Meet Shamori Andrus | Florist & Self Love Advocate

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

Hi Shamori, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Hey! Thank you so much for having me. The idea of my business
came from a few different factors in my life that were coming together
before I ever saw myself starting my own business. I grew up around
a lot of God fearing people and I often heard them say that we were all
born to be something greater. That there was a purpose bigger than
ourselves we were created to fulfill. As a result of me hearing those
things in my earlier years it led me to finding profound joy in
encouraging, supporting, and acknowledging the people around me in
their greatness and getting them to see that like flowers… they were
Born To Bloom & designed to achieve a level of growth they couldn’t
always see in themselves. After years of giving people their
metaphorical flowers, my fascination with the flowers of the earth
blossomed. Like many people I’ve had to discover different tools to
assist me in navigating my mental health & on my journey I found that
creating floral arrangements was one of the best ways for me to find
peace, use flowers as a token of self love, and express my love for the
people close to me. After making it a consistent practice, I realized
that my tool had become a skill and a passion, so after overcoming my
struggles with self doubt, much prayer, receiving the encouragement
of my loved ones and making the choice to believe what I poured into
others for years I stepped out on faith and took the steps to create
Born To Bloom Floral.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
At the moment I’m maintaining my career in banking while I continue
to grow my business, so between those two I’m pretty much always
working, but I would be remiss if I didn’t give my background in
creative arts credit for getting me here. I’ve sang, acted, danced,
written (journal entries, music, short stories, and poetry) for many
many years and I know that my experience in the arts spilled over into
my creativity in the floral industry. My professional journey has its
twists and turns, but my faith has been the thing to keep me grounded.
One of the greatest yet most challenging things I’ve learned from
working and creating, was that I was keeping myself from being who I
had the potential to be. Life already comes with opposition, people
and forces that don’t want you to thrive… those things don’t need
help. If there is nobody in your corner you and your creator can be, IF
you choose them. I want the world to know that this brand is about
physically giving people their flowers in order to feel special, yes… but
more importantly I want to remind people that there is purpose in
them. As long as you have breath in your body you can continue to
Bloom and be more than what you were yesterday. You’re part of a
bigger picture, and there are people in this world who need what YOU
have to offer. The sooner you accept your own greatness the better off
the world will be.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

The best time ever? Whew… big shoes to fill huh? Lol… I am very big
on the water, so the beach would be an absolute MUST. I’m also a
frequent bowler so a night out with my bowling crew would be on the
list. Because my bestie and I LOVE brunch, we’d definitely have to hit
Fixins in DTLA, Roscoes, (abeautifullife) Jamaican Kitchen, The Court
Cafe, Wii Jammin… the list goes on. In And Out… duhh. Its LA so
obviously we gotta get tacos from one of the millions of trucks we’ll see.
Simply Wholesome when we’re on our health kick or want a
smoothie, and Woodys if we’re craving BBQ. I know a lot of different
people so we’d have to attend whatever event one of my people are
hosting. Sundays are for church at TLCLA and Black On The Block for
all your flea market needs, and if Tuffcrowd Ent, The Healing Circle
LA, or UNPLUGDLA are throwing any events we gotta check them out
too!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Before I’m anything… I’m a vessel. So I have to thank God for the
idea of this business, for every mountaintop & valley that leads to me
becoming my best self and blessing me with the people that have
been part of my journey over the years. To my best friends, thank you
for supporting me in this process of discovering myself & my purpose
even when it wasn’t easy. To my Soul Sistas y’all have been a God
send and I’m grateful to be walking into greatness with you.
To my therapist… thank you for challenging me to pick up my bed and
walk, to do the work that’s leading to me being the woman I deserve to
be, and for encouraging me to not be afraid to acknowledge and
accept the fullness of who I am because all of me is worthy.
To my Pastoral guidance, your prayers and love have kept me in ways
nothing else could, thank you.
Lastly, to my core I love y’all more than life, and no matter what I’ll
always count myself blessed for being tethered to you. As long as I
win, we all do.

Instagram: @bornobloomfloral

Other: btbarrangements@gmail.com