Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Rushing.
Ashley, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Accidental Florist is the first thought that comes to mind when I think about my unconventional path. However, I’ve always been drawn to nature, textures, colors and pretty things… so maybe this journey isn’t so “accidental” after all and thankfully, I’ve been able to turn my passion for design into a hustle this past year. My journey starts in Dallas, Texas, where I was born and raised. Dallas has and will always have a piece of my heart, but after so many years living in the city, I craved a challenge. After graduating high school, I packed my bags and headed out to San Francisco to continue my education at the University of San Francisco. San Francisco in a nutshell changed my life. I didn’t know one person and was forced to grow and challenge myself in a handful of ways.
I had never walked to school, let alone hop on a bus to get where I was going. It put my privilege into perspective and taught me to become very self-sufficient. I didn’t know at the time, but this was exactly what I needed to become who I am today. The culture shock of San Francisco was one thing, but the opportunity to make decisions completely on my own was something I had never been able to do before. I ate, drank, shopped and embraced city life. San Francisco blessed me with some of my best friends and most cherished memories, but after two years, I decided the city was no longer the place for me. Fast-forward two years later and I’m living in Los Angeles as a student at Loyola Marymount University.
While studying as a Public Relations major at LMU, I decided to take a risk and reach out to Carly Cylinder at Flour, LA. Having no previous experience working as a florist, I said, why not! I had the passion and the drive to learn and thankfully, Carly went out on a limb and took me under her wing. I took some old clippers from my kitchen drawer and just like that, the fire was ignited. My first day on the job, I learned what floral foam, chicken wire and Oasis tape was. I worked with Carly for about three years and soaked up every ounce of knowledge I could. She trusted my vision, confidence and creativity. I craved to work with my hands and design spectacular events, so just like that, I made the decision to turn my passion into a career.
After two years of working side-by-side with Carly, I convinced her to hire me on as her first full-time employee. She gave me the experience of a lifetime, becoming a Project Manager at the age of 21. I helped with the books, scheduling, designing, walkthroughs, installations and client communication. Within one year, I was feeling confident I could take this knowledge back home to Dallas to evolve my own brand in the comfort of my own home.
When the timing was right, I moved back to Dallas to become the entrepreneur I had always dreamed of being. With time, patience and down-time that COVID-19 had given me, Howdy Floral was born. I received an overwhelming amount of support from my family, friends and fellow entrepreneurs. While Howdy is still a newborn in my eyes, it has already given me so much in return. I now have a feeling of self-worth and accomplishment, something I had been seeking since childhood while watching my mom raise two kids and start a company of her own. With that, I’m looking forward to creating, collaborating, teaching and growing into the community around myself and Howdy Floral!
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?
Howdy Floral came into the world at what I think has been the most unpredictable and exceptionally challenging time for small businesses. I began this company in the midst of a global pandemic at the beginning of March 2020, as the spread of Covid-19 was rampant and quarantine became a new way of life both locally and globally.
The decision to move forward to make Howdy a reality was quite clearly, not an easy one. Industries around the world were forced to close their doors and adapt in ways many of us had never imagined. Howdy Floral was no exception. At the beginning of quarantine, I was faced with a decision that will sound familiar to many, if not all, growing and established businesses. Sit back and watch as the pandemic either resolved (unlikely), or force my way through all the uncertainties that were (likely) right around the corner.
Now I would be lying if I said I was motivated overnight, but after weeks of having little to no contact with my community, my confidence, drive and mental health were slowly but surely taking a dive. I guess a global pandemic and crises will do that to ya! After bingeing all the new series Netflix had kindly graced us with, I decided my habits were not benefiting myself or my entrepreneurial dreams. I spoke with my Mom, who had started her own company at the ripe age of 24 and began working on a business plan.
My mom was a true driving factor in my decision to move forward with Howdy and gave me the confidence I had been lacking. She walked me through the in’s and out’s of filing for an LLC, resale license and all the foundational building blocks of creating a business. Within two weeks, I received my paperwork from the State of Texas and Howdy Floral officially became official! It was the start of a new beginning that helped reignite my passion, drive and commitment to evolving not only my company but also myself.
Please tell us about Howdy Floral.
Howdy Floral is a boutique-like floral + event design company specializing in textural, natural, trendy and unique floral designs that helps to set us apart from others. We have a wide range of experience designing life-size floral installations, arrangements of every size, editorial shoots, birthday parties, flower crown stations, corporate events… just about anything our clients can think of!
Our goal is to connect with our clients in an un-intimidating way to help develop their style and vision. Howdy’s bread and butter includes larger-scale floral installations such as flower walls, window-displays and editorial shoots that are commonly seen within New York and Los Angeles.
In a nutshell, if our client has an out-of-the-box funky idea, we want to play a part. To add to the list, we also offer private and group floral design classes. These classes are meant to offer a fun-loving, boozy-optional, low-pressure opportunity to get creative with your friends, family and even coworkers for a unique team-build. These can be held just about anywhere and require no previous experience.
For the Kiddos, we offer flower crown stations for special events and are currently working on At-Home DIY crown kits to keep kids busy and creative on their own!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
One of my favorite and most vivid memories from childhood was actually my 8th birthday party! My parents spent weeks preparing a backyard Hawaiian Luau to celebrate and it’s a memory that sparks so much joy (shoutout Marie Kondo).
We had a professional Hula lesson, fire dancers and of course, a water slide. I’m envious looking back on how creative and special the memories from this day are! We danced, swam, ate and had the best backyard party I could remember. I look forward to recreating this day for my own kids one day.
Contact Info:
- Website: howdyfloral.com
- Phone: (214) 674-0829
- Email: ashley@howdyfloral.com
- Instagram: @howdyfloral
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Howdy-Floral-111652320617521
Image Credit:
Carly Cylinder, Ford Noble, Watters Bridal
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