Today we’d like to introduce you to Whit McClure.
Whit, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
A long and lovely exploratory career path led to this world of flowers. I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky as a pretty creative kid who was also into politics. I spent most of my time being crafty, playing sports, and going to punk shows. I went to college at the University of Louisville, studied Sociology, and figured I would be doing community & political organizing work with my degree.
During college I got really interested in what was happening around local food, food justice (making healthy food accessible across socioeconomic lines) and became obsessed with learning about our food system how our food is raised/grown, so after graduating, I spent a summer in Maine working on a blueberry farm then resettled in Washington, D.C., where I worked in the local culinary world and for an organization teaching folks of all ages how to grow their own food.
Eventually, I got burnt out by both the restaurant & nonprofit industrial complex grind, so I became a co-owner in a dog walking collective called Brighter Days in DC. It was during those years of walking around everyday that I became fascinated with flowers and their seasons- it was a way for me to maintain my connection with gardening & plants. Nature totally seduced me in the teasing act of witnessing a season day by day and the beauty that would flow in and out of my workday in a way I hadn’t experienced before. I was beginning to feel like my chapter in DC was coming to a close, so to start saving money, I started doing edible landscaping maintenance for a local florist & chef.
One day she asked if I wanted to help out with some weddings she had coming up, and from that experience things began to click. I realized that working with flowers brought together my love of plants, parties, and people, so when I moved to LA a few months later in the summer of 2015, I decided that I was going to pursue a totally new career path. The first year I dabbled in all of my previous work experiences while I also freelanced with lots of different florist in the city. After a year of being in Los Angeles, I decided to launch Whit Hazen as a floral design business (I previously had been selling handmade jewelry under this name) and have been building this beautiful business of mine ever since.
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?
There have most definitely been many struggles along the way. Starting and running a small business isn’t for the faint of heart! It takes so much grit, discipline, & determination, along with the creativity to stand out from the rest.
Naturally, I am a creative person first and a businessperson second, and it has been a challenge to balance those two into becoming a creative entrepreneur who is bold and daring with my vision while simultaneously building a successful & sustainable business in a quickly transforming city. In the first two years, I got swept up in the need to hustle, hustle, hustle; and while I’m still hustling, I’ve come to realize that I can do so more successfully if I prioritize taking care of myself first.
Another one of the main challenges I had starting out was in wondering if there was room for me in this industry because I didn’t see any other Black queer women like me in it. It’s often noted that one of the first steps in bringing your dreams to fruition is envisioning yourself already in possession of it. It’s a lot easier to see that for yourself if you see someone who looks like you already doing it. It has taken a lot of perseverance & conviction on my part, coupled with lots of pep talks & love from family, community, & truly lovely strangers from the internet for me to get here, and I’m so grateful for all of that.
There’s also just the challenge of working in event production with perishable product. There is often something that needs to be problem solved on the fly when on site, but I honestly love that part of this job. It keeps me on my toes and definitely keeps things interesting!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Whit Hazen story. Tell us more about the business.
Over the last three years, Whit Hazen has grown into a full-service floral design studio that specializes in bold, whimsical, and seasonally-inspired designs for my customers/clients. I do weddings, events of all kinds (from brand launches, store openings, etc.), floral installations, weekly floral decor for commercial spaces, & styling for shoots. The floral industry is notoriously wasteful, so I’m committed to learning and sharing sustainable solutions. I love finding new & creative ways of merging my adoration for nature into a space for people to enjoy and interact with.
In my studio practice, I also started an ongoing art project called “Petals & Politics”, where I take flower petals and flower heads and create evocative images to bring attention and incite action around social justice issues that are incredibly important to me. For me, those issues are womxn, LGBTQ rights, Black Lives Matter and prison abolition. Besides my colorful and playful design aesthetic, “Petals & Politics” has definitely helped set me apart in the flower world. While most people would think of flowers as apolitical, this project demonstrates otherwise and directly challenges that. I am most proud of the way that I have been able to find a way to blend these two things that I am so passionate about (flowers and social change) because it allows me to be my full self while building community with folks people who also want to create a world where everyone and everything on our beautiful planet is happy, healthy, & free.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I moved out to Los Angeles having only visited once before and having one best friend who lived here when I arrived. I believe taking a leap of faith, making sacrifices, and doing things with intention have been the main things at play in how my life and business have blossomed the way they have, and less to do with “luck”.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.whithazen.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: whit_hazen
Image credit:
Whit McClure
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