Who Is Kristin Wozniak?
My name is Kristin Wozniak, I was born in Italy, Texas, between Austin and Dallas, and I grew up there. From an early age, I’ve been interested in both art and nature and was either drawing in a notebook, playing dress-up, or sneaking into the forest near my house. As a teen mom, I faced a lot of challenges. I went, however, to college for fine art at Texas State University with an emphasis on drawing. During the past four years, I’ve been living with a wonderful man who supports me better than any previous husband. We’re not married, but we live together as if we were, and we are business associates as well. He helps me manage our Bitsy Blooms, and we have two startups we’re working on together.
When Did You Know You Wanted To Be a Florist?
As a child, I never had any intentions of becoming a florist or flower artist. However, I always wanted to be an artist. Flowers are now my preferred medium for art. My sister got married in 2006, and I helped plan the wedding, coordinated the decorations, and designed some silk flower arrangements for her. The venue asked if they could hire me as their event sales and coordination contact, so I quit working for an insurance company to do that.
People would come to me asking me for help once they figured out how much work putting together some bouquets and centerpieces could be when they were supposed to be entertaining out-of-town guests the day before their wedding. After deciding that I’d much prefer to be working with flowers than at the venue, I got a job closer to home and learned more about the flowers in between jobs. Here in San Antonio, I took a semester of flower design at a local community college. It was a short introduction to floral design, which helped me learn how to make a flower arrangement, how to make a corsage, and how to make an urn spray.
How Did You Start Your Business?
I started my own business in 2011, Bitsy Blooms, doing weddings, events, and corporate parties. My first client was an event planner who hired me to do her daughter’s birthday party. She had an idea of what she envisioned, but she didn’t have any experience in planning a large event like this. So I did research online and found lots of helpful information. I also looked at other people’s websites to see what they offered. Then I created a website and began advertising my services. I ended up getting three different clients within the next month. Since then, I’ve done many events and weddings.
How Do You Understand if An Event is Right For You?
The first thing I look at is whether the bride wants something classic or modern. If she wants something traditional, I’ll go with roses, peonies, lisianthus, gardenias, orchids, carnations, and calla lilies. If she wants something contemporary, I might use succulents, gerberas, hydrangeas, eucalyptus, and alstroemeria.
Do You Have Any Advice For New Flower Artists?
The most important advice I can give new flower artists is to get involved in your local chapter of the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD). They offer training classes, workshops, and networking opportunities. There are many courses everywhere, and you can find one close to where you live.
If you want to start your own floral design business, you need to know how to market yourself.
- Start by creating a professional-looking website. Make sure it has photos of your work, prices, descriptions of each style of service you offer, and testimonials from previous clients. Also, include links to social media sites such as Facebook and Pinterest. These days, it’s not enough just to have a beautiful website; you must promote it!
- Get creative and think outside the box. Use every occasion you have to let people know about your services.
- Offer free consultations, donate time to charity fundraisers, host a giveaway, or write articles for local publications.
