Meet Katie Hartman + Danielle Gary: Event floral studio owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie Hartman + Danielle Gary and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie Hartman + Danielle Gary, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind our success is our willingness to put in the hard work day after day, year after year. It’s easy to see successful people and brands on social media and think it came easily or overnight but most of those people put in a lot of time and effort to get where they are today. We don’t believe in overnight success stories because to truly be successful you need to exhibit longevity. You have to keep going and growing.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One of the things that sets us apart is that we were friends before we started our business and have managed to grow that friendship into a flourishing business. A lot of people told us not to go into business together, that it would ruin our friendship, etc. but almost a decade into working together and we’re pretty much like an old married couple! We both have our strengths and our weaknesses and like a lot of couples those strengths and weaknesses complement each other and make us a great team. Our greatest similarity is our strong work ethic which was engrained in us from an early age. We have always had the mentality that everyone moves boxes. If you’re the owner of the company or an intern there is no job that is below you. Sometimes you need to just roll up your sleeves and get the job done.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One thing we always do with visitors is bring them to the Southern California Flower Market. We are lucky to have the largest floral district in the country and even luckier to have our studio space at the market. Visitors are always blown away when they step into a building that covers an entire city block filled with every possible flower imaginable. When we bring guests to the market we always make sure to grab a bite at Poppy & Rose. It’s a small restaurant located within the flower market that has everything from yummy salads to the most amazing chicken and waffles!

Another fun activity you wouldn’t think of doing in LA is a horseback ride. I own a horse and ride almost daily in Griffith Park. Sometimes when we don’t have a busy week Katie and I will be able to sneak in a ride with LA Horse Rentals. There is nothing like leaving the hustle and bustle of the city and getting into the hills on a horse. You wouldn’t think it was even possible in LA so we love bringing friends on rides so they can experience a different view of our city.

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?
There are so many people that have helped us to get to where we are today but one of the MOST important people we need to thank is our right hand man, Eswin Aguirre. Eswin showed up on our doorstep (like an angel!) at a critical point in the growth of Floral Crush. We put him to work immediately and he has been a huge part of our success ever since. We literally would not be where we are today without his help. We also want to recognize our clients who took a chance on us in the beginning and are the reason why we still love what we do almost a decade later.

Website: www.floralcrush.com

Instagram: @floralcrush

Twitter: @floralcrush

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floralcrush

Image Credits
Bio Pic – Graham Lott