July 01 2019

Meet a LoCoFloer: Ellen Frost

Tags: Meet the Owners, Hilarious

Ok. President Business. The Man. Allen Armitage Winner. MBA. Local only. Whatever. We are finally meeting Ellen Frost, LoCoFlo founder and owner, for the blog. You really think you are the shit, don't you?

Don't be weird.

Is it true that you are so flower famous that you were recognized, like you're frickin' Linsey Lohan, at a botanical garden in Florida?

Lindsey Lohan? Is this 2002! Yes, it happened. It was wicked weird. I was in line to enter the West Martello Tower garden in Key West and they ask you where you are visiting from. When I said Maryland, the woman in line behind me asked if I owned Local Color Flowers! She attended a talk I gave to her garden club. I would say it was more coincidental than fame.

"Wicked weird" - who says that? Where are you from?

Buffalo. You know that.

I'm asking for the reader. Why do you think you are so much better than everybody else in the flower industry?

Come on, I don't! I am sensitive to some people in the flower industry who think our model is a critique of their business. Our local-only approach works for us and gives our customers a choice if that is important to them. It is not possible to do this everywhere in the US. We are not the best climate in the country for flower growing, but we can get fantastic local flowers all year. It isn't easy, but local flowers are important to us and is what the business is based on.

That's where the Allen Armitage award comes in! Yeah, let's get after it! This how the BLOG BLOWS UP!

What are you talking about? And why are you yelling?

I get excited.

You know the staff doesn't like it when you come into the shop and start yelling.

I'm not yelling at them. Why can't I get excited about flowers? YEEHAW!

OK. That's enough.

Moving on... What is the nerdiest flower thing you do? It's gotta be that Darwin book club. Not only do you read books. The books are about flowers. Then you add Darwin on like homework.

Why don't you read a book and join us?

I like TV. And video games.

I know. Maybe you could just spend one night reading a book instead.

No. Isn't awesome to work with your husband?

Yes.

So, you have been doing this for like more than 10 years. You don't make any money. What are you doing? What are you doing?

It's fun. And we are making a little money.

Alright. Let's get into the story. How did all of this get started?

I finished business school and was inspired by an entrepreneur class. I knew I wanted to start my own small business but didn't know what the business would do.

MBA. We get it.

My friend Marina, who was in my Master Gardener class, had read the book "Flower Confidential" by Amy Stewart and suggested a local-only wedding flower business.

MBA and Master Gardner? You slipped that one in pretty easily.

So, I then read the book - it's all about the global flower industry. Most cut flowers sold in the US are grown overseas. It takes a lot of resources and chemicals to ship, store, and preserve foreign flowers for sale in the US.

So you're a flower protectionist. A Trumpian florist?

You're being weird again. We're a small business selling local products. Economic globalization is beneficial for many industries. Our local flowers are a cleaner, greener product that are grown by our friends who run small, family farms. Plus there are so many more interesting varieties with longer vase life.

BORING!

So, Marina and I joined with our friend Jen, who worked part-time with me at Bridenbaugh Farm to start the business.

OK. Marina - the ideas guy. Jen - the farm guy. Ellen - the business guy. What about the skills necessary to do the work. I guess it can't be that hard to put flowers in a vase. Did you just wing it?

No, we didn't just wing it!

Ow! No punching during the interview.

We took a design class at BCCC. We practiced. This was just on the weekends. And, we only designed flowers for friends at first.

OK. You have your little weekend wedding side-hustle going. How long before you dropped the dead weight and ramped up to be the floral juggernaut LoCoFlo is today.

Those are my friends! Marina moved to the Eastern Shore and Jen had twins, so they couldn't be in the business anymore. And that's not nice.

Whatever. I have done more for LoCoFlo than the two of them combined.

Yeah, whatever.

Double Whatever! So what happened next?

We rented a space to work and I eventually left my job to work on flowers full time.

That's it?

Well, I increased my design skills - took more classes. Joined the ASCFG. Built relationships with farmers and customers. Cultivated our social media. Established our brand. Received reviews and referrals. The business grew, we got some part-time help. We bought a van. And we were booking over 100 weddings year.

That's it? What about when I jumped on board?

What about it?

That was awesome.

Hello.

Ok. What about the building?

That changed our business. We were casually looking for a space for years. We were on the roof of a potential building and a man in the street below called to us. We went down and he said he owned the small warehouse across the street and was willing to sell!

Aw, that was so lit!

You sound so stupid when you talk that way.

It's what the kids are saying.

You're not a kid, and they're probably not saying that anymore.

But, I'm cool.

No, you're not.

I'm trying.

Stop trying.

Just keep going.

