Meet Elena Shelton | Owner & Designer

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

Hi Elena, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Creatively I was a Fashion Designer in the first half of my adult career and transitioned from a corporate setting to freelance. During my time freelancing, I enjoyed being able to make my own schedule and have more of a balanced lifestyle. During this time is when I decided to pivot creatively and start my floral design studio called Solstice Bloom. I was craving a new challenge and have always dabbled in floral design. I knew that the time was right to make the change and take that leap of faith, and I’m so glad I did.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My professional career started out in the corporate fashion world and with a lot of hard work that really shaped me to be a strong woman in an industry that can be very challenging and competitive. Creatively it helped me to develop an eye for color, texture, and a design process to create from concept to completion which translates to the floral design medium. All of that experience helped me to have the confidence to start my own company.  Solstice Bloom is a boutique floral design studio in Los Angeles with a personal touch and also offers event design consultations. In addition to custom order florals for delivery in the LA area, other services include weeklies, custom installations, corporate orders, weddings and event florals.  Floral design is a beautiful natural medium that is inspired by the seasons. Based on what is in bloom inspires my designs both in shape and color. I have a more contemporary approach to floral design and work closely with my clients to create special arrangements for them. If it’s for an event or wedding, I use my design background to custom tailor a design mood board, sort out all the floral and decor details to bring their vision to life. I’m proud of the fact that even though I started my business just as the Coronavirus hit the states, I pushed through and decided to weather the storm. I’m thankful for my clients and all their support as well as being able to grow my business in this tough environment. Through it all I’m glad that I could help spread some joy with florals in what has been a difficult year for so many.  I continue to strive to push myself to learn and navigate being a business owner now. Some of the lessons I learned along the way are that it’s ok to ask for help.  A positive attitude goes a long way to achieving your goals and hard work really does pay off. I’m super passionate about my work and strive to go above and beyond for my clients. 

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Here are some of my favorite spots in the city: Monday-Breakfast: For the best croissants in the city would be Chaumont in Beverly Hill, followed by a stroll of window shopping on Rodeo drive. Lunch at Joan’s on 3rd, followed by a visit to LACMA. Drinks and dinner at Laurel Hardware. Tuesday-Breakfast: The Courtyard Kitchen Cafe Santa Monica, followed by a stroll and shopping on Montana Ave. Lunch at Blue Plate Oysterette for great seafood and then walk down and check out Santa Monica Pier. Then drinks and taking in the sunset at the Hotel Shangri-La. Dinner at Cassia for great Southeast Asian. Wednesday- Breakfast at Supera Food + Bread in Venice, followed by exploring the Venice Boardwalk and the art scene. Lunch on Abbot Kinney at Zinque. and then walk and explore the Venice canals. Afternoon drinks at Neighbor followed by dinner at Scopa Italian Roots. Thursday- Breakfast at Blue Jam Cafe on Wilshire, followed by a visit at the The Getty Art museum. Lunch on site at the museum followed by exploring the garden grounds. Afternoon drinks at The Broken Shaker at Freehand LA followed by dinner at Dama Friday- Breakfast at Toast Bakery Cafe, followed by a visit to the Frank Lloyd Wright Hollyhock House. Lunch at Gracias Madre West Hollywood and then explore Melrose. Afternoon drinks at Melrose Umbrella Co. Then drive up to picnic and catch a outdoor concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my husband Jeff. He has been my rock and a constant source of encouragement when I first had the idea of starting my own business. A career transition can be scary and daunting with everything it takes to just set up a business and he was always there to help out and keep me on track. Also, a big push in the direction I ended up taking came from a creative mentorship workshop in France that Ginny Au hosted. Even though it was 6years ago, the seed had been planted and my eyes were open to the beauty and fulfillment a creative design process with a different medium could bring outside of what was then my fashion design world.

Website: https://www.solsticebloom.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solstice_bloom/?hl=en

Image Credits
XO and Fetti Photography Tiffany J Photography