Alicia Schwede
Bella Fiori and Flirty Fleurs
Becca Jones Photography
It all started a long time ago while growing up in Northern California. My childhood was filled with days of playing in my grandmother’s rose garden and clipping sweetpeas & lilacs from the neighbors’ gardens. Flowers remained with me even when I got a ‘grown up’ post college job working at a computer software company in San Francisco – every week a vase full of my grandmother’s roses sat next to that computer! Alas, that ‘grown up’ job just wasn’t right for me and in the evenings I took floral design classes at San Mateo College just to be creative .. never thinking it was leading me to my next career!
2002 brought a move to Denver, Colorado and in 2003 I launched my business, Bella Fiori. For 10 years I designed, designed and then designed some more! It was a wild ride, it was a good time, I’m thankful for all I learned and for the amazing friends who came into my life! 2013 brought a move to Washington state for my husband to pursue a career opportunity. I continue to design flowers for weddings here in Washington state and beyond! (often designing flowers for events in Northern California). A huge perk of living in Washington state is the amazing garden I’ve been building, thrilled to harvest my own dahlias for summertime weddings.
Flirty Fleurs Blog launched in May of 2010—it started as an idea when I was talking with a few of my flower friends – I said to them, I want a blog where we can just talk about flowers, where we can support other florists, where we can tell the world how great floral designers are! A few of the favorite series on Flirty Fleurs include the Rose Color Studies, Making Changes, and Floral Designer Profiles. As an extension of the blog we have produced three print editions – packed full of inspiration and information for floral designers.
Sharing my love of flowers is where I find one of my greatest joys. I do this by hosting this blog, Flirty Fleurs, and by teaching in-person floral design classes. For me the moment when a student has an a-ha moment, when they complete an arrangement, and when they carry that new arrangement out the door on their way home – where soon they’ll share their beautiful new arrangement with friends and family. I also enjoy watching connections being made in classes, new friendships formed – it is very important to me to create an environment where people connect and feel welcomed.
I love what I do, whether it is designing flowers for a sweet bride, teaching fellow flower lovers, or writing about the flower industry, and am thankful everyday for this flower filled journey I’m on.
Show Notes
Meeting face-to-face creates a memorable experience
Hitting the pavement, knocking on doors shows you really want it
Tip: When using Crowning Glory, spray the underneath side of the flowers for best results
Important to list your location and regions you service on your website
Instagram: make full use of your bio and include your name and location
Always acknowledge comments on your social media
Alicia’s blog Flirty Fleurs for wonderful floral information including her Rose Color Story