Well, we made a deal that night and after renovations, we moved in January 2013. We are doing so many more fun things at the shop like Open Studio, Sat@LoCoFlo, Classes, Book Club, private and community events. Plus some more exciting plans.

Oh, right, the thing?

Yeah, the thing.

Ok. Let's wrap this up. Is there anything else you want the readers to know?

I don't know if they got much out of this.

What do you mean. This was great!

I don't think so. I have to do my actual work.

Just finish this up with something schmaltzy.

I'm so grateful for what LoCoFlo has become. We are the largest buyer of flowers for several local farmers. We provide flexible employment for some of our Mom friends and flower growers. We have created a cool place in Baltimore where people can learn and be creative. I am especially proud of remarks by State Senator Mary Washington who recently visited our shop...

Ok hot shot. Cue music: I had the time of my life...

Don't be weird.

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June 21 2019

What's Your Statice?

Tags: Farmers, Hilarious, Flower Profile

Ours is German. It's unremarkable all alone in a bucket straight from the farm. But Statice, Ellen says, is a floral work-horse. Old Reliable. AD ('All Day' if you are familiar with the confusing nickname of football player Adrian Peterson - sometimes misnomered AP). What I'm getting at is Statice is a hearty and versatile cut we use year-round from Winter wreaths to Summer bouquets. It's a two-way player. It's a multi-instrumentalist. It's a flower for all seasons. It gets the job done!

LB (status: sassy) with her Statice

And that's why Ellen loves herself some Statice. She also loves to enumerate:

1. Statice looks the same fresh or dried (there's your versatility and longevity)
2. Statice is a competent local substitute for the oft-requested and locally-scarce Baby's Breath
3. With a name like 'Statice' the jokes write themselves. Baller.
4. Statice is a staple for arrangements out of water: arches, bouts, head crowns, aisle swags and the such.
5. Not a lot of growers sell it, so it provides a unique look in our arrangements.

Despite the high regard it holds today here at LoCoFlo, it took a few seasons for Statice to reach its current status (it didn't even get an at-large bid in last year's inaugural Flower Madness Tourney). Our first deliveries came from Greenstone Fields in 2014. After a few weeks, we saw the upside, and went all in. The next harvest, Ellen bought the entire crop.

Statice: flush.

As quickly as Statice came into our lives, it was gone. Hey Lloyd, Ellen was ready to be heartbroken (she really said 'heartbroken'). The Greenstone Statice bonanza lasted only one year.

Statice: sadness.

There were no other Statice growers nearby. Ellen started to recruit. Butterbee accepted the challenge and ordered up the plants from Dave Dowling at Gloeckner in the Fall of 2017. A year and a half later, we bought Butterbee's entire crop.

Statice: back in business.

Fake ending. More Statice. When LB delivered the Statice, local flower OG Bob Wollam came into the studio and said "Oh, you've got Limonium (fancy name for Statice). I used to grow a purple variety."

Statice: so many emotions.

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April 28 2019

Hey Guys! We Have a Mural Now

Tags: Hilarious, At LoCoFlo

LoCoFlo thought we had something special when Jessica A. Rowe Valmas applied for a design job with us. She was in the Future Harvest Beginner Farmer Training Program with an internship at our long-time trusted partner, Butterbee Farm. She was a graduate of MICA with several aquatic-themed commissions completed. She wore a t-shirt that implied membership in The Society of Excellent Women. It was all very promising.

Flower design training began. Jess built a wall. Everything was pretty, pretty, pretty good. Then, things got weird. Jess started bringing Uncrustables for lunch. She reenacted her favorite signature professional wrestling moves from the 90's (i.e Scotty Too Hotty and George, The Animal, Steel). She would, on more than one occasion, rap the entire theme song from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Real weird.

But Jess had the art skillz, and we asked her to paint a mural on the outside of the building. We set the requirements: Flowers from our logo - Rudbeckia, Zinnia, Dahlia. Easy peasy.

Nailed it!

It turns out our first impression was right: Jess is special. She has transformed our building and our business. She brings beauty to shop even on the days she isn't working. If we could just get her to eat some real food...

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April 19 2019

Flower 911

Tags: Hilarious, Open Studio

What happens when our customer gives us the wrong date for their event? If they call during Open Studio looking for their flowers, we're on the mofo (to paraphrase Jules Winnfield).

Ellen calmly assured the customer over the phone we would make it to their event in time for them to present their awardees with flowers - then she hit the panic button. (The event had already begun!)

Bloom Battlers Chris Vaeth and Heather Zampier, along with LoCoFlo designer Jess, answered the bell. Chris was on-site for his wedding consultation, Heather is a regular at Open Studio (it's her mid-week, self-prescribed therapy), and Jess was working on the LoCoFlo mural.

