Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Wrobel.
Hi Chelsea, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Freedom Floral started out of my home in March of 2020, about two weeks before the city went into lockdown due to COVID-19. We quickly pivoted from our original events-focused business plan and started offering flower deliveries all over the Houston area. As an Ag-business, we were one of the few allowed to continue operating and since I was operating out of my home and could have flowers delivered to my doorstep, it was a relatively easy pivot to make.
What I didn’t expect was to fall in love with retail flower deliveries- but I did! Especially in the midst of COVID-19 lockdown and the forced separation from so many of our loved ones, sending and delivering flowers took on a deep and purposeful meaning, both for us and our customers. We began to receive feedback about how much joy our flowers spread wherever they went and that was addicting, both for us and our customers. I loved seeing friends, sisters, mothers, sons, and daughters send each other love and joy (back and forth in many cases) in the midst of such challenging times.
By the time August rolled around and events slowly started happening again, it was clear, Freedom Floral isn’t sticking to event florals- we’re going to be a full-service flower shop! We had quickly reached the limit of what we could do out of my home and found ourselves in need of a dedicated workspace (and cooler!!).
We looked for several months, and even started negotiations with one location before landing where we were meant to be with Braun Enterprises in Spring Branch Village. We instantly connected with Braun’s vision for their shopping center and their passion for bringing great concepts to the under-served Spring Branch area. It was an easy yes! We signed a lease in December 2020, and the long build-out process began.
As our space was taking shape, so was our long-term vision for FF. We designed the space with a kids and gifts boutique in the front, and nice big workshop space in the back, complete with a mural wall. The workshop space would serve as our daily floral design workspace and as an event space to hold creative classes to include floral design, calligraphy, charcuterie, and more!
We are now open at 8209 Long Point Rd. and you’ll find us designing for daily deliveries, weddings, and events big and small, as well as selling a carefully curated collection of high quality and ethically made gifts, and hosting all the creative workshops- usually 1-2 each month!
Our team has grown from our original husband and wife team to include two boutique business partners, our extremely talented 2nd designer and resident artist, a sweet part-time high school student, and contractors as needed! Lots of big things are coming in early 2022, and we are so excited to continue to serve the Spring Branch community and the Greater Houston area!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a brand new business in the midst of a pandemic has definitely thrown us some curveballs. From having to pivot so soon after starting our business, to flower and supply shortages, and what felt like endless build-out delays- we’ve learned grit and perseverance through it all.
Supply shortages continue to be a daily struggle, and we are reminded all the time of the importance of being flexible and making the best of what is available to us! I’m so proud of our team and how we’ve really come together to make the best of some tough situations over the last year!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I fell in love with flowers when my husband and I got married in 2013. Through our wedding florist, I gained access to so many flowers I’d only ever seen in photos. Peonies, ranunculus, and antique hydrangea were some of the most intriguing to me at the time. After our wedding, I started designing flowers as a hobby. For our dining room table, for my father-in-law, retirement party, for my brother-in-law’s rehearsal dinner, etc.
I discovered I had a knack for putting together beautiful arrangements and received a lot of positive encouragement during those years. But as a hobbyist, I didn’t have access to the same kind of flowers we had for our wedding. I longed for the specialty blooms I never found at the grocery store. And when I looked for retail flowers to purchase, I never found any options that represented the Pinterest perfect garden style look that I really wanted.
Now that I’ve had some more formal training and have unlimited access to all the specialty blooms I can imagine, Freedom Floral’s style is definitely not that of the traditional flower shops we’re accustomed to seeing on 1-800 flowers, etc. We specialize in lush garden style arrangements and love designing in ceramic and cement vases, rather than traditional glass. I like to describe our look as if you walked out into a flower field, gathered all your favorite blooms and greenery, and then dropped them “artfully” into a vase. Sounds simple, but it takes a lot of work and intentionality to get the “effortless but artful” look that we love!
For retail flowers, we focus on making specialty garden-style blooms accessible to our clients for regular everyday use. To do this we focus on seasonal specialty blooms and change our retail offerings seasonally to give our clients the most bang for their buck in the floral department!
For events and weddings, the sky is the limit. We love working with clients who range from keeping it simple and affordable to giving me all the peonies in my bridal bouquet! One of my favorite things in this business and understanding the needs of my clients and finding creative ways to meet them. You’ll see some new things from us in 2022 to help better serve our wedding clients of all levels- it’s very exciting!
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
The floral industry is such a friendly one! I’ve been honored to work with a few Houston florists who were well established when we started and were so helpful in answering my questions and being candid about what they’d learned along the way in their own businesses. Lauren of Flora and Fauna, Maggie of Bramble and Bee, and Sherrill of Crisp Floral Design have been so helpful and I’m truly grateful. I also studied virtually under some of my favorite designers through online courses throughout the first year of my business, I love how you can learn anything online these days and am thankful for design masters who share their design techniques with the upcoming generation of designers!
It’s my FF team though that has really made all of this possible. Bridget and Jenna have come on as boutique business partners and taken our dream and made it a reality! The collection of gifts they have curated is truly one of the best in Houston in my opinion and I’m so thankful and proud of how they’ve pulled it all together. Taiba is my second designer and our mural wall artist. She is the backbone of our business- I’m convinced it is very little she can’t do.
She can make a gorgeous arrangement in record time, knows way more about reels and all things social media than the rest of us, and keeps our space in tip-top shape! Building this business has been a joy, and it wouldn’t be possible without these faithful and hard-working people who joined in on the dream with us. I love running this race with all of them!
Pricing:
- Flower Delivery options start at $52- and go up to $250
- A la carte weddings $0-$4000
- Full-Service Weddings $4000+
Contact Info:
- Email: chelsea@freedomfloral.com
- Website: www.freedomfloral.com
- Instagram: @freedomfloraltx
- Facebook: @freedomfloralhtx
- Other: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Freedom+Floral/@29.8020951,-95.4946559,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x8640c537cd9c8e85:0x5108b3ccbff4abe2!8m2!3d29.8022678!4d-95.4924614
Image Credits
Jennifer Corona Photography
