As prom season approaches, a member of The Red Ledger staff has been gathering supplies and preparing for the busy season. Natalia Martinez, a sophomore, recently opened her flower business, Florals with Nat.
When asked about what inspired her new business, Martinez mentioned how traveling motivated her to start making bouquets.
“Every time my family and I go out, we find some sort of bouquet shop or floral shop,” Martinez said. “That is what inspired me to start my business. I’ve also found it’s nice to have a creative outlet and a way to find new ideas. I love seeing how people react to their orders.”
The process for Martinez’s business is extremely detailed. She buys all the flowers for her arrangements in bulk and stores them in a cold compartment to ensure that they don’t wilt. Each bouquet takes around an hour to an hour thirty including the process of clipping the flowers.
“It takes a lot of time, and I don’t think a lot of people actually take into account how much is put into it,” Martinez said. “It takes time and patience.”
Florals with Nat provides a quick delivery and allows the community to support a local, small business. Martinez’s customers noticed the quality of the product.
“The product was amazing,” customer Bryson Rohr said. “I could tell she put in a lot of time and effort to make sure it looked nice. She was great about it being short notice, and it was ready the next day.”
Martinez’s business is self run and she makes sure to customize each of her customers orders so that they are satisfied with their bouquet. She adds special touches and tries her best to guide the customer in a direction that will ensure the recipient of the arrangement is satisfied. Her customers love her work and appreciate the creative input.
“I wanted to support her small business, and I’m so glad I did,” customer Sofia Dominguez said. “It was so perfect. She really cares about providing high quality flowers.”
The experience from running a business has been educational and fun. Her bouquets are loved, and she takes pride in her job.
“I started this to see how everything is run in a floral business,” Martinez said. “Hopefully a bit later on I can have my own shop.”
