Meet Jessica Fleming of A & J | L o s A n g e l e s in East LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Fleming.

Jessica, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Many lifetimes ago, a senior undergrad at UCLA, I was hired into a part-time sales position at the then-new Jenni Kayne boutique at the Brentwood Country Mart. I was still confident I’d leave Los Angeles after graduation and go to New York or out of the country on an Indiana Jones anthropological adventure. Instead, I found myself with a new work family that I’d grow within for the next six years. Everyone in the company was a mentor in a different way, and I eagerly plowed forward into my fashion career dream job. I worked maddening 60+ hour weeks with enthusiasm but was proud of my achievements and hungry to keep moving upward. I embodied several roles over the time – visual merchandising, buying, planning, retail management, a brief moment in wholesale, and eventually product development and strategy – and was senior in my position as a Buyer / Planner when I eventually left the company. Most of my closest friends had already left by then, and there was a new generation of gals on the scene. I’d known for a while that one day I would leave fashion, but didn’t expect it to hit me as hard as it did when the day came.

After taking some time off to clear my head, and more importantly to hit a two-week road trip with my then-boyfriend (now-fiance!), I decided to dip my toes into the interior design world. Doing the visual merchandising at the boutiques came naturally to me – though I of course had a mentor for that in the beginning as well – and sourcing home goods and developing the first run of the JK home collection were fond highlights. Back again at UCLA for the Architecture & Interior Design program, a classmate and new friend set me up with an interview for an internship at the company she worked for, 4C Design Group. I found myself yet again on an incredible team that was quickly growing under the guidance of the lead designer Jake Alexander Arnold. To call him talented is an understatement, and the opportunities he afforded me make my heart full.

Flash forward another almost two years, and I’ve recently left 4C Design Group and am doing my own freelance design and interior styling, with a faster than I can keep up with side floral business, A&J | Los Angeles. During my time at 4C Design, a colleague discovered my love for flowers while we were styling for a photoshoot. (Raised by two horticulturists, and a keen eye for aesthetics, I can see in hindsight where flowers are a natural fit.). We decided then and there that we would start a side business, something to keep our creativity alive and to sooth our constantly spiraling minds, as a day with flowers tends to. We almost named the company This Buds for You, but it was called to our attention that that particular phrase belongs to Budweiser, so we shifted into a simple namesake title; A for Amanda, and J for Jess. Alas, A&J | Los Angeles.

I’ve endured manic swings in each of the businesses, navigating growing pains both personally and professionally, my own growth and that of others, discovering egos and sense of self. I’ve been fortunate to have a supportive and encouraging partner that helps keep my heart strong and head up, likewise with friends. I have bigger dreams yet to come, combining a bit of all of my history hopefully planted in all of my favorite places, and I’m confident I’ll get there with my village of good people!

Has it been a smooth road?
Work/life balance has always been a personal challenge. I’m a determined perfectionist to a fault, and therefore willing to spend twice as long as I should on something until I’m satisfied with the result. When I’m in the zone and focused, I lose all sense of space and time – which, when it comes to flowers, is one of the things I most enjoy. Between that element and the constant hustle, I end up sacrificing personal elements. Most all of my relationships have been tried, friends and family, while navigating the changes and finding my way into some sense stability.

In the last three years, I’ve fully changed careers, added a third career in the mix, and am back in school (yes, still taking design classes as my budget and time permit!). Finding time to do it all, do it all well, and take care of my health and relationships has proven to be impossible. I try more and more to do what I can when I can, and constantly have to remind myself that ‘good’ is good enough.

We are our own toughest critics as they say. Taking a step back and seeing how much I’ve grown, learned, and accomplished across multiple careers in a short amount of time is something I have a hard time doing or admitting.

Finances also continue to play a major role along the road. My sister and I were raised by our ever loving single mother who really set the example in the admirable, hard working, strong woman department. We didn’t ever have “much”, but we had it all, and we had a village of friends who took care of each other. Having been an Angeleno now since 2010, and always amongst creative industries, most of the company I keep I’ve come to learn don’t have similar upbringings. It’s hard not to compare as friends and colleagues invest into themselves in a way I can’t. My mind is always spinning with ideas for the future, and taking the financial leap is the scariest part. I have to hope that with patience and the right effort it will all unfold!

Alright – so let’s talk business. What else should we know about you and your career so far?
As a floral designer, the work has naturally leaned toward working primarily with interior designers for photoshoots and events. With Amanda and I having met in the design field, our network evolved easily in that sense. Many of our initial regular clients were referred to us through the design practice, some clients through the firm we worked and encouraged our way with a bit of help from Jake, others design peers and friends, and everything has grown organically from there – of course, with the help of social media and word of mouth.

We allow ourselves a lot of creative freedom through the process and have been fortunate to have clients who are as excited about our creative process. Our weekly and biweekly clients have come to expect new and different assortments with each delivery. Designers tell us a mood or color scheme they hope to achieve, and leave the rest to us; coming from the industry, they know we ‘get it’. Weddings can be a much more involved and collaborative process, as it becomes more about our take on their vision and a much bigger picture.

I think elements we’ve come to be known for in our style are the free form organic shapes and movements we like to play with, along with texture and tone. Mixing together softer feminine flowers like Queen Anne’s Lace with branches that twist and spiral creates something sweet and romantic in a non-traditional way. We also love a moody deep burgundy color story!

It’s get to be our personal art and immediate creative satisfaction. We’re just here to have fun. The business growing as quickly as it has is a big plus.

As an interior designer, well, it might be too soon to say! I’m hoping to build something that feels more like a supportive network than a singular name, that embodies creative collaboration and expressive freedom, and also is mindful of the environment. I’m currently working on a couple of small residential projects, but I hope to create my own professional village that will help take me (and whoever they may be) on a curious and big adventure. Lots of dreams, but stay tuned on that.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
It’s interesting for me to think about any industry and how it relates outside of Los Angeles. We live in such a unique place where the luxury of art in any form will always have its place. Growing up in Chino Hills, there wasn’t a florist that was doing anything other than roses and sunflowers, “supermarket style” (Trader Joes and Whole Foods have really stepped up their flower game truth be told), and if there were any interior designers I certainly never heard of them. I didn’t know either industry could be a career until living in LA for a few years. I would go back home to visit my mom and she’d playfully tease me for rearranging everything on the shelves that I was merchandising her house. I can’t go on a walk or hike without stopping at every other growing flower to make a little foraged bundle. It’s always been in me, and now I get to share it.

The point of that ramble being all forms of art are being so much more accessible and experimental now than they were 5-10 years ago, and I expect they’ll only continue in that direction. On one of our first jobs early on, we decided to make a floating cloud of baby’s breath and metallic light pink ferns to hang above a mock-cafe in store-front window. We had no clue what we were doing but it was incredible. Just the other day, I was reading about a florist in Japan who is turning chandeliers into these whimsical, moody, delicate floral displays – fully operational with the lights.

For both interiors and florals, the general attitude seems to be shifting out of the all-white, clean and bright, colorless aesthetic, and into depth and mood/attitude. (Finally!) It evolved into something that felt formulaic, which is perfectly suited for sales and profit, but lost sense of personality. I’m watching trends split across the industries, leaning towards bright playfulness or nostalgia and romance, sometimes both mixed!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jessicaraefleming.com
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Michael Clifford, Rita Labib

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