Today we’d like to introduce you to Biz Ence.
Hi Biz, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My name is Biz- short for Elizabeth. I have been an official florist for a year now! I have always been drawn to plants and flowers. I remember making flower crowns with my mom, picking wildflower bouquets in the mountains, and creating boutonnières for my prom dates in high school!
After getting a degree in hospitality from the University of Utah, I started pursuing a career in the wedding industry. Did a bit of planning, venue coordination, and sales. I used my hobby of watercolor and calligraphy to start an Etsy business doing wedding invitations, signs, and other art. That was all fun, but the whole time, I was watching the florists and dying to do what they do! After getting laid off in 2020 and becoming pregnant with my first baby, I decided I deserved to do what I truly want to do!
I got my business license and started Marketing myself as a florist. I have been shadowing other designers, learning from courses, and practicing A TON to become the florist of my dreams. I still have so much to learn-and imagine I always will- but I hustle during nap time and carry my baby on my hip to tour flower farms all to fulfill this dream and make my client’s dreams come true as well!
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?
Being a florist is hard because flowers are expensive! I work with a perishable product that you really only get your hands on when you have a paying customer. I buy flowers for marketing purposes and to practice, but not too often because I want to make a profit!
I don’t have a huge portfolio starting out so I can’t show potential clients my work and let them browse through a gallery of images to select what they’d like at their wedding. A lot of it is—“show me pictures on your Pinterest and if you just trust me, I promise I will make it amazing!!”
So I rely on family and friends to vouch for me and my capabilities while I’m still starting out!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Something I have always wanted to implement in my life and career is sustainability. I am passionate about not being wasteful and giving full life to things that fall into my hands. The wedding industry is a very wasteful industry. You spend hundreds or thousands on a dress to wear it once. Most caterers dump leftover food since it is a liability if people take it home.
Paper invitations, custom signs, and of course, flowers, are all single-use. Flowers are nice because they are organic and will decompose. However, have you ever thought about the life of a flower? How do we get beautiful tropical flowers for weddings in the middle of winter in Utah? They are imported! Not always, but often from other countries. So then imagine the plastic for transport, the fuel, the energy to keep them cool— and not to mention the ribbons, tape, vessels, and mechanics that are used on the wedding day to arrange the flowers.
Then they are put on display for a couple of hours and thrown out once the couple sets off on their honeymoon. Now it may seem like I’m trying to convince you that flowers are wasteful. I’m not. Flowers add meaning, beauty, and color to weddings. They are symbolic and wonderful. I have found ways to make your flowers meaningful and not wasteful. I implement these practices to do so:
1. Source flowers from local farmers as much as I possibly can.
2. Use reusable and compostable materials in my arrangements—this is HARD. I’m still experimenting and working on it, but I believe it is worth it!
3. Recycle plastic and cardboard packaging, toss leftover water on my lawn.
4. For a fee, offer to collect flowers at the end of an event and deliver them to a nursing home OR place them at the gravesite of the couple’s relative. (I did this with my husband the day after my wedding and it was the most special thing!).
I advocate for using flowers in a more sustainable way! I don’t want us to do away with them, just be smart with them!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
My heart is in weddings, but I also offer florals for all other events! High school dances, funerals, parties, etc. I do custom orders for everyday arrangements or bouquets as well!
Contact Info:
- Email: biz.e.design@outlook.com
- Instagram: @biz.e.design
Image Credits
Maura Topham
Ella Newman Photography
Lauren Zufelt Photo
Stacie Larsen Photo
