Meet Leslie McKnight | Event Florist & Freelance Floral Designer

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

Hi Leslie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process was two-fold. I have a family and at the time my kids were very young so I figured working for myself would be the best way to maintain the balance I wanted which included not needing daycare and still being available to do pick-ups and drop-offs from school. I also think in an artistic field like this, it’s nice to be able to have full creative control over whatever project you might be working on. Freelancing for other creatives is great but you’re always working to achieve someone else’s vision. It’s nice to flex those muscles for yourself sometimes and see what you are capable of creating from initial proposal to finished product.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Getting to where I am today has simply been a process of being open. Open to learning new things, trying new products, freelancing for new companies, and saying yes to just about any job that came my way. I wouldn’t say it has been easy by any means. Working for yourself is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining a lot of the time. However, I’ve always had an excitement surrounding flowers and the growth of my business so saying yes to any opportunity that knocks has always been easy. I am still learning and making decisions constantly, daily even, so the challenges never end but having a passion for what I’m doing keeps me coming back over and over!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love to be on the move and I love a good meal so a trip to Los Angeles wouldn’t be complete without a few of my favorite things. We would hike Temescal Canyon in the Palisades and rollerblade or skateboard down the boardwalk from Santa Monica to Marina Del Rey. On the way back we would definitely go up Rose Ave in Venice to my favorite breakfast and lunch spot, Flake. One day we would have to make a trip to the Academy Museum to spend an afternoon and make an early dinner reservation for some Indian food at Badmaash on Fairfax. I would take them to walk through the Original Los Angeles Flower Market one morning before popping into Poppy + Rose for some brunch and a coffee. One evening we would have to grab some sandwiches to go from Bay Cities Italian Deli and a great bottle of natural wine from Lincoln Fine Wines and head to one of my favorite venues in the city, The Ford, for a show. It would be tough to narrow down what to do with so much happening at all times!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to Shoutout my husband, Josh, for the support on this small business journey. When I told him I wanted to learn floral design he never even batted an eye. He had the kids while I went to the flower market on the weekends and he left me “you can do it!” notes on my steering wheel as I packed up the rental van for some of my first events. He has been in my corner from figuring out how to make a website to saying yes to some of my first freelance jobs. In addition to Josh, I have to say that there are a lot of people from friends to coworkers who have shared my business with their newly engaged friends, their wedding coordinator friends, their families throwing baby showers, and on and on. Thus far, I’d say 90% of my business has come from word of mouth and it’s completely due to the amazing people I’ve met along the way who believe in me enough to share my work with the people they love so I can help them celebrate some of their most important occasions!

Website: www.cvetla.com

Instagram: cvet_la

Image Credits
Peterson Design & Photography Tida Svy Photography Mary Costa Photography Wild Opal Photography David Medill Productions Heirlume Photography