Meet Christina Blodgett

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Blodgett. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I moved to Phoenix from Arkansas in May of 2019. I did not know much, but I knew that I did not want to continue my career within healthcare. My degree is in Biology, and I was on track to attend Medical School. I knew it wasn’t my true path, but I had already traveled so far down it. I felt majorly stuck! Thankfully, I found an opportunity to start working at a flower shop. I thought to myself that school will always be there, and if I ever want to try something else… now is definitely the time. In my interview, I told the owner of the flower shop that I would quit my job that day to come work for her. That’s exactly what I did! I left my job as a caregiver and started this journey in flowers. I took a night class learning the basics of floral design so that I could start arranging as soon as I was able. Plus, I didn’t want to start a new job without any sort of knowledge.

I began working at the flower shop washing buckets, processing flowers, and making daily deliveries. Grunt work. The shop I worked for was transitioning towards events and leaving behind the traditional flower shop model. Within a month of working at the shop, I knew that owning my own flower business is the path for me. I am a strong-minded human. I always think I can make things better, or do it better myself. That’s the sagittarius way, I think.

Immediately, I noticed the ridiculous amount of single-use plastics and floral foam used in flower design. It made me uncomfortable to contribute to that. It’s no secret we have a plastic and trash problem. I feel the flower industry, as a whole, does nothing to curb their environmental impact in a way that actually makes a difference.

Every time I saw floral foam water poured down the sink, I thought about how that contributes to the issues we are having in our aquatic life systems. I researched ways to properly dispose of it, and there’s really no good way. There is biodegradable foam, but it’s still a plastic. It won’t degrade past a certain point. I will just say that the flower industry is completely Green Washed. It is seen as a “green” industry when the reality is that it’s far from it

I would be in the processing room for an entire day processing through all of the flowers for the weekend’s weddings. Some weekends we’d have eight in three days. In our busiest month, we’d have 14 in four days. Long story short, that’s a lot of flowers!! I have processed a countless number of blooms. Every time I took the plastic cover and rubber-banded water bag off of a hydrangea, I thought about the human on the other end of that. While flower farms across the world provide jobs and livelihood for people in areas where there wasn’t opportunity before, it’s still problematic. It can and should be better! It’s a tough situation. Like many problems, it’s multifaceted and requires more than one solution.

Flowers are exclusive to developed countries. It’s a billion-dollar industry. I firmly believe we have a responsibility to make this industry better. Less than half of the flower farms across the world have been certified for fair labor standards, environmental standards, and/or wage standards. This is very problematic, especially when chemicals for flower production are loosely regulated and laborers do not have proper protection or education on how to handle them safely. My main goal is to educate anyone who is buying flowers on the reality of this industry, and emphasize that we can shift the industry. Everyone wants to have pretty flowers, but nobody really wants to think about how they got there, or who picked them. Many people may not even realize the majority of all flowers you can buy are not actually grown in the United States. Thankfully, there are organizations like the Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade, Veriflora, and Fairtrade USA who are striving to make positive changes in the industry.

After reading more into this industry, it was a “no-brainer” for me to commit to being a sustainable florist, and consider running a business through lenses of sustainability. Realistically nothing is truly sustainable. However, I can make better sourcing and material choices. I am a firm believer that small changes add up to large impacts. As long as I continually view my business through “lenses of sustainability”, I believe I can achieve my goals. It’s better than doing nothing for sure! The mainstream floral industry would like florists to think that you can’t be sustainable and that you can’t produce the same product without foam. That is not the case. I am striving to be that example. There is a small group of florists who are really campaigning against floral foam and have changed their practices. I want to show that you can start off being sustainable and be successful. In some ways, I guess you could say I am sticking it to the man.

Fast forward to June 2021. At that point in time, I decided to leave my job with the flower shop to pursue my dream. I was setting up multiple weddings a day by myself, and troubleshooting any issues that can arise during setup. It was fun, but I was unhappy. I wanted to express my own ideas. I became really confident in my abilities as a florist as I was involved in the entire production process for wedding flowers. I set goals to buy an electric delivery car, source 100% from Arizona, grow my own blooms, and completely do away with foam.

