Mosaic | Florist | Barcelona
Discovering the Passion
With a background in marketing and having lived in Paris, London and
Geneva, Margaux embarked on a quest to find her true calling in Barcelona. She yearned for a creative outlet and spent considerable time exploring various avenues. Knowing that she wanted to use her creativity to make people’s heart smile, Margaux went on a quest to define what was her mission in life and what she wanted to do. After experimenting for months, she decided to try working in a flower shop and learn how to make bouquets. Those 2 experiences lasted long enough for Margaux to realise she wanted to learn her own style of making floral arrangement and modernise the way flower creations were sold in Barcelona. The floral world opened a door to artistic expression she had long been seeking, and she decided to take the leap and establish her own business.
Mosaic: A Tapestry of Inspiration
Margaux named her business Mosaic, inspired by the mosaic of inspiration she encounters in life. One of her core beliefs is the importance of working with local flowers, as they offer a unique and authentic touch to her creations. She has created strong relationships with local suppliers and flower farmers from nearby markets, ensuring a steady supply of fresh and exquisite blooms. Margaux revels in the creativity that arises from working with the available resources in her area, crafting distinctive arrangements that embody the spirit of Barcelona.
Blending Creativity and Business
Like many other floral entrepreneurs, Margaux faces the challenge of balancing artistic expression and business management. Her valuable advice to aspiring florists: allow your heart to guide your business, and your brain will align with your passion, making everything fall into place. Margaux’s journey as a self-trained florist, learning through trial and error with each project, has shaped her unique approach to floral design.
From Luxury Brands to Weddings
Margaux’s clientele primarily consists of luxury and creative brands in Barcelona, providing them with exquisite floral creation for their stores and supporting their product launches and events. Additionally, she caters to the world of wedding floristry, infusing each celebration with her signature touch. Margaux loves doing exhibitions as a way to fully express her creativity and experiment different ways of playing with flowers and merging arts. While her work primarily takes place in Barcelona, Margaux also travels outside of Spain for special events, recently making her mark in Cannes with stunning displays for her clients.
Seeking Inspiration from Art
Rather than seeking inspiration solely from fellow florists, Margaux finds her creative muse in other art forms and artists. Flowers become her personal expression, as she collaborates with other artists and curates exhibitions that intertwine the realms of floral design and various art disciplines. This approach allows her to embrace limitless possibilities and explore the boundaries of her craft.
Cultivating a Creative Team
As Margaux expands her business, she envisions assembling a team of like-minded individuals who possess a similar creative spirit. She seeks individuals who are passionate, enthusiastic, and possess a hands-on attitude. Traditional floristry skills take a backseat to the ability to be self-trained and solve problems creatively, ensuring the team aligns with Margaux’s vision.
Challenges and Rewards of Floristry
Like many floral entrepreneurs, Margaux faces the challenge of managing various aspects of the business, including sales, marketing, and social media. Junior florists seeking opportunities in floral entrepreneurship must recognize that their roles extend beyond merely creating bouquets in a shop. The life of a florist offers a diverse range of experiences and responsibilities, requiring adaptability and versatility.
We talk to Margaux in a Q&A below about her life as a Florist in
Barcelona:
1. How were you introduced to the world of flowers?
Before being introduced to the world of flowers, I worked in Marketing in Paris, London and Geneva. I also realized with time how essential it was for me to create as a means to express myself, connect with people and contribute to the world. To cut a long story short, after months of hesitation, I quit my job, moved to Barcelona in 2019 and started introspecting on how I could “use my creativity to make people’s heart smile”.
The quest started until I shared to my husband Arthur “I want to work in a
flower shop”. This was not linear of course, it took months of doubts, back and forth, having 1,000 ideas of things I could do, but this one somehow got stuck somewhere between my heart, my soul and my brain.
After working in a flower shop and going 2 days to floristry school, I felt I had so much to offer, there was a lot of potential and the best way to make it for me what learning by doing. Never could have I imagined that the school of life was going to take me to a whole new level of creativity, connection and growth.
I started going to the market every week, building a relationship with horticultors, learning about flowers, working in the fields, discovering my own style of flower creation. The world of flowers is filled with passionate people who take great pride in sharing what they do. I also understood how flowers are both natural and artistic, simple and complex, they speak to everyone, they are living elements that bring so much joy wherever they are.
2. Why do you love working with flowers?
Flowers are an amazing way to connect people, merge arts, express yourself and convey emotions. They speak to everyone, they tell stories, they convey positive energy. As natural living elements, they create unexpectedness and surprise. They evolve in a way you cannot control.
