Today we’d like to introduce you to Nulita Frias.
Hi Nulita, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My love for flowers started as a child in my mother’s flower gardens. I grew up In East providence, R.I. my family are immigrants from the beautiful flower filled Island of Sao Miquel in the Azores. As a young adult, I would buy myself flowers, then dry them and create dried flower arrangements for my apartment and for friend gifts. I took Japanese flower design lessons, Ikebana. One day I made 2 dried floral arrangements for my friend and her mom. My friends boyfriend, a business man, asked me to make 12 of them for his secretaries. He gave me his tax ID, so I could buy the flowers from the local floral Wholesaler, Pennock ( this was in Philadelphia P.A.) I had moved there to attend the University of The Arts as a Theater and Music major ( I am a singer) and also have a background in oil painting. After making 12 of those dried floral arrangements, I started to make more to sell them at farmers markets and outdoor craft fairs. Then I decided to get a job in a Flower shop and really learn the trade. I fell in love with working with fresh flowers, and never made dried floral arrangements again. I worked for a few local Philadelphia shops and most notably for a company called “Evantine Design” They catered to high end gallas, events and weddings. They were at the time ( mid 90’s) the official florist for The Philadelphia Musuem of Art. My favorite thing to design for them was a long arrangement to fit underneath the statue of Aphrodite in the main lobby of the museum, when they had any special fund raising dinners there. I moved to Key West FL in 2003 and started my own very small full service floral shop, that grew very quickly and we had much success. It is called Love In Bloom Florist and is actually still there. I sold the company before moving to St. Augustine in 2012. My daughter was born in Key West in 2008 and I wanted for her to have more children related activities and options than I felt Key West had to offer at that time. Closer to a zoo and many parks to choose from, horse back riding etc. That sort of thing. In 2013 I started Jade Violet Wedding Floral. Not an everyday, full service shop, but one catering to weddings and special events. I’m not very good at or rather do not really enjoy talking about myself much. I do think my artistic background and true love of flowers, plus a very dedicated and strong work ethic have made Jade Violet what it is today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think owning and operating a small business in itself is a struggle. Unless you happen to be independently wealthy and your business is a fun hobby. The ever changing economy is always a battle. The epidemic of 2020, just about crushed us. A situation I think we are still dealing with. Prices of flowers, rent, utilities and employee salaries keep going up and the consumer/clients desired budgets keep going down. When starting a new business, my success from the last business did not matter to anyone. I had to prove myself all over again in this new area with a new client base and all the new venues. Learning the ropes as far as St. Augustine traffic, where to park, and unload. Just basically starting over was a challenge.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We specialize in working closely with the client to turn their vision into a reality. Hopefully exceeding their expectations. We keep our own personal aesthetics out of it. I want to work with the clients aesthetics. It is their special occasion and we strive to make it as perfect if not better than they could have imagined. All while also trying to make the entire process as stress-free as possible.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
listening to what the client is asking for. Sometimes even reading between the lines of what they are saying to get to what is Truley important for the big event. And then of course working hard to make that vision come true.
Pricing:
- bridal bouquets $100 to $400
- boutonnieres $10 to $20
- centerpieces $50 to $500
- ceremony decor $300 to $3000 and up
- average wedding decor over all $1500 to $30,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jadevioletweddingfloral.com
- Instagram: jadevioletweddingfloral
- Facebook: jade violet wedding floral
