Meet Breigh Jones-Coplin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Breigh Jones-Coplin.

Hi Breigh, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Black + Blossomed is a pandemic baby and I don’t think I thought too much about what that meant at the time, but being a year in, I realize that it’s an important context and lens to look at the business through. I started B+B in the midst of a pandemic, being an advanced student in my doctoral program, and applying to residency programs. Needless to say, I started this business at a time where there was so much uncertainty and transitions happening. Black + Blossomed was initially a self-care endeavor for me. I’ve always been a creative and realized that I was giving way too much of myself to school and my clients– so much that I never left anything for myself. Buying flowers for the house was keeping me sane for much of 2020– attending farmer’s markets, going to local floral shops and coming home with some floral goodness. My husband saw how much joy flowers brought me and bought me a floral certification class for my birthday– the rest is history. Being a year in, I still can’t believe how much traction and support B+B is getting. For it to have started off as something for me, it expanded so quickly into something that the community loves and adores. That’s special.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. I think the biggest challenge came with my transition of moving from Colorado to Mississippi for my residency. This is my last requirement to complete my doctorate degree so it wasn’t an option to stay. The thought of taking B+B out of Denver was heart-wrenching so I found someone to keep the business going in Denver while I’ve been away. While it has been such a beautiful process of adapting B+B to my current context, it’s also been difficult letting go of my idea of how I think B+B is supposed to look or how it looked in its earlier months. My apprentice is in high school, so I’ve had to tailor a lot of what the business looks like based on her ability to carry out certain tasks and my own limitations since I’m basically working a full-time job now. It’s hard balancing what I know consumers want from the business and what’s actually feasible and realistic for us right now. The good thing is that people always want more from us. The problem is that people always want more from us. So, saying no to different opportunities (and money) has been hard but it’s also beautiful to see how many people stick with us despite all the pivoting we’ve had to do.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We really embody the phrase “flowers, but make it a movement” in our business model. In a nutshell, we’re a floral design business. Flowers are our art. Flowers are the way we communicate. Flowers are the way we show love. Flowers are the way we ignite movements. Right now, we’re primarily a pop-up flower shop– so we go out into the community and sell flowers while partnering with other local businesses. I think all of those aspects set us apart from others. It’s important for us to be seen because we are so passionate about Black artists and Black florists being represented in communities. When people see us at pop-ups and events, they say “Wow, I’ve never met a Black florist before.” And that’s both saddening and beautiful. We recognize the beauty in breaking down barriers and challenging people’s views about what’s available to certain racial groups. So, it may be a bit of a cop out, but I’m most proud of Black + Blossomed in all of its varieties because it embodies representation, permission, equality, Black art, Black creativity and LOVE.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I’ve always heard the saying “there’s no reward without risk” and never really understood it until now. Ultimately, I think that everything is a risk. Every decision that we make is a risk because it will ignite some type of change that we don’t necessarily have control over. So with every decision we make, we’re taking a chance. For Black + Blossomed, the whole origin of the business was a risk. Starting a business in the midst of a pandemic was a huge risk because there was a HIGH chance that I wouldn’t get the return on my investment– that people would not support or engage with the business. However, I think it’s so much about the intention behind the risk as opposed to the risk itself that’s important to explore. For me, I started B+B despite the risk because my intention was to engage in a self-care opportunity and have something that was mine– something I could be proud of. I didn’t necessarily start B+B to make money, so I knew that regardless of how popular or supported B+B became, I would always receive my intrinsic reward for starting the business and the extrinsic reward (money) was just a bonus. We have to be so clear about our intentions behind taking risks because it dictates the type of risks we take and inevitably how we feel about those said risks.

Contact Info:

• Email: blackandblossomed@gmail.com
• Website: black-and-blossomed.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackandblossomed/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackandblossomed

Image Credits:
Shelby Perez Sierra Daniels-Baker