Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Robertson.
Hi Scott, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my floral designing career working for a small shop on Shaker Square in the early ’90s with no experience except arranging flowers I grew in my parents’ yard. I quickly picked it up and loved using flowers to create beautiful art.
I spent years working for different companies as I worked on my skills and knowledge before moving to NYC where I landed a job with a famous French Florist on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
After being asked to be the exclusive florist for the Carolina Herrera boutique on Madison Ave. I was able to open my own design studio in Chelsea which we named MOSS.
After 8 years in NYC, we decided we wanted to move back home to Ohio so we could have our own home and gardens and have a better quality of life and work balance.
We began Stems Fleur in our basement as we had our own vision for how we thought a floral design business should be done. We basically started with nothing and outfitted our basement with a design table, a sink, and an area to wrap orders. We processed orders, weddings, and delivered everything ourselves. As our business grew, we expanded into the kitchen and garage, and we realized we need to have a larger space.
We moved STEMS into a big warehouse design space in Ohio City before moving to our current retail/design studio in Cleveland Heights!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the initial struggles were understanding and working on our own brand of design and then how to get our look and name out there to the public. We had no idea if people in our area would appreciate, or aesthetic let alone pay for it. In the beginning we had to understand this new adventure would be a long-term investment which meant not making an income for some time.
Other struggles were starting a retail-online business and all the of difficult roads you have to go down to best serve your clients.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We like to say we create living floral art. One of the best things I learned living and working in NYC was looking at flowers as a chance to create sculpture/art and not just a bunch of flowers arranged in a vase.
We create fresh flower arrangements delivered throughout the metro Cleveland Ohio area.
We create custom designs for architects and interior designers.
We create weekly and daily florals.
We’ve designed several shows for the Cleveland Botanical Garden Orchid Show, Columbus Fashion Week, and floral Art installations for Art in Bloom.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Mostly riding my bike to the local garden center to buy new plants for my garden to experiment and learn how things grow.
Pricing:
- Our designers choice pricing begins at $60
- Range from $60 – $1,000
- Weddings and events pricing differs
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stemsfleur.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stems_fleur/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stemsfleur