Episode 350: Living a Life with Flowers by embracing the Power of Community, with Kelly and Jesse Perry of Team Flower
May 23rd, 2018
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Kelly Perry of Team Flower
Building community is the hallmark of the Slow Flowers Movement, but we are not the only ones who’ve discovered the strength of person-to-person connections.
Whether you love or hate it, even Facebook, through its leader Mark Zukerberg, last year declared it had revised its mission: “To give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.”
Floral designer Kelly Perry and her husband Jesse Perry are co-founders of Team Flower and Philosophy Flowers and they are also floral community-builders. They live in Boone, North Carolina with their golden doodle named Buster. That’s where Kelly tends a little garden and writes about what she sees there.
After launching Philosophy Flowers as a boutique floral design business for weddings and events in 2012, she and Jesse started Team Flower in 2014.
A beautiful final evening at the Team Flower Conference in Orlando, which gathered attendees from many states and countries.
They describe Team Flower as:
“A Global Flower Community that Spans Generations, Experience Levels and Areas of Expertise, not to mention a Desire to Learn.
Team Flower offers a number of digital and in-person learning platforms for floral education and training.
While Kelly handles all of the content development and classes at Team Flower, Jesse handles all things tech.
He grew the Team Flower online presence to engage with participants in all 50 states and 98 countries.
Jesse’s most recent research and implementation project revolves around SEO tools for the Team Flower members.
Kelly and Jesse Perry, captured during a lighthearted moment at the Team Flower Conference.
Kelly wrote this on the Team Flower web site:
Kelly shares her insights and answers audience questions at the Team Flower Conference.
“Like you, I’ve enjoyed beauty for a long time. My earliest recollection of creating a flower arrangement was in the sixth grade. We had an event called the “Friendship Etiquette Banquet” and the girls were to wear paper flower corsages. I thought this needed an upgrade so I led the crew in creating silk flower corsages. Very fancy.
Another early flower memory was in seventh grade. My science project was “What floral preservative will keep a carnation fresh the longest?” The winner was Floralife, in case you were curious.
Shortly after my science project I started a cake decorating business called “Kelly’s Cakes.” I made cakes for everyday occasions and weddings all through middle and high school and occasionally in college until I “retired” after my own wedding. During this time, I was interested in a fashion career so I created dresses for special occasions in my high school home economics class, and I worked at a boutique bridal store.
In college I studied Fashion, Interior Design, Event Planning and Entrepreneurship until the economy collapse in 2007. I decided to shift course just a little bit and added education to my degree. The first lesson I taught in my education class was called “The Elements and Principles of Design.” I practically floated out of that class and remember thinking, “If I could find a way to just teach that lesson for the rest of my life, I would be SO happy.” It combined everything I loved — fashion, interiors, business, event design, art and education.
After student teaching and our wedding I started a job as a corporate event planner. After about two years of that I felt like it was important to make a change, but I didn’t know what that would look like. I had never even thought about a career in flowers before, but realized rather quickly this was it!”
See a recent video that Kelly and Jesse posted in the free content section of Team Flower:
I loved spending time in person with Kelly and Jesse at the Team Flower Conference. Here, Kelly and I pose in front of the very creative flower wall, al fresco style.
There’s so much more, and I know you’ll enjoy our conversation, recorded long-distance over Skype last week.
We touch on their stories and what led them to create Team Flower, as well as what it’s like to run a business together as a couple.
It’s not surprising that there is an aligned spirit and common thread between Team Flower and Slow Flowers.
The next Team Flower Conference is scheduled for March 4-6, 2019 in Waco, Texas — and the program and registration details will be announced later this summer.
Follow the links below to learn more, including free content available to visitors to Team Flower, as well as details on workshops, online learning and upcoming live events.
Here’s how to connect with Team Flower, Kelly and Jesse:
Find Team Flower’s extensive video content — FREE to watch!
Listen to Team Flowers Podcast
Follow Team Flower on Instagram
Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded 319,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, commenting, liking and sharing! It means so much.
As the Slow Flowers Movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of the American cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.
I value your support and invite you to show your thanks and with a donation to support my ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the right column.
The new platform features clean graphics and easy-to-use navigation for desktop, smart devices and mobile.
This past week has been overwhelming for me, but in a very good way.
On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Slowflowers.com, I announced the launch of our new, upgraded Slowflowers.com – version 2.0 on May 16th. Of course, there were a few bugs to work out and I’m sure we’ll find more because that’s what happens when a non-tech gal like me endeavors to live in the tech world! I covet your support and beg for your patience as the new version settles into a new level for Slow Flowers. Please come over to the site and check it out!
Another piece of news to share today is our winner of the Slow Flowers Summit Dream Designer Package — that was our May ticket promotion.
The names of all of you who registered for the Slow Flowers Summit were added to a drawing for an invitation to join me on Sunday evening, July 1st at an exclusive gathering with Laura Dowling, author and former White House Florist.
Our winner is Gloria Collins of GBC Style — Congratulations, Gloria! I am excited you’ll join me at this private event to benefit the AIFD Foundation. It will be unforgettable
And if you’ve been thinking about attending the Slow Flowers Summit, grab your ticket now — it’s just five weeks away! The Summit promises to be a fantastic day of networking, inspiration and personal growth. I can’t wait to see you there!
The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded 319,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, commenting, liking and sharing! It means so much.
Thank you to our 2018 sponsors who have supported Slow Flowers and all of our programs.
Florists’ Review magazine. I’m delighted to serve as Contributing Editor for Slow Flowers Journal, found in the pages of Florists’ Review. It’s the leading trade magazine in the floral industry and the only independent periodical for the retail, wholesale and supplier market.
Arctic Alaska Peonies, a cooperative of passionate family farms in the heart of Alaska providing bigger, better peony flowers during the months of July and August. Visit them today at arcticalaskapeonies.com.
Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and service to the local floral industry. Find them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com
Longfield Gardens provides home gardeners with high quality flower bulbs and perennials. Their online store offers plants for every region and every season, from tulips and daffodils to dahlias, caladiums and amaryllis. Visit them at longfield-gardens.com.
Syndicate Sales, an American manufacturer of vases and accessories for the professional florist. Look for the American Flag Icon to find Syndicate’s USA-made products and join the Syndicate Stars loyalty program at syndicatesales.com.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds, an employee-owned company that provides our industry the best flower, herb and vegetable seeds — supplied to farms large and small and even backyard cutting gardens like mine. Check them out at johnnysseeds.com.
Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Formed in 1988, ASCFG was created to educate, unite, and support commercial cut flower growers. It mission is to help growers produce high-quality floral material, and to foster and promote the local availability of that product. Learn more at ascfg.org.
Mayesh Wholesale Florist. Family-owned since 1978, Mayesh is the premier wedding and event supplier in the U.S. and we’re thrilled to partner with Mayesh to promote local and domestic flowers, which they source from farms large and small around the U.S. Learn more at mayesh.com.
Certified American Grown Flowers. The Certified American-Grown program and label provide a guarantee for designers and consumers on the source of their flowers. Take pride in your flowers and buy with confidence, ask for Certified American Grown Flowers. To learn more visit americangrownflowers.org.
(c) Missy Palacol Photography
I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Podcast. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review.
The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.
The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. Learn more about his work at soundbodymovement.com.