Heather dropped a handful of stock, Jess slid off her ladder, Chris said "my wedding plans can wait, it's flower time!" (minor blog hyperbole). Ellen directed her impromptu, pro-am, all-star team to crank out three spectacular presentation centerpieces in a flash.

Eric revved up the LoCoRoll, and was on his way. A LoCoFlo miracle!

And that was the day Heather and Chris became local flower folk heroes.

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January 25 2019

Buying Imported Flowers Will Send You Straight to Forking Hell!

Tags: Hilarious

Finally! Definitive proof that buying imported flowers is the worst thing in the world. LoCoFlo has known this for years (ICYMI, we only use locally grown flowers), but Michael has it all laid out.

In episode 10 of season 3 titled "The Book of Dougs" (mild spoilers ahead), Tahani, who is trying to get into the good place, laments: "There are so many unintended consequences of well-intentioned actions, it feels like a game you can't win."

(Some background if you haven't seen The Good Place: It is an awesome tv show about the afterlife. A point system of humans' actions throughout their lives determine if they are worthy of spending eternity in the good place.)

Michael realizes Tahani is on to something. He pulls out the Book of Dougs, containing the point tally for people named Doug throughout human history. He finds a Doug from several hundred years ago and, with a flick of his wrist, displays an image of the file in the air (Michael is not human):

“In 1534, Douglass Wynegarr of Hawkhurst, England, gave his grandmother roses for her birthday. He picked them himself, walked them over to her, she was happy — boom, 135 points,”

Michael then flips forward to a Doug just a few years ago in our own backyard:

“In 2009, Doug Ewing of Scaggsville, Maryland, also gave his grandmother a dozen roses, but he lost four points. Why? Because he ordered roses using a cell phone that was made in a sweatshop. The flowers were grown with toxic pesticides, picked by exploited migrant workers, delivered from thousands of miles away — which created a massive carbon footprint — and his money went to a billionaire racist CEO who sends his female employees pictures of his genitals."

What the fork? Doug Ewing could possibly avoid eternal damnation by simply choosing local flowers. Is it completely his fault? How could he know all of the repercussions? Micheal proves Tahani's premise. He realizes "everyday the world gets a little more complicated and being a good person gets a little harder."

Ugh! Just keep it simple - join us in the good place with local flowers.

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October 30 2017

Meet a LoCoFloer: Eric Moller

Tags: Hilarious, Meet the Owners

What do you do at LoCoFlo?

What don’t I do!?! I truly think LoCoFlo would be out of business within a week without me. I am totally indispensable and irreplaceable.

My primary responsibility is expert delivery of flowers to customers, but that hardly scratches the surface. I wash buckets. I clean the shop. I take out the compost. I’m also the tallest, and we have some very high shelves.

Wow. It sounds like you have your hands full. What value do you contribute to the company?

My most valuable contribution is cultivating the atmosphere and guiding culture at the shop. I’m really good with jokes. The designers and customers love me. They are particularly riveted by my stories from the road. Plus I’m easy on the eyes.

Right. How did you get started at LoCoFlo?

I’m married to Ellen. When she started the business she had two business partners. After Jen had twins, she just dropped out - totally flaked. Then, when Marina left for the Eastern Shore (what's that, like a three-hour drive - whatevs), I swooped in. That is when LoCoFlo really started to cook with gas!

Oh, I see. The picture is getting clearer. What is your experience with flowers?

None! I can honestly say that after 10 years I still don’t know very much. And I haven’t developed any design skills. But I love working at LoCoFlo. I’ve worked in support roles at companies with great missions in the past: a homeless social service agency, an international health care NGO, and now LoCoFlo which advocates for local farmers.

What’s a typical day like for you?

It depends. During the week, the designers get in early to meet the farmers. Then they make the orders. I roll in late morning and I’m off slinging flowers. Sometimes we will have a corporate event during the week.

On the weekends we have Sat@LoCoFlo which is the bomb, and weddings. Delivering weddings is all business. A typical wedding delivery includes personal flowers (bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages), ceremony arrangements, and table centerpieces.

Why do you say the wedding deliveries all business?

A wedding is one of the most important days in our customers’ life. Plus, it is so meaningful for the families. Although the flowers only last a short time, the pictures and memories last a lifetime. The floral products, my customer service, the experience we help to provide must be the highest quality. The customer put their trust in us for this day. It is a simple job, but it can be a high pressure situation. I take the deliveries very seriously, and it is a joy to be part of the wedding.

What’s your favorite LoCoFlo memory?

We have a lot of fun. nacho parties, flower beards, photo shoots, awards. Last fall two of our designers and one of our farmers got married (not to each other). We designed the florals and attended all three weddings. We had a party before all of the weddings at the shop featuring our neighborhood Hip Hop Chicken.

Thanks for talking with me

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