Life & Work with Michelle Marron Jimenez of North Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Marron Jimenez

Hi Michelle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been a storyteller. I used to craft messaging for companies and TV shows, and now, since starting my “second career” as the owner of a floral preservation studio, I have the pleasure of transforming flowers into stories of love, life and commitment.

I spent the first 17 years post-college as an entertainment publicist, first in Atlanta after attending Emory University and then here in Los Angeles. Working with iconic production companies like Bunim/Murray Productions, trailblazing showrunners like Glen Mazzara and Callie Khouri and critically acclaimed TV series like “The Walking Dead” or the Emmy Award-nominated docu-series “The Fourth Estate” was thrilling – such a natural “high,” especially when I was in my 20’s.

My most recent position was with Disney, where I handled the campaigns for shows like
“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” one of the priority series that premiered with the launch of Disney+. Voyage LA has actually interviewed talent from that series, among others. While publicity was always much more than a 9-5 type of job, the stress and frustrating corporate environment was taking a serious toll on my physical and mental well-being, and I knew that my current life wasn’t sustainable long-term.

When my now-husband Aaron and I were planning our wedding during COVID, I did a deep dive into what I could do with all of the flowers we were planning to have at our Spring wedding. When I heard about floral preservation and saw the high costs of the art (it is an investment!), I thought, “art runs in my family,” I can make that myself. So I watched YouTube videos, bought supplies and practiced with grocery store flowers for months. Was I successful? Let’s just say that our preserved wedding flowers are NOT on display in our home, BUT I have done all the trial and error necessary to perfect my art and confidently preserve meaningful flowers for clients.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Is starting a small business ever a smooth road? Ha! Even though I had been planning the transition for a while, I didn’t have the bandwidth to launch Fruit Of The Bloom Boutique while I was still working at Disney, which meant I knew I wasn’t likely to bring in clients – or profit – right away.

As a recovering perfectionist, I wanted to build a website and have a customer relationship management (CRM) system set up before marketing myself, so I quickly donned more hats than I would ever care to wear: website developer, photographer, videographer, editor, social media manager and graphic designer – in addition to small business owner and artist.

And anyone who has ever worked with resin knows that the “chemist” hat is also a big one! Epoxy resin is an incredibly finicky medium. It requires a specific and steady ambient temperature as well as humidity levels; it needs to be fully mixed for great clarity but not enough to create bubbles; heat is what turns the two-part liquid into a solid, but too much heat can cause a “flash cure” or premature ambering.

I’ve always joked that “patience is a virtue…that I do not have.” But rushing any bit of the floral preservation process usually causes mistakes that take even more time and money to correct. Had I realized that completing a large floral block can take 3 months from drying to casting to sanding and polishing, I’m not sure I would have ever started. But I am unbelievably grateful I stuck it out, and am learning to have more patience as well as finding inner peace when “playing with flowers” every day.

Imposter syndrome is also something that I have struggled with on a regular basis. My self-confidence definitely took a hit from working in entertainment PR, but it is also so much easier to promote and publicize a person, a product or a show when you’re not the one in the spotlight. And when you’re used to thinking of and being prepared for all the worst-case scenarios, it’s challenging to stop thinking in extremes.

Putting my story, my art, my labor of love on social media or in interviews like this, should be an overwhelmingly exciting “come full circle” opportunity. Having written hundreds of talent or brand talking points or tweaking email Q&As for talent should translate and make writing THIS easier. Self-doubt is real.

Self-compassion is an under-utilized tool in the business world, don’t you think?

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Fruit Of The Bloom Boutique is a botanical art studio specializing in one-of-a-kind floral art and functional décor using flowers and epoxy resin. The majority of my custom work tends to be bridal bouquets, so I consider myself a wedding vendor, but I also preserve flowers from funerals, proms, birthdays, engagements and baby showers or for flower lovers looking for a unique gift or work of art for their home.

Resin is the best medium to preserve the shape and color of sentimental blooms. Flowers in a shadow boxes will inevitably fade, and you lose the natural texture and volume of certain flowers when they are pressed in a frame.

It may not benefit me from a money-making perspective, but two things are really important to me and my business: working with clients to customize their art and building my community here in Los Angeles.

I get really excited when a client has a vision for their piece. Yes, they commissioned me to create a piece of art for them, but I want them to be part of the design process. It’s important to me that their preservation item is a reflection of their unique memory and becomes a cherished decor piece they want to showcase in their home.

Will customizing a background color to match a couple’s wedding color scheme take me more time than if I had them choose between a couple of standard options? Might sourcing the perfect vessel for a client’s custom serving tray mean tighter profit margins? Possibly, but I’m more than okay with that if it means I’m helping a client keep a memory alive.

I’ve also referred business to my fellow floral preservationists across the country. That may sound crazy, but now that I have my own business, I truly understand the importance of shopping locally. Since preserved flowers will only look as good as when we receive them, the sooner they get into silica gel (the drying medium!), the better. Ideally, I like to get all fresh bouquets within a day or two of a wedding or event, and to help take away stress – particularly for newlyweds – I offer a bouquet pick-up service. Overnighting flowers to an artist across the country that you found on TikTok is cumbersome, costly and can result in your sentimental bouquet looking sad or damaged. Plus, when you’re booking a DJ, photographer, caterer, etc. they’re all local, so why wouldn’t your floral preservationist also be local?

What matters most to you?
Slowing down and finding joy in the little things. Not every day will be as eventful as your wedding or as relaxing as a beach vacation, but stopping to smell the roses – literally and figuratively, can have a huge impact on your wellbeing.

It’s no secret that flowers are instant mood boosters. We send flowers to convey just about any emotion or sentiment, and transforming that ephemeral beauty into a piece of botanical artwork that can help someone else find or remember their own joy – how powerful.

Like most of us, I’m a work in progress. It’s going to take a long time and a lot of rewiring to enjoy a simpler life, but the days where I get lost in the “floral tetris” of designing a perfect piece is pretty magical.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fruitofthebloomboutique.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fruitofthebloomboutique/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090617623937
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FruitOfTheBloomBTQ