Vendor Spotlight: Emma Rothschild, Bitchin’ Blooms
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Floral designer Emma Rothschild’s job title? “Founder, marketing director, creative director—all of the above.”
However, despite her dizzying array of responsibilities, including starting and running her own business from scratch, Rothschild never breaks a smile when talking about her work. “We’re all just playing with flowers,” she says, and, undeterred by the incontrovertible challenges and intensity of what she does, she never seems to stop having fun.
Within a short couple of years, starting with only her own apartment and a resume consisting of a Master’s in Nonprofit Administration and Management, corporate work, and no floral design experience whatsoever, Rothschild has turned play into work, founding her own floral design business, Bitchin’ Blooms, that has worked with brands including Nike, Glossier, Totême, Ana Luisa, and more.
What inspired you to become a florist, and what made you decide to open your own business?
I always really loved art in design and color. My mom does floral arrangements from the garden. My grandpa always did really fun and unique fruit plate designs. So, I always just was interested.
And then, when I was in grad school, I basically emailed every florist I could find under the sun in L.A. asking if I could freelance, if I could do it for free, get any experience I could. And luckily, a few people said yes. So, that’s when I started doing it. And then, I worked at some flower shops, and then started Bitchin’ Blooms.
My first experience doing flowers, I lied a little bit and said that I already had flower experience because there was a florist that needed a lot of freelancers for Valentine’s Day, and, I figured, “It’s the busiest holiday of the the year, they’re not going to know if I have no idea what I’m doing.” So, I just kind of jumped into it and, like, the night before, was researching flower names to make sure that if they asked me anything, I knew what it was. And, I was just making little bouquets for Valentine’s Day.
Before Bitchin’ Blooms, I did a bunch of freelancing under florists, and then I worked at two different flower shops. One of them had a very distinct kind of classic style, and then the other one was a lot of building bouquets on the spot for people. So, whatever they wanted, you just kind of had to make it, and make it quickly.
What led me to open my own business was really wanting the creative freedom to do, kind of, whatever I wanted at any given moment. I would say that when you work at a flower shop, sometimes you have to adhere to specific styles. So, I really like having that ability to do anything.
I got my master’s in nonprofit administration and management. So, I had quite a few internships in the nonprofit arts world, and then I also worked in marketing at a women’s healthcare clinic. And, although that fulfilled a different part of my personality and what I enjoy, I really missed the creative aspect. So, when I realized that Bitchin’ Blooms could be my full time job, I just decided to kind of dive in.
Switching from corporate America-y jobs to this was kind of scary, mostly exciting. I have a lot of really supportive people around me that were urging me to make the jump for a long time before I did it. And, I just kind of had a moment where I was always doing Bitchin’ Blooms while also working. But, it just got increasingly more difficult to split my time, and I had wanted to do flowers since I started it. And, it just felt like it was a moment where I could actually sustain myself and do something I really wanted to do.
What do you see as the biggest current and upcoming wedding floral design trends to watch?
I would say the biggest trends right now are more color and more unique and interesting flowers. I think people are starting to veer away from the whites and greens and those, kind of, classic looks and going for bright “pops.” Some of the trends right now are Ikebana style—so the minimalist arrangements that just have a few different really cool stems. I would also say anthurium and orchis are specifically really big right now. And, just more color. Lots of color—which I love.
“I’m really excited that there’s a lot of young women that are starting to be floral designers,” says Rothschild.
What specifically sets you and your business apart from other florists or vendors?
I would say the main thing that sets me apart from other floral vendors is the personal aspect. When you’re coming to Bitchin’ Blooms for your wedding, you’re going to be working with me, specifically, from start to finish. So, I’ll give you my cell phone number, so if you see flowers out in the wild that you love, you can send it to me so that I know something that you’re, you know—that’s popping up that you’re really into. I also would say that I use really unique flowers and designs. And then, another thing is that I don’t have a minimum for my weddings, so even if you have a really small brunch or a microwedding, we can definitely make something that’ll be special.
I think that people choose me because of the colors that I use and the natural style that I go for. So, something that’s more unique. You’re not going to see just roses—well, sometimes you do, but they’ll be with reflex, or there’ll be something that’s different about it, that you wouldn’t just see typically.
And, I do think that there is a personal aspect to coming to someone like me, where you know that you’re talking to the person who’s designing your flowers, and they’re overseeing everything, and there’s that direct communication so that it’s not just, you know, hiring 1-800-FLOWERS to do your arrangement or your wedding. You’re hiring someone that you know and you can talk to and bounce ideas off of.
Have you ever had a particularly memorable experience while working on a wedding?
I ruptured my Achilles last year, and a week after I did that, I had a wedding on the Malibu Pier. So I was in a cast on crutches. But, when you’re running your own business, and you want to make it work, you do. So, I had my mom help, I had my boyfriend help. We ended up forgetting the crutches when we got there, so we had to zoom over to CVS. But, luckily, we had plenty of time, and it actually ended up being one of my favorite weddings.
What are some of the challenges that you face as a wedding florist?
Some of the challenges during peak wedding season are definitely… sleep. You get up at 5:30 in the morning to go to the flower market, and then you have to stay fresh to make sure that your designs look the way that you want them to. And, another challenge would be knowing when to turn your phone off, when you’re running your own business. You want to answer every email within 15 minutes and just be really on top of it, but that’s just not possible, and it’s definitely good to know when to take a break.
