Flowyr
Legacy Name: Flowyr

Flowers

So my dad was hungover when he filed the paperwork for my birth. Mom insisted on "Yellow Flower" - something to do with a meditation she'd had before labour - and somehow Dad wrote Flowyr on the Birth Certificate. It's pronounced like Flower, so there's that blessing at least. Mom was furious, but after a couple years decided she liked the unique spelling. Made my life hell in school, though.

Just because I was born right at the end of the 60s and flower power hippie love both my parents were into. Mom insisted on tie dye sheets and crystals in the delivery room. She was determined that, being born on the last day of the 1960s, I was a special child. I was 'special' alright. I had undiagnosed autism. Yes it existed back then. Not many people knew about it, and we were not in a city with the latest studies. I was a very quiet child, not given to socialising, no matter who my mother invited over. I'd just be relieved when they went home.

Start of an Obsession.

We lived near Lompoc in California. It happens to be a huge flower growing area, so I grew up surrounded by the sights and smells of flowers. Almost to spite my name I grew interested in them and would study them for hours. My parents never understood how I could spend days with my notes and outside in the fields, but schoolwork could cause a meltdown. Flowers and plants are alive, but they are also gentle. They have such beauty and fragrance, and each one is different. Mix different flowers together and the combined perfume can speak of something entirely new. I learned how each smelt, felt, texture and properties. How flexible the stem was, how tall they could grow. I loved the sweet peas with their little mouths.

A Japanese movie when I was 13 changed so much for me. There was one scene with absolutely gorgeous images of cherry blossoms, trees that bloom with the tiny flowers along their branches. Called Sakura, I was filled with a yearning to know how they smelt.

It took some time and a class excursion to find out. Their fragrance is so faint and delicate that you can miss it when they are only a few. But a large armful can entice the senses. We went to a cherry blossom orchard, and the fragrance was so heady I lay on the grass staring up at the trees around me, wanting to stay forever. Unfortunately, the teacher took a dim view of my wishes.

A Career Blooms

I ended up interning with one of the local florists at 15. Schoolwork didn't interest me in general. I wasn't very good at it. But flowers and arranging and making them look beautiful I have a knack for. What flowers work well together. The owner was happy with my progress. She was very much a mothering type and would look after me, making sure I'd remember to eat between working with the flowers. Yes I'd forget meals. When I got into the zone and mono focused I could be there for hours.

One day, a man in a beautiful suit came in. It had flowers on it, which is why it caught my attention. Not garish big roses or anything, but a virtual flower garden the length of his body. It was glorious. I was so busy looking at the suit I did not realise he was looking at the photos displayed on the back wall of pieces I had done. The shop owner always liked taking photos before they were sent to happy clients and had a board full of photos of my creations.

"Who did these?" his voice broke my concentration on his suit. The owner answered and gestured to me, and I felt the full force of his gaze for the first time.

"You are quite young to be making these" he said, "who taught you?" he angled his head slightly to the side, clearly curious.

I was confused, "no one sir, I just make what feels right for the situation."

The man softly said "oh my" almost under his breath, "She's a natural."

His name was Augustus Nichenko, and he was what they called a 'big name' in the floral world. His car had a flat tyre while passing through, and he felt drawn to our little store, curious to see what he might find. He started asking odd questions, such as "are you in school?" and "do you have children?". I answered best as I could but I was stammering a little as it was very overwhelming. My boss broke in, asking why he was asking such questions of a vulnerable girl, and Mr Nichenko blinked a few times to understand her inference.

"Oh no!" he said, "I am simply finding out how easily it would be to ask her to come to my business in Los Angeles!"

He passed over his business card to my boss, then one to me. It was dark gold embossed writing on a pure white card, except for a red rose in the bottom right hand corner. It just said his name, and underneath were the words "Floral Couture", and below them "Rodeo Drive". Even I had heard of Rodeo Drive! It's LA's 5th Avenue!

in progress

https://laflowerdistrict.com
"Los Angeles area's floriculture industry "
link another and....

Arrangements