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Meet Eva Barrientos of Jardin del Eden in South Pasadena

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eva Barrientos.

Eva, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
About five years ago, with my husband’s encouragement, I decided to pursue flower arranging as my creative outlet. At the time, I was working as a full-time accountant and had many hobbies, such as knitting, flower pressing, candle making, lipstick, etc., but I was always fond of flowers and wished to one day own a flower shop. I checked out books from the library, searched the internet for tutorials to self-teach how to design.

I also took a community college course with a retail florist to solidify my basics. I continue to take online courses and hands-on classes with experienced floral designers in Los Angeles. Currently, I work full time on my floral dream as a studio florist.

Great, 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?
Time and myself have been my biggest struggle. I was fortunate enough to have a full-time job that allowed me to experiment and practice my craft without feeling a financial pressure of having my flowers provide for me. While I worked on building my design confidence, I had to make time to work. There were many long nights and worked weekends, but I would start all over again if I had to. The joy I feel seeing my designs complete and later browsing the images is amazing. I am confident in my work and have to time to dedicate to my craft, I’m sure there will be more challenges along the way, but I am ready to face them!

Please tell us about Jardin del Eden.
Jardin del Eden has three main services: wedding and event design, indoor plant services, and workshops. We also have an Etsy store for our dried flower art and succulent products. As a crafter by nature, I can’t help myself but create new products using various art mediums to push my creativity. With event work, I like to treat each event as an opportunity to design something unique and match the designs to my client’s personality and needs. I provide a detailed design board that provides flowers, images, and descriptions of each design, to make sure we are all on the same page and have the same vision of the event. I enjoy working alongside my clients and provide my experience and suggestions to make their images come true. In addition, I love surprising them with things that they don’t expect or flowers they have never seen before.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I couldn’t possibly narrow it down to one favorite childhood memory. There are so many good ones. I had a humble but good life. I was born in El Salvador and still remember trying to catch fireflies and chasing butterflies, seeing my mom after making the journey to the US when I was five years old, getting together for family events at the river/lakes/parks, performing Selena concerts for the family in the living room with my cousin, and so many more. I have had many more blessings than I can count.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Edgar Hernandez, Kiley Shai Photography, Gris Photography https://instagram.com/grisphotography?igshid=ddrbuxhu3ceg

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