Episode 539: Meet Gina Lett Shrewsberry of Inspirations by Gina and Valerie Crisostomo, founder of Black Girl Florists

January 5th, 2022

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We recorded today’s show last week as the final video episode of 2021, so for Podcast listeners, it’s our first episode of 2022 — and you are in for a real treat. I’m so happy to welcome Gina Lett Shrewsberry of Inspirations by Gina, a Slow Flowers member and floral designer based in Northern California, and her colleague Valerie Chrisostomo, an Atlanta-based florist and founder of the new organization Black Girl Florists.

Here’s a bit more about Gina: Inspirations by Gina is a floral and event design studio based in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. Gina has designed weddings and events all around Northern California, including at San Francisco City Hall, in Sacramento, Carmel, Lake Tahoe, Napa, and beyond. As a floral and event designer, she is committed to helping every client discover a unique style that encompasses their vision. Gina loves bringing celebration-worthy events to life. In addition to designing weddings and events, she also specializes in flower and plant deliveries and weekly or monthly floral subscriptions.

Here’s a bit more about Valerie: Valerie is the owner of One Soul Events + Flowers, based in Atlanta. Before she was surrounded by beautiful bouquets, timeless table settings, and phenomenal floor plans, her journey began at Florida State University where she studied Hospitality and minored in Business. There Valerie became passionate about meeting and event planning and learned the ins and outs of catering and world travel. One Soul Events & Flowers is a floral, wedding, and event planning company that produces stunning events through sophisticated planning.

Early in 2021, Valerie’s vision for creating community and nurturing other Black female florists led to the creation of Black Girl Florists. Black Girl Florists supports and celebrates Black women in floristry. In this nurturing community, members nurture their businesses and talents, all the while connecting with other Black women florists. It’s a very special space to celebrate and support Black women-owned businesses in the floral industry.

Find and follow Inspirations by Gina:
Inspirations by Gina on Facebook
Inspirations by Gina on Instagram

Find and follow One Soul Events + Flowers (Valerie):
One Soul Events + Flowers on Instagram

Find and follow Black Girl Florists:
Black Girl Florists on Facebook
Black Girl Florists on Instagram

Thanks so much for joining us today. The Slow Flowers Society is committed to equity, inclusion and representation in the floral profession, and we celebrate and honor Valerie for the launch of Black Girl Florists — and thank Gina, one of our members, for making the important connection between our two organizations.

Here are the details about the first Black Girl Florists Conference in Atlanta in March 2022.  Slow Flowers Society has just signed on to sponsor the amazing gathering of Black Girl Florists.

January Slow Flowers Meet-Up

And a calendar note. You’re invited to join our January Slow Flowers Meet-Up on Friday, January 14th at 9 am Pacific/Noon Eastern. It will be a very special session introducing the Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast 2022, which I will present with my publishing partner Robin Avni, creative director of BLOOM Imprint. Our members and listeners will be the first to preview the forecast for 2022.

For the eighth year, Slow Flowers Society heralds 2022 with predictions of breakout themes, topics and categories for the floral marketplace. Our report has become an important gauge for our members, as well as for the greater floral marketplace and business media, to evaluate the prevailing cultural shifts, notable changes, and emerging ideas for floral design and flower farming.

And as we gaze toward 2022, a number of key topics of interest have caught our attention that we want to share with you. We are thrilled that Robin Avni is joining Slow Flowers to develop and report the forecast for 2022. Robin has successfully managed innovative, award-winning teams and high-profile projects as well as receiving numerous national design awards. In 2004, following several successful years managing design teams for Microsoft, she founded bricolage*, an independent creative consultancy specializing in visual communications and content development, trend analysis, and creative strategy. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, national advertising agencies and award-winning media properties, applying timely lifestyle insights to their businesses. You must pre-register for the January 14th session and you can find a link in today’s show notes at slowflowerspodcast.com for Episode 539 — and it’s always in our Instagram profile link at @slowflowerssociety.

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 880 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms.  It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, returning for 2022, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting more than 20 U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $9 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thank you to Flowerfarm.com, a leading wholesale flower distributor that sources from carefully-selected flower farms to offer high-performing fresh flowers sent directly from the farm straight to you. You can shop by flower and by country of origin at flowerfarm.com. Find flowers and foliage from California, Florida, Oregon and Washington by using the “Origin” selection tool in your search. It’s smarter sourcing. Learn more at flowerfarm.com.

Thank you to the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Formed in 1988, ASCFG was created to educate, unite, and support commercial cut flower growers. Its 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.

Thank you to Red Twig Farms. Based in Johnstown, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program and their Spread the Hope Campaign where customers purchase 10 tulip stems for essential workers and others in their community. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com.

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 800,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.

If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at Slow Flowers Society.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right at debraprinzing.com

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time. 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. You can learn more about Andrew’s work at soundbodymovement.com. 

Music Credits:

Molly Molly; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad 
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com

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