I would say the most challenging aspect is more the mental side of it. Because, you know, you’re doing a wedding—it’s a really special day for people, you want to make sure that the bride loves her bouquet, that the photos turn out just how she wants them to. So, I would say the most challenging part is just making 100-percent sure that you’re on the same page as the couple, so that the end product really reflects what they want.
“The secret to my success is blind optimism—and,” Rothschild jokes, “having a mom and boyfriend who will work for free.”
How would you describe your floral style, and how has it evolved over time?
My flower style is very colorful and architectural and really plays with heights and textures.
Something that’s always inspired me, and that I’ve always loved, is art, in general. I almost was an art history major in college, and I’ve loved Impressionists and just seeing those vibrant colors and the way that they melt together. So, I think that definitely inspires me. And then my biggest inspiration is, just, what’s freshest at the market. Because sometimes you can go into the market, and you think you’re going to do something, and then you find out that the dahlias look terrible that week, and you just have to pivot and find something else that matches what you’re thinking. And, the colors of the market are just so fun and exciting to look at.
Thank God [my style] has evolved, because sometimes I look at old pictures, and I’m like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe that passed. But, I would say the main thing that has evolved is being able to play with the depth and texture. I think, when I started out, arrangements were really flat, and although they were colorful, and pretty flowers were in them, they were very one-sided, and you couldn’t see the different flowers because they were kind of just too mushed together. And now, I’ve really been playing with depth and height and just trying to make the shapes a little more interesting than your average flower arrangement.
What’s your approach or philosophy as a floral business owner?
My personality is definitely not go-with-the-flow—and I think all of my friends would say that, too. I think I’m a problem-solver type. If there’s something that needs to be figured out, I don’t stress out about it. I’m just going to make sure that it happens and go for it. And, I’m a perfectionist sometimes. Like, when it comes to flowers, I will be looking at something forever to make sure it looks perfect. And then, for other aspects of the business, like Instagram or something, I just want it posted, and I don’t want to think about it anymore.
And then, I think being light-hearted is just an important part of owning your own business and going for it, because you can’t take things too much to-heart—even though sometimes I do—because it’s just, you’re in customer service, at the end of the day. So, you can’t take every little comment to, you know, impact your entire business or being.
“I think being light-hearted is just an important part of owning your own business and going for it,” Rothschild says.
What’s the most difficult part of running your business, and what do you envision for its future?
The most difficult part of my job? I don’t know—I feel very lucky to be able to do flowers for my job. I think the most difficult aspect would be admin stuff, in general. Like, you have to figure out taxes and bookkeeping and become an LLC, and all of these things that you just don’t think of when you start arranging flowers. You think that you’re going to get to do creative stuff all the time, but there’s a lot of backend work. And then, also, cleaning up is always hard, and you never want to do it at the end of the day.
My approach to marketing at the beginning was—none. I just posted everything. And, sometimes I’ll scroll all the way back on my Instagram, and I think about deleting things, and I don’t, because I feel like it really shows the evolution. But, I think when you’re starting out, you know, you just have your friends support you and follow you and go along.
And then recently, I’ve tried to have a more strategic angle to my marketing, where I’ll show people how I make the arrangements, going to the market, and kind of the behind-the-scenes of it. And, I also got a little pedestal to put in my apartment so that all my photos look more professional.
What do I hope for the future of my business? I would love to be, well—currently my flower studio is my apartment, so I would love a formal flower studio with gorgeous lighting to take pictures in. And, just more of what I’m doing now. I do, you know, brand events and weddings. And, you know, having a wedding a week, or a brand event and then a wedding, or something like that I think would be really cool. Sometimes, I’m like, “Yeah, I want to have a staff”—I kind of like just having it be me, and making everything, and doing these more “micro” weddings. I think it’s nice keeping it small.
My team generally consists of my mom, and my boyfriend will do all the heavylifting. I have hired freelancers in the past—luckily, from my past flower experiences, I have a lot of friends in the flower world doing their own things or working at flower shops or have moved on, but still have that skillset. But so far, I don’t hire a consistent team.
[Note: Emma has, since we interviewed her, moved into her very own “formal” flower studio and done a series of events and collaborations with various brands.]
Do you have a “dream” wedding installation or flower arrangement that you’d love to design?
My favorite flowers to work with—I’ll probably just keep going and going—but I love sweet peas, peonies, anthurium, orchids, dahlias… I’ll keep it to those five, I would say, are my top, top flowers.
I think my dream flower arrangement would be really colorful. I love working with pinks and oranges and vibrant greens and, like, a pop of purple. And, it would definitely have a lot of orchids, anthurium, sweet peas—all those. And also allium, which are the giant, purple, ball flowers. They’re in the garlic family, and they’re just a really fun flower to work with.
I know what my dream wedding would be, and it would be at the Ojai Valley Inn, specifically, and it would have a lot of orchids and anthuriums and dahlias and sweet peas and all the flowers that I mentioned. And, it would be very florally dense. I think something that I do in my arrangements is I don’t use a lot of greenery at all, if any, so it would definitely be bloom-centric. And, just, everywhere, flowers—flowers up the trees, down the centers of the tables. And, also, food styling. I think food styling with flowers is really cool.
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