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FLORIST FLOWERING YOUR WORLD – Jessica Öhrström
“Today, I think I got the best of both worlds.”
Welcome to our interview and blog with florists, about florists, for florists.
The next florist to be featured is Jessica Öhrström, who works as a freelance florist and is self-employed, and the driving force behind “7 of a kind Floral Design”.
Why did you choose the florist profession?
I was almost literally born in a greenhouse in Skåne.
Grandma, grandpa and my mother ran a flower shop and garden centre together throughout my childhood. Their greenhouse was a well-visited excursion destination and there was room for both exotic plants, cut flowers, puppies, and a parrot that could talk. The best thing I knew was going to the flower market with my grandfather, and when me and my brother got to “help out” to decorate Christmas wreaths, write funeral cards on grandfather´s old type writer and learn how to thorn off roses. I dreamed of going to Ingvar Strandh’s Flower School in Oxie one day, and getting educated myself to be a florist for real!
But that didn’t happen at the time. There were some professionally winding detours before I found my way back to flowers as a full-time occupation in adulthood…
I have always loved to travel and worked for many years as a flight attendant at SAS and after that, designed and developed store concepts in the fashion industry with a focus on sustainability. I have also run my own company in this. I later trained at Floristutbildarna in Stockholm. The travel nerve took me to New York and I did my internship with Ingrid Carozzi at Tin Can Studios. The first assignment I got to work on during the internship was Time Magazine’s gala for “Person of the year” and I remember wondering if it was really happening.
I had been home in Stockholm for a week or so, when Ingrid called and asked if I wanted to come back and be an apprentice with her. It was the best decision I have ever taken on a purely professional level. I could never have dreamed of having a better mentor! That is now a few years ago, and now I work in Ingrid’s team at Tin Can and have made so many great friends there. Ingrid’s expression, colour thinking, view of shape, and courage are completely unique, and it’s is really a treat to be able to work like that.
Today, I think I got the best of both worlds. I still get to travel around the world (as I did as a flight attendant) – now as a florist. I’ve got to work on absolutely fantastic projects, both in my own name and for other designers in both the US, Italy, and France.
Did it turn out as you thought?
Yes! It was even more amazing than I could ever have dreamed of! I’m so grateful that I got a second chance at a new career. I think it was meant to be- I love flying and I love flowers!
I almost get tearful very often and have to pinch myself in the arm to really understand what fantastic events and environments I get to be part of creating. This summer I’ve been working a lot in Italy, and it’s been great fun. I think everything I do is fun, the small and the big. It doesn’t matter if it’s a wedding with 10 or 250 guests.
It may seem glamorous to work on events abroad, but it is important to know that the working conditions are completely different from those in Sweden and the contracts are often a bit “fuzzy”. It is physically very challenging and often there is a lack of safety measures. The days are incredibly long and often many in a row – and there is hardly any time for recovery. Sometimes I work around the clock on high ladders in 35 degrees heat, with only 15 minutes for lunch etc.
I think it is important to nuance the picture and the incredibly hard work that lies behind everything we do in our industry. Especially to people who are not in the industry. Many believe that we just “do crafts and cuddle a little with flowers”. Taking care of goods, washing buckets, and scraping off candle wax from wedding candlesticks for a whole day is rarely seen.
What drives you to continue to develop?
I think I have to answer to my curiosity. I’m curious! Very curious!
I love meeting new people in different environments, forming teams with people I never met before, sometimes from completely different cultures. And then to create together.
I think I’m learning new things all the time; different ways of thinking about design, environmental work, technology, and construction. There is so much for everyone to gain and learn by sharing their experience and helping each other instead of seeing each other as competitors.
What are you like as a manager/employee?
I both freelance for other designers and do my own projects, which means that sometimes I’m a “boss” and sometimes an employee. I can’t really decide what I like best. The combination suits me well at the moment!
I believe and hope that both as an employee and as a manager I am responsive and empathetic. As a manager, I try to be clear about my vision and want the people I work with to know, that we are a team in which everyone is equally important and that we work together towards the same goal.
How do you work more environmentally conscious?
I always try to have environmental thinking in focus. And I work almost exclusively with sustainable methods and reusable mechanics, which can often be both more time-consuming and challenging. Especially in large-scale installations. But also more fun! I think it’s fun to figure out how to build a structure from scratch in the most sustainable way possible.
There is so much we can learn from each other when it comes to environmental work. We must be brave enough to ask for more information. Sharing with each other is key to keep the environmental work moving forward.
I often ask other florists how they work and with what techniques, which local growers they use, etc. I try to buy locally grown and locally produced in season when there is access and opportunity.
What challenges do you see ahead?
At the risk of repeating myself, I am passionate about environmental thinking! We need to talk more about it and help each other to find good sustainable methods that work in practical terms in everyday life! This applies not only to our industry, but to society as a whole.
It is not easy, as it is sometimes both more time-consuming and even more expensive to choose wisely. It’s difficult to reconcile this with recession and the fluctuating economy in both small and large contexts.
For example, is it reasonable that you can get certain flowers almost all year round? I think there is a charm in the seasons, and that it is wonderful that the range changes during the year. We must work together for a more sustainable future.
A more personal challenge in the future will be trying to develop my business and work more at home. And think about what I should do to get a better work-life balance. It has been a few tiring years with more work abroad than at home, and a lot of time away from my family.
At the same time, I’m enormously grateful, of course! I think everything is fun and I’ve been lucky to do what I like so much!
As I said, I’m curious, very curious about most things and love to work with flowers!
