Meet Elly Park | Florist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elly Park and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elly, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I worked in accounting at a trading company for about 10 years. However, after turning 30, I began to question my life goals. I wondered how I could contribute my talents as I got older. While contemplating this, I realized that by working with flowers—something I love—I could use them to help others in some way, which is what led me to start this journey.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I don’t see myself as just someone who buys flowers and arranges them. For example, I once received a call from a 1-800-Flowers chain asking if I was interested in opening a franchise. I had previously worked part-time at one of their locations, but I declined their offer. The reason was that if I ran a franchise, I would have to create and sell flower arrangements based on their designs, not my own. To me, that felt no different from mass-producing products in a factory.

In the beginning, I had very few customers, and financially, it was extremely difficult. But one day, a customer told me that my flowers radiated warmth and encouraged me to continue what I was doing. Though there are many physically exhausting days, I overcome them by remembering the words and reviews of customers who support and uplift me.

The greatest charm of this profession is knowing that the flowers I create help people express their feelings—whether it’s love and joy or comfort and sympathy.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have my best friend in Korea, and if they came to visit me, I would first take them to the beach. There are so many beautiful beaches like Manhattan Beach, Venice Beach, and Laguna Beach. We would stop by Intelligentsia Coffee and then go for an In-N-Out burger.

Next, we’d visit a taco place in downtown that’s famous for its spicy sauce. Since I work with flowers, we’d also go to the flower market, and then visit the Getty Museum. A scenic hike in Palos Verdes would definitely be on the list, and we’d also go to Pho 79 in Garden Grove, a Michelin-starred pho restaurant.

One of the best things about the U.S. is that you can experience so many different cultures from around the world!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give credit to my beloved dog, whom I adopted as a rescue when I started my flower business in 2014. Starting the business was very challenging, but my dog(Lucky), who is now in heaven, gave me so much strength and support during that time.

Website: https://flowernoon.com

Instagram: @flowernoonshop