Exploring Life & Business with Emily Forsberg of Free State Flora

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Forsberg.

Emily, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When I started working with flowers, I had every intention of growing a flower farm. I quickly realized that weddings brought me more joy and money with significantly less work. I tried juggling both for a while, but now only maintain my own small cutting garden, which I believe helps set my work apart.

I spent the first 5 years designing wedding florals from my basement. I used social media to grow my business and now have a studio of my very own. Our studio doubles as a workspace and retail shop where we sell fresh, dried, and artificial flowers.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Much of my journey has felt “meant to be.” 2020 was a reality slap though because I struggled greatly to hold onto the business I had worked so hard to grow. The lack of weddings and events was almost fatal, but I’ve managed to recover and begin new growth. This experience has left me cautious, but also more courageous moving forward.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Free State Flora, LLC?
Our team provides floral services for weddings and events as well as installations for homes and businesses. We enjoy a creative challenge and long to do work that is exciting and thought-provoking. We strive to provide our clients with edgy, fun florals.

The hope is that people who could care less about flowers will stop and take notice, as well as encourage flower lovers to look a little longer, noting all the little details we’ve added in.

We’re artists that work with flowers in all shapes and forms. Our favorite flowers are locally grown. It is our intention to bring awareness to the importance of buying local flowers. They are beneficial to our local farmers and economy, as well as the environment.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The floral industry has been hurt by big box stores, large international farms, and order gatherer companies. We hope to see a shift in customers’ interest in buying small and local. We also hope to see more clients contacting florists directly over buying online from faux florists that take advantage of small, locally-owned shops.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: freestateflora.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freestateflora
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freestateflora

Image Credits
Shelby Laine Photography, Loretta Lewis Photography, Maktography, and Brooke Seals Photography