Flor.mosura Interview
Our Mystic Flower’s Cool Hunting Segment is created to inspire you by presenting floral designers and artists who transmit their essence though their work.
We are proud to introduce Marcela, a florist known as FlorMosura, the true definition of an entrepreneur. This inspiring woman teaches us that you must never give up and life will guide you to what you love. Marcela, born in Favelas, Brazil, is now the owner of one of the top floral shops in America. She shares an insider view of her incredible story about how she became an established florist in the United States. Her expressive floral design has transcended through her artistic talent to be recognized in several countries around the world.
Who is Marcela? Tell us a little bit about your self
My name is Marcela; I am a daughter, sister, mom, aunt, wife, dog lover, business owner, and florist in Fort Lauderdale (FL). I spent my first 26 years of my life living in the Favela’s and Comunidade’s of Rio De Janeiro (Brasil). I was a teacher in favela, and always held a night and weekend job at the shopping mall. I sold shoes at Andarella. I was always in school too, and dancing. I moved to Miami in 2013 with the intention of continuing my career in education. Since I moved here; I have taught myself to speak Spanish & English, to navigate the undocumented restaurant labor force, immigration statuses, the Miami Beach Bartending world, Photography, Interior Design, Motherhood, Branding, Social Media Management, and now Floral Design!
I am proud of myself and of the full life that I have lived, certainly not bad for a girl from Favela. As a poor brown girl from favela, I was always told that I am not going anywhere. I can still hear the laughter; well, I finally made it to Disney, Tio. Now people at home see my Instagram and call me lucky and think I am a millionaire. Instead; I think I am brave, tough, resiliant, and I work 12-16 hour days.
How did your journey as a floral designer begin?
My husband/partner and I were content working in the hospitality industry in Miami Beach until i was 8 months pregnant with my eventual son, Lennox. The Health Insurance Company wanted me back to work in 3 months to keep my insurance, so I quit my job in favor of staying home with Lennox. I wanted to breastfeed him for 6-12 months so their timeline didn’t work for me. Prior to leaving the South Beach bar scene, there was a mother & bartender at my old job that I used to talk to, she used to talk about her business that she was growing as a event planner. After Lennox was born, I tracked her down and asked to intern or freelance with her. Over the course of the next 6 months, as I met more and more people, I freelanced with a handful of talented event planning and photography professionals and entrepreneurs. I was searching for my new path that would work with Motherhood, each day was new, revealing, and not quite perfect. One day, a florist didn’t show up to an event, but the flowers were there. Under pressure to save the day for them, I volunteered to figure it out and make something happen. That was the most memorable day in my career. I began carrying buckets and sweeping the next day for Monica Delgado at Simple Florals (Miami).
Why have you chosen to be a floral designer?
I didn’t, it chose me. I did 10,000 things in my life before I came to the USA and became a florist. I took so many roads in this life; through work, education, family, and socially. When I was put under preassure at that event in Wynwood (Miami), to create beautiful florals when I wasn’t a florist, thats when it happened to me. I poured everything into those arrangements and got it done. I left work that day on fire, the sense of satisfaction and excitement I felt was intense. That night I tracked down my next teacher, Monica Delgado (Simple Florals, Miami), and began learning from her. She was everything I wanted to be; a shot calling Latina mother of small children. Her business was booming and she was unapologetically herself. I learned a lot about America watching her at work. I eventually left her with the tools to be myself.
What kinds of qualities do you believe a flower designer should have?
Fearless. Passionate. Empathetic.
Who or what would you say inspires you? Where do you find your inspiration?
My life changed entirely when I had a baby, so he inspires me to be great and to focus on the long game.
My inspiration to be a high performer is internal. I never compete with any one, and therefore I am threatened by no one. I have always competed against my potential best self, against my imagination’s limitations.
From a design and floral perspective though, I get inspired by everyday living down here in South Florida. This place has all the pastels, dark greens, vibrations, and expression that I have always had in my life in Brasil.
Who or what would you say inspires you? Where do you find your inspiration?
