So happy to introduce you to BB Expert Panel member Laetitia Mayor today! She’s served on the panel since our very first panel discussion on June 20, 2012 – nearly 5 years ago. Laetitia’s floral design business, named “Florésie” which is a French contraction for “fleurs” (flowers) and “poésie” (poetry), is located in the Champagne area in France, about a 1.5 hr. drive Northeast from Paris. Laetitia started Florésie as a floral blog in 2010 when she signed up for the School of Florists in Paris. It soon became a full-time job and design studio in 2012. Over the years, Laetitia has given us a front row peek into  Florésie’s growth while being incredibly generous with the time and advice she offers the BB readers. I hope you will learn a little more about her through this interview and then help me thank her for her nearly 5 years of service on the Expert Panel!

Bouquet images by D’Arcy Benincosa Photography

I asked Laetitia to share a little more about her business with us and I’m thrilled she agreed…

Amy: What types of work do you do at Florésie ?

Laetitia: The studio specializes in weddings. At first, I was thinking about offering public floral classes as well, but the weddings took on real quick and I found I did not have time to do both activities, as I am a mother as well…

Floresie | Anna Tereshina Photography

Amy: Where do you get your flowers? Do you grow any of the flowers you use at Florésie?

Laetitia: We have three sources of flowers, depending on season and needs. We grow some flowers in our cutting garden, mainly dahlias and perennials. We love to consider these as our “spice” elements, mainly textural and unexpected ones. Then we love to buy flowers from local growers at Paris flower market, especially garden roses. Finally we have a supplier that ships directly from Holland that we use mainly at times of the year when it is not possible to get local products.

Floresie | Anna Tereshina Photography

Amy: I hear you’re hosting some 1:1 sessions and workshops. Can you tell us more about those opportunities?

Laetitia: I will be co-hosting a three day creative retreat in September with my friend Chikae O.H. inspired by the “The Secret Garden”. It will be three days of flowers, photography, visual story telling and good food in the Champagne country side in France. It will be my first ever workshop given in English, as my regular workshops are taught in French…

For two years I’ve also been offering 1:1 sessions for florists and floral aficionados from all levels. These take place in my garden, and therefore occur during the warm season when I have flowers available. The program for these sessions is totally open to the student. I tell them everything they want to know about gardening, arranging, wedding florals, flower photography, running a flower business, etc …

Floresie | Anna Tereshina Photography

Amy: Any tips on balancing family/work responsibilities based on your experiences so far?

Laetitia: Florésie was born from the wish to ground a family and have time for it, fleeing my previous life as an engineer working way too many hours a week… This is the main reason I decided to have my studio set in my own private house. It is true that working and living in the same space is not always easy, but it allows me to be much closer to the ones that are the most important to me. Nevertheless, it is no secret, balancing a family life and a floral business is tricky and requires creativity and team work 🙂 The cutting garden in a joint family effort, for example. We love to work there altogether and we often plan big parties with our friends and relatives such as our “Dahlia Planting Day” that happens every year. We are about 20 adults in the garden putting the bulbs in soil with children running in all directions around us. During summer, as I work mainly on weekends, we try to find time altogether during the week. My husband managed to obtain a part-time job where he is currently working at 90% on a very flexible basis, which allows us to have “week-ends” during the week and that helps a lot.

Floresie | Blanc Coco Photographe

Amy: Let’s talk about your favorites…

Laetitia:

– floral designer: Ariella Chezar is probably the florist I admire most, but there are so many others…

– flower: Garden roses are definitely my weak spot and my signature.

– design style: Organic, lush and garden style is what I feel the most drawn to, but I also enjoy a lot the modern European style featured by Moniek Vanden Berghe for example.

– ribbon vendor: My number one favorite ribbon vendor is Fleuropean, love all of Emily’s work! [Emily Avenson of Fleuropean happens to be a fellow Expert Panel member!]

– place to relax and unwind: I guess the hammock set at the rear of my garden is just the place to be when I need some minutes of calm…

– quote or book that inspires you: I use to read a lot (before I had my son and my business…) but my house and studio are still packed with books. Maybe if I had to name one and only one: “The Floral Decorator”, by Kenneth Turner just opened my eyes on today’s trends and technique. It is a vintage book, hard to find, but a reading I highly recommend if you want to dare a wilder garden style.

Floresie | Blanc Coco Photographe

EXCLUSIVELY FOR BB READERS:

Great news! Laetitia is offering a 10% discount to BB readers who would like to attend The Secret Garden Workshop. Offer ends:  June 18th 2017. Please enter discount code: BROUHAHA01. Space is limited to 7 students.

To see more of Laetitia’s work at Florésie, check her out on:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

And for more from Laetitia Mayor and the BB Expert Panel, click here!