Here I am today with Urban Desert Flora. Since then, I have decided to focus less on growing my own blooms and work on uplifting those here who already are doing an amazing job. I am definitely best suited for honoring the gifts the desert gives through design.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely not! You are interviewing me at the genesis of Urban Desert Flora, so I will touch on the most pressing obstacles for starting my business. I will say the road to becoming a successful event florist is full of twists and turns, grumps and bumps. I think a lot of that has to do with being in an industry that provides a service. The hardest part of what I do, on a continual basis, is convincing people that flowers are worth it, and then to take a chance on someone who doesn’t have an extensive portfolio. I am so thankful for my current clients, interested clients, and social media followers!

Oddly enough, a lot of the skepticism I have encountered comes from colleagues in my industry. I’ve been called a “Kitchen Sink” florist. I don’t really know what that means, but it isn’t a compliment. It came from someone who emphasized floral education and being certified as a designer, but who doesn’t have those credentials either. I felt like it was the pot calling the kettle black. I struggled finding support from colleagues who are very intertwined in the mainstream world of flowers. Now that I am connected with wonderful cut-flower growers in the state and other like-minded florists I have found a community of people who get it! My growers are so supportive of me, and I really think that we are going to do some amazing things for flowers in Arizona.

Arizona is special, because in parts of the state we have the ability to grow 365 days of the year, and I want to bring that full force. As I get more clients, I can work with my growers to plant for the fall weddings. The demand just hasn’t been there before. There’s not a florist around who solely works with local farms. I am changing that.

A big challenge in my business is sourcing and storage. It’s just me driving around the state to pick up the flowers for an event. I have to really decide which farms in a certain area are going to have most of what I need. Looking through my lenses of sustainability, it’s not realistic to drive up to Flagstaff for blooms and then all the way down to Tucson for more blooms. I really love Arizona, but I do not wish to trek across the entire state every week! I understand why most florists don’t take this route, especially when there’s an easier one – buy from a wholesaler. I truly feel this is worth it though!

Mid October – January I have to lean on my wholesale to get blooms for my clients.  Thankfully, at Mayesh Wholesale, I can look up where the blooms are coming from. This allows me to keep my carbon footprint down while still making money during the “off season”. Once again, back to lenses of sustainability and what that means to run a successful flower business. I am open with my clients about where their flowers are coming from, even if I do have to run to the wholesale. Transparency is what I am about!

Because I run my business from home, one of the biggest challenges after sourcing is cool storage. We have a refrigerator in our garage that I have taken over for my flowers. I am looking to find a better solution. As bigger weddings are booked I know that I can’t fit everything in a regular fridge, but I can’t fit a commercial flower cooler in my garage either. I have thought about buying a small horse trailer, adding a swamp cooler with a device that lets you override the system so that it cools at a lower temp, and tricking that baby out for flower storage. That is a very creative solution to my problem. We’ll see what happens. Regardless, I do know that the cool storage will be solar-powered. In the meantime, I do have great connections with wholesalers in the city. I have good connections with a few traditional flower shops, and I hope they will be able to rent some cooler space out to me if and when I need it. The good part about owning your own business is that ability to say no. I am fully aware of what all I am capable of, so I am mindful of what I take on with the space that I have.

Some florists would say that not using floral foam is an obstacle, but it really isn’t. Prior to floral foam’s invention in the 60’s, florists used chicken wire, sticks, other found materials, and flower frogs (not a real frog) to create the mechanics of a floral arrangement. I just want to be creative through and through. Outside of the negative environmental impact of floral foam, it really takes out an aspect of creativity from the design. Even though you will never see the mechanic, it’s the most important part of an arrangement outside of the blooms. I use chicken wire, sticks, and those little doodads called flower frogs to make the mechanics of an arrangement. All of those items are reusable or compostable. That’s the most important part to me.

Floral foam became super popular because it is convenient. When you stick a stem in a block of foam, it doesn’t move. When you stick a stem in a meshwork of chicken wire or tendrils and sticks, you have to really work with that arrangement to get the look you want. Time is money, so floral foam is a time-saving investment. I get that. We need to move away from convenience, especially when the convenience is literally killing aquatic life and polluting freshwater sources.

We already use flowers to communicate. Why can’t flowers also be an example for the world in modeling more sustainable industry practices?

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The first thing I thought about when launching Urban Desert Flora was setting myself apart simply by using different blooms than everyone else. Sourcing from Arizona Cut Flower Farms automatically makes that easier! Globally sourced blooms have undergone genetic modifications in order to be better suited for long travel times or longer stems. The tradeoff for those desirable traits is usually losing the scent. I am very proud to provide blooms that smell amazing! I provide farm to table flowers that have longevity, and truly hold their value.

