Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathleen Marino.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I enjoyed a successful career as an elementary school teacher for 31 years. While I remain extremely passionate about teaching young children, when I decided to retire from teaching in 2021, I set my sights on pursuing another lifelong passion… working with flowers! I have long been an avid flower gardener and summers off from teaching always meant I had time to spend more time in my garden. I enjoyed picking and arranging my flowers every bit as much as I enjoyed growing them! I began learning more about the art of flower design through classes both in person and online and through a variety of books I read from experts in the field of floral design. The more I learned and practiced, the more I enjoyed the process and the outcome of providing something beautiful to enhance a special event. I started off by creating floral designs for weddings of family and friends. This quickly evolved into working with clients I had never met before. In many ways, I found parallels to the skills I leaned on as a teacher. Running a small business requires a high level of organization, great communication skills, creativity, and the ability to educate others as they navigate a broad range of decisions. All of these skills come quite naturally to me after a lifelong career as a teacher and have served me well as a new business owner.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For the most part, the road to owning a small business has gone smoothly. There was so much to learn as I was getting started. I will admit that it often felt very overwhelming at the start. One of my biggest challenges was finding a reliable wholesale floral company that I could truly depend on. Once that fell into place, many of my early struggles were settled. The other key factor was finding other flower designers that I could lean on to ask questions, get advice, share ideas and learn from along the way. I have begun to build a community of local designers and local flower farmers that have been so helpful and encouraging! One of the other challenges I have faced is learning how to say no! This is something that has never been easy for me. I have learned the hard way that there are some jobs that are just more than I can handle. I do not have a huge team of helpers. I mainly lean on the help of my family and dear friends. I am eternally grateful for their help because, without them, I never could have made it through my first year! While I consider myself to be a very high-energy individual, I am learning to be careful about how much I take on each month. The meticulous planning, preparation, delivery, and set-up of a wedding, for example, is extremely time-consuming and challenging. This is later followed by the aftermath of the event that involves clean-up of buckets, trimmings, recycling boxes, and putting things back where they belong. I continue to learn how to best manage my time and when to ask for help!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
KM Floral Designs is a special event floral business. We specialize in creating stunning floral designs for weddings and events in the Baltimore/Howard County/Maryland and surrounding areas. KM Floral Designs is known for our nature-inspired, unique, and completely customized floral designs. No two events ever look the same. We take great pride in making sure that the design plan is aligned with the wishes of each and every client. As a business owner, my success rests solely on my client’s happiness. I take great care to listen to specific details about what each person loves, what they don’t love; I like to learn about each person’s story and about their overall vision. I believe what sets me apart from others is that as a former teacher, educating my clients comes easily to me. I teach my clients what flowers are in season, where certain flowers come from and how to get the most “bang for their buck!” I am still teaching… just to a different audience now! I am very proud of the fact that I work hard to communicate with my clients along the way to keep them informed of details and any changes that have to be made before the event. My clients know that they are in good hands when choosing KM Floral Designs because I do pay meticulous attention to detail, and I work very hard to get things right! I want each and every client to know that there is a whole lot of love that gets poured into each and every floral design package that comes from KM Floral Designs!
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is my client’s happiness. I truly believe that providing gorgeous, high-quality flower designs is one of the most important elements of a successful event. When my clients see their flower designs for the first time, and they are overcome with joy and sincere delight, I know I have done my job! Yes, the flowers will fade within days. However, the images of the floral designs, captured by talented event photographers, will live on for a lifetime! Flowers have the ability to stir so many emotions in such a positive way. I want my floral designs to do just that! My client’s happiness is always first and foremost in my mind the entire time from conception to delivery. I find that I don’t fully take a sigh of relief until I know that my clients are 100% overjoyed with their floral designs!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kmfloraldesigns.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kmfloraldesigns/
- Facebook: facebook.com/kmfloraldesigns.llc
Image Credits
Carly Fuller Photogragraphy
Torine Fores Photography
Bradley Images
Happy Everything Co.
Christina Tundo Photography
United Elite Photography
Ashton Kelley Photography
