Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacque Ford.
Jacque, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story sounds like a lot of other creatives who have started their business in this crazy industry. We are naturally good at design and start doing it. LOL, we struggle with wanting to succeed by taking a look and style all our own but also need to follow trends and styles that are popular. It also has been a very competitive road personally, but that may be because I am very critical of myself, and in a world of social media, it’s hard not to compare your work to others.
My husband and I are high school sweethearts and eloped when we were just 18 years old. I was never great at school. In fact, I was an awful student. It never interested me, but I always thrived in a creative setting. I have always been better at more hands-on physical work. I really got a taste of it when I fell into a job as a visual director for a small women boutique when I was first married. I was a cashier in the store but I would get bored and rearrange displays and re-do the windows. They had mannequins and I would dress them and style them and set up the window to tell a story of some sort.
My store sales hit the roof and we would sell out of the clothing I would display, so the company made me the visual director of the whole company at age 18. I traveled to 13 stores and planned out their displays, merchandise, and windows. Once my husband and I started having kids, we decided that I should stay home, given his schedule was so hard to rely on. I did that for ten years or so, but I was itching to do something with myself by the end of it. I found myself working for a wedding planner, hoping I can get into design. In that job is where I learned that planning and coordinating were not what I loved to do, but it was in floral design. I watched our florist come in and design these amazing installs. I begged some of them to let me help. Not only was the design fascinating to me, but the mechanics of it all. How did they hang that entire arrangement up on that arbor? What is holding it all together? How do they get the bouquets to be that shape? From there, I honestly just played around with flowers, guessed my way through a lot of stuff. YouTube a lot! My husband calls it YouTube university. I got myself to a point where I was at least faking it to where I was starting to get referred for small jobs. My family is my biggest support and cheerleader. Especially my husband. They all kept pushing me to start a small business, but I always feared that I was not good enough.
About a year ago, I tragically lost my mom. It was unexpected and quick. I had 19 days to say goodbye to her, and even then, I was too busy trying to find a way to save her. It came out of nowhere, it was quick, it was ugly, and I’ll probably never get over it. It happened at a time with the small business that I was just about to jump off into this amazing opportunity to work solely for a local venue. It all happened so fast, and even today, I have moments of thinking, “did that really happen??” But my new family at Luna Bella Ranch has been so patient, and kind and I know I am supposed to be there. My mom would have been so proud.
I am still recovering from the loss of my mom, and every day is learning how to do this without her around. But I am learning to let this experience push me harder through the hurt. I am blessed to have been able to do her flowers for her wedding just four years ago. I made her a bouquet with huge sunflowers. Before I learned a lot of cool new techniques, I try not to look at it too closely, hahaha, but knowing I did that for her pushes me always to have room to learn more and aim higher.
This business is a lot like dealing with family. Not only do you spend a lot of time with your clients and getting to know them over a long period of time, but also your support like all the wholesale vendors you get to know throughout the journey. I love and trust my wholesaler, Ramirez Wholesale Flowers in Carlsbad. The customer service is impeccable, and they have helped me learn a wider variety of greens and florals. I have also ventured out and connected with other floral designers and broken MY barrier of feeling like we are all in a competition. I just recently found an amazing group of SD florists that have welcomed me into their little group, and I can’t tell you how amazing it feels not to feel alone anymore. I have guessed my way through so much, but there comes a time for some meat and potatoes. You can be naturally good at something, like floral design, but there is more structure and technique to it that I have found and learning some of it has helped me in my designs. To learn these techniques, I have had to research, take some classes, and learn from others. Something I always thought I was not good at doing but when you are doing something you love; you will do anything to achieve your goals.
Great, 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?
It has had its ups and downs. I had trouble believing I was good enough. It was an argument between my husband and I for years. He pushed me. We have three kids, and they all are very good at rolling with it. Doing floral design is so time consuming and messy. They help where they can and know when I am doing a job. Mom is not cooking. I think finding people to hire as help is the hardest. I move at a pace where a lot of people don’t, so I get to a point where doing it all myself seems like the better plan, but it’s hard on my body.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My business is a floral design for events and weddings. My favorite thing to do is installs. Installs are the large designs you’ll see at the ceremony site. I love large scale designs, and my brain works in shapes. I see the shape I want, and I add and add and add till It feels right. I love replicating the natural growth shape of nature. I imagine how something would look if I were to walk on a path and come across something growing up a tree or fence. The swagging fabric, along with florals, is something I love to do as well. The process feels the same. The fabric has to flow and compliment the design especially when you have an interesting shape or structure to build on.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I am half Dutch, half Indonesian. (Indo) I grew up eating Satay, Gadu Gadu, with peanut sauce and rice, always having back yard swimming parties at my Omas house (grandma). We swam, and we swam. My Omas backyard was always filled with friends and family. My Opa would make frozen fruit snacks on Satay sticks and serve it to my brother and sister poolside during summers. My favorite was lying on the hot cement around the pool to warm up. And when we were done swimming, I could smell My Omas cooking. My mom would be coming home from work, just in time to eat dinner. Oma would make yellow curry chicken over rice, or Dutch Indo meatloaf… over rice… everything was over rice. I had a great childhood.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 626 319-0607
- Email: Jacque@fisforflower.com
- Instagram: @F.isforflowers
Image Credit:
Morgan Mccanne Photography
Ravin Berlin photography
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