Urban Desert Flora connects you directly to your flower source. Each grower has their own service they provide. Whether it’s a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) flower subscription, hosting AZ gardening classes, or farmer’s markets each person has something special. I am working to have what I am calling “Farm Days”. This is where I invite clients and AZ Cut Flower Farmers to mingle and have some fun! We will have refreshments, fresh-cut blooms, and a fun flower raffle. I think it’s really special to know your local farmer! How cool is it to order the same flowers you had on your wedding day for your wedding anniversary or another special occasion? It is even more special to have those flowers come from the same farm from which your wedding flowers were grown!

There’s the idea out there that only certain blooms are worthy of great design, or being included in weddings. In fact, some in mainstream industry professionals would say that I am using weeds to arrange with. My thought is: Who cares??? Just because it isn’t a rose, hydrangea, or an orchid does not mean it isn’t worthy of being part of great design or a wedding! Who even decided this anyways??? Get out of here with those thoughts please. To know that I am also supporting local agriculture and sustainable labor practices is of utmost importance. Plus, I am lessening the chance of exposing clients and myself to harmful chemicals! Local flowers are much safer for everyone. Simply put, flowers are not food. They aren’t regulated in the same way. Consider the chemical regulations for flowers non-existent. When flowers are at the airport being checked in customs, they are looking for bugs and other things. They aren’t testing for hazardous chemical presence.

 Any old-school florist will tell you Pinterest is the worst thing on Earth. My answer to that is, they just don’t understand how to utilize the platform for what they do. I create a private Collaborative Pinterest Board for all of my clients. This is where we are both able to Pin ideas and leave each other notes. I think that photos are the best way to communicate when it comes to planning wedding flowers. Pinterest is my BFF, honestly. Most of my clients already have their own Pinterest Boards for their wedding ideas, why not have one specially curated for your wedding flowers? We are going to agree on a color palette, arrangement shapes, and general aesthetic for your wedding flowers. I take the opportunity to pin individual flowers and teach my clients names of flowers that are available to them! Yes, Pinterest does aid in an unrealistic idea of what flowers are. We don’t always take into account that 1) blue is a very rare color in nature 2) most photos are staged 3) the editing of the photo can lead you to believe that a flower appears in one way when in reality it does not and 4) your favorite bouquet may actually be made entirely of silk flowers that came in colors not produced in nature. I just make sure to explain each photo and really manage expectations for what will come out in real life.

Two of the most important things I value are Human Connection and Creativity. Once a client has decided to hire me for their wedding, we’ve been through the consultation, and tons of Pinterest pics I decide what farms are going to be able to supply. After I make those decisions and connect with the growers, I send a list of the growers to the client. I want there to be no questioning where the blooms come from! I am big on supporting local. There are many florists who advertise local flowers but do not actually source local blooms. This is misleading. Local in that sense refers to the florist services and not the actual product. That doesn’t jive with me. I am a straight shooter.

I am young woman in this industry who sees that changes are needed. I specialize in sustainable floristry and making lasting meaningful connections with people. I hope to be known for my creativity, my kindness, and my dedication to changing the flower industry for the better. These are flowers you can truly feel good about. My goal is to be THE Phoenix Sustainable Florist.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
When I was a little girl, I would stay with my great grandparents a lot! My great-grandmother was a florist for a period of time. I have such fond memories of her taking me to that small shop in Oklahoma. She would give me pipe cleaners to play with while she was busy filling orders for delivery. I would sneak away and hop into the flower cooler. In that particular shop, they had two coolers. The first cooler was at the front of the shop, and held all of the roses! I loved going into the rose cooler to look at all of the gorgeous blooms. My great-grandmother always made her own seasonal flower arrangements for her dining table and would sew a special table runner and placemats to match. She was the fanciest lady I knew! I could always count on receiving a flower arrangement from her for the start of the school year, Valentine’s day, and my birthday. She is turning 90 this year, and I am excited for the chance to shower her in all of the pink flowers that I can find. My time with her as a child I cherish more than any material item. It was the happiest time in my childhood. I am happy that I can always honor her in my new career path.

Pricing:

• Floral Event Minimum: $800

Contact Info:

• Email: urbandesertflora@gmail.com
• Website: urbandesertflora.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbandesertflora/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/urbandesertflora
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/christinablodg

Image Credits
Spencer Reeves