Once you think you have finished a floral creation, depending on how the
flowers will grow and age, the creation will look different, way beyond what you expected. Their colours are what attract me at first, but I cannot get enough discovering everything they have to offer: texture, volumes…
3. What is the best advice you have received through your floral arrangement studies?
After going 2 days to school to learn the basic stuff about floristry, I understood that “I’m going to trust my intuition and discover my own style and way of create floral arrangements”. Not sure if it’s the best academic advice, but it’s sincere and what has been working for me.
4. How did you manage to turn your passion into a business?
Living from my art is one of the most enriching, yet challenging thing I’ve ever done. I realized that Barcelona is an international and modern city, but somehow when it comes to flowers, it’s pretty old school. I understood that their was a gap between what people wanted and what the industry had to offer. I had often seen that bouquets were done in a very academic way, with leaves stapled to constraint the flower in a certain way for instance. Flower shops were mostly physical with very little communication online or delivery service.
Having worked in marketing, I applied a few principles I was used to
working with, starting with a simple statement: customer first. This is why, from a business point of view, my intention with Mosaic was to modernise and simplify the customer experience and product proposition. This is how I launched an online shop that offered every week 2 different designs of bouquets that could be delivered by bike anywhere in Barcelona. This enabled me to keep things simple, limit waste, offer local and seasonal flowers, adapting myself to what people wanted from a flower shop.
From a communication point of view, I made sure my Instagram regularly
shared regular content and engaged customers to convey the idea that
an online business can also be local, human and relatable.
From a creative point of view, bouquets were always very colorful and wild, which is what I was looking for when I was looking for flowers.
5. Are there any artists who you look up to or inspire you most?
I found inspiration in arts in general, painting, music and fashion being my ultimate favorite. When it comes to painting, my biggest source of inspiration is fauvism. I cannot get enough of its bold colours, it’s so rich, you can feel the texture. One painter I particularly like is Matisse.
I love listening to music when I work and create and my tastes are very eclectic: motown, rap, classic, French variety… Naming a few might be a bit restrictive, but here they are: Juliette Armanet, Aretha Franklin, Orelsan, Marvin Gaye…
6. Where do you source your materials, vases & tools?
One of the things that got me into flowers is discovering the flower market in Vilassar de Mar, just outside of Barcelona. This is where I get local and seasonal flowers, as much as I can, an amazing way to get inspired and connect with horticultors.
7. How would you describe your style of floral art?
Joyful, audacious, unexpected, poetic and unconventional.
8. Do you have a favourite material or season?
I particularly like flowers that are colourful, have movement and evolve with time. In that sense, I have a soft spot for ranunculus, tulips, and delphinium. But to be honest, if you ask me this question tomorrow, my answer might be different 🙂
9. What is the advice you would give to someone who is studying or
wanting to study floral arrangement?
Trust your intuition, express yourself and don’t be scared to convey emotions.
10. Do you have any good floristry secrets / tips to share?
Connecting with horticultors fills my heart with joy. Being part of this community of passionate people contributes so much to my everyday work and brings purpose to what I do.
11. What is ahead in your flower future?
Nothing I can share officially, but just having recruited a floral assistant, Julia, I can only say that my artistic vision will continue to grow 🙂
12. For flower lovers – where would you recommend they visit in
Barcelona in a 24 hour visit?
My favorite place in Barcelona is actually slightly outside the city. It is the
Botanical garden of Blanes. Built on a cliff, it offers spectacular views of luxurious vegetation, mediterannean rocks diving into the sea.
13. Best things about working with flowers in Barcelona
- Working with flowers, a living element that is constantly changing and offers so much (colors, textures, volumes…);
- Being part of a community of passionate people;
- Sharing your vision of the world and expressing yourself;
- Merge arts;
- Connecting with people of so many backgrounds;
- Bringing joy and happiness to people, using your creativity to make their heart smile, feeling that you’re contributing to something bigger than yourself;
- Discovering everyday that creativity has no limits and that you can do pretty much anything.
14. Challenges about working with flowers in Barcelona
- Understand who is your client and how to contact them;
- Finding a reason to wake up when you don’t have sales;
- Things take time and don’t always happen the way you expect;
- Being an entrepreneur is a full time job that requires you to be creative and business oriented.
Margaux and her flourishing business, Mosaic, embody the spirit of
Barcelona’s creative landscape. With a passion for local flowers and an
unwavering commitment to artistic expression, she has carved a unique
niche in the world of floristry. Through her captivating journey and
dedication to innovation, Margaux offers inspiration to both aspiring
florists and those who appreciate the beauty and creativity that blooms in
the heart of Barcelona.
Business Details
Website: mosaicflowers.com
Instagram: @mosaicflowers
[email protected]
+34 722 43 15 63