Being smooth with color combinations and playing with different textures, everything in balanced composition.
Tell me about the biggest challenge and how you solved it in an event – preparing, creating, etc.
On our One Year Anniversary in business, Mothers Day 2021, we had a big break! We closed a great Mother’s Day project for our portfolio and for exposure at the Aventura Mall (Miami, FL), one of the biggest and busiest malls in America. We were going to make 2 floral installations on 2 different classic automobiles; a 1967 Pink Thunderbird Convertable, and a 1965 Red Hardtop Mercedes, they were going to be displayed in front of the best brands in the world. Our florals were to be on display for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Mother’s Day in a very high traffic area. In our negotiontions, we agreed to order another 10% extra flowers so we could execute our daily “morning fluff service” before the mall opened for the day. This was great for making a client feel confident that they will receive a value that won’t breakdown over the weekend. We did our installation at Midnight on Thursday night.
On the Friday morning approval phase with Mall Executives, an executive that wasn’t part of the design approval phase asked us to change the whole color palette of one of the cars (remember the extra florals purchased and processed for fluffing service of pre-approved/no longer accepted design!). It was hard to handle after working so hard on the decided design, but we went for it, on the busiest flower weekend in our year. Running on “fumes,” after a few days of low sleep, we managed to handle their request and made everyone happy. We removed all the orange, yellow, and blue florals and textures and replaced them with red.
Be mindful, this is all happening on our 1 year anniversary, so there are also 30 deliveries happening and a liquor brand installation in the mall as well.
After another late night session in an empty mall for this color switch, we revealed our new design for Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend in the busiest mall in America. After a shower and freshening up, we were driving to the mall at lunch time to spend the day talking to brands about our enormous potential, we got a crushing phone call. There was a conflict and a shooting at the mall. The mall was closed for the rest of the day till tomorrow morning at 9am. We already didn’t have enough florals because of the purchasing issue with the previous design, and now its Mother’s Day morning! There were so many questions that remained unanswered, with no one to answer them. What kind of shape was our installation in? Was it perfect or was it trampled on and needing 100% re-done? There was no way for us to get more information or a picture till the doors opened Sunday at 9am.
We showed up on Mother’s Day morning, walking past police lines with our wagon’s full of flowers, 2 hours before the mall opens. We were walking in slow motion, like an iconic movie scene. The result and the motivation were based on our deep commitment to make sure that clients always get more value than they pay for. We always want out clients walking away thinking that “they won the deal.” We got 2-3 hours of sleep on 3 consecutive nights making all of this go unnoticed by the public. As a result, these installations are still circulated and seen by people everywhere. These installations have brought us challenging work for brands like The Four Seasons, The billboard Latin Music Awards, Grey Goose, Love Shack Fancy, and dozens of great residential clients. Looking back on that weekend, every mountain we had to climb was a test, and every victory was an accomplishment for a young team.
How do you prepare your flowers? so they last through the event
Process and hydrate. South Florida is very humid, so we keep the temperature cool in the studio.
What’s your favorite flower?
Strawflowers!
What flower would you say represents you?
I am a Spanish Needle or an Orchid hanging from a tree.
What do you feel is the biggest issue in floristry? How would you solve it?
We struggle with how wasteful everything is, not just composting but recycling. We want to be good stewards of the earth. It is new for us to be creating so much waste. We have no solution yet on how to make an impact. We have flowers flown in from all over the world and we expect them to be perfect, as do our clients. Sadly, its more of an acceptance process…
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
We want to have a great team composed of great people. We want to choose our projects carefully so we continue to land with the right people and brands. We want to own our own space. We want to be working internationally. It is my goal that I want to create florlals for ANITA if she ever gives a concert or films on the top of Cristo Redenter (Rio De Janeiro). We are from the same place with the same story, this needs to happen.
What tips would you share with new florists?
Go carry buckets for someone that you admire. Be mindful of your steps and choose your teachers wisely. Create your own look, then when you are ready, jump!
