Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorraine House Gonzalez.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and I earned a degree in Visual Communications. While I was in school, I interned for a fashion styling/event production company alongside a retail job. I learned early on that to get further into my career, attaining multiple job experiences was going to give me more exposure and connect me with the right people.
My creative career started to take off when I began working for a well recognized American retail brand. I spent many years there learning different aspects of the company from managing a visual merchandising team, photoshoot production, and directing and executing global marketing projects. In 2017, I was laid off and started to look for another job but also entertained the idea of starting my own business. At the beginning, working for this company allowed me to directly manage a variety of exciting projects that nurtured and satisfied my natural creativity, but it eventually led to working behind a desk.
As much as I loved managing projects and that my organizational skills were really paying off, I was really craving working on something hands-on again. It was a dream of mine to have my own business but with no real plan of how I was going to get there. There is a lot of fear and doubt that comes with a starting a business but there was something that was driving me to challenge that fear and take the leap. I think I wanted to prove to myself that after all the years of putting in a lot of hard work into my various jobs and learning different aspects of a company, that I could invest in myself and run my own thing. Shortly after my wedding, where I fell in love with the whole planning process including floral design, I took a floral workshop and loved how fulfilling it was to see something you envision become a tangible piece of work. I then felt that I could build a business that was going to fulfill my needs of project management and doing creative work. In late 2017, I started Brass Fern House and proud of the fact that I used that initial fear as a motivating factor to start my business!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
In the beginning, I was a little fearful because starting a business requires betting on yourself and I was concerned how well my work was going to be received by others. I had no formal training but taught myself everything I needed to know about the mechanics of starting a business as well as all the intricacies of floral arranging. I eventually became more confident with my style and what I was producing when I started receiving great feedback from clients. And a lot of them were returning! I was also fortunate to know people who pointed me in the right direction, encouraged me and helped me book some of my first wedding events. Along with that came my whole workflow. It took some trial and error to figure out what processes worked best for my business for it to be efficient and I am still continuously learning the best ways!
But, the biggest challenge so far has been Covid-19 happening. I have had to pivot my business and figure out how to provide flowers to people in a safe manner as well as marketing my business to be relevant during a pandemic. For my business, that has meant no contact delivery/pickup and elopement packages for weddings this year. All my weddings for this year have been rescheduled for next year. I am trying to take it in as a fluid situation and see it for how it is now as opposed to wishing it would go back to “normal”. Celebrating birthdays, love and achievements is important now, more than ever and I am continuously trying to learn how to adapt to help my clients celebrate those moments.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Brass Fern House – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Brass Fern House is a full-service floral design studio that provides day to day deliveries, florals for wedding/events and also holds workshops and pop up flower bars. We are known for creating bespoke arrangements and unique floral combinations in our work. I am proud of the fact that we take the time to get to know our clients and create an individualized experience for them.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am currently 33 weeks pregnant and I am figuring out how to pivot my business even further as I will be a first-time mom soon! The biggest change will be adjusting my business to provide the best and safest possible customer experience through this pandemic. Not to mention learning a new work/life balance with the new addition to our family.
Pricing:
- Pricing starts at $45-$300+ for custom arrangements
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brassfernhouse.com
- Phone: 626-833-3821
- Email: hello@brassfernhouse.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brassfernhouse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brassfernhouse/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/brass-fern-house-alhambra?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
Image Credit:
Tracy Rinehart Photography
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
