creativity and individuality. There’s a big demand for products that are customized for personal taste and style. I believe this is true in the floral industry too.
I have so many incredible plans for this company including community-building enterprises, tech enhancements, and other really dope lifestyle integrations that, truly, I hope to not even recognize this company 10yrs from now. Kind of like how many kids today don’t know that Netflix started by sending DVDs through the mail. I honestly expect it will evolve so much that one day people will say of Postal Petals®: “Remember when they used to ship boxes of flowers through the mail?”
Pricing:
- Postal Petals Beanie Box $89.00
- Postal Petals Midi Box $129.00
- Postal Petals Biggie Box $179.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.postalpetals.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PostalPetals/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PostalPetals
Image Credits
Jasmine Wright
