From Fashion Design to Sustainable Floristry: Catalina Padovani’s Career in Latin America

My career in flowers began in 2020, at the start of the pandemic, when I felt the need for a career change and decided to move from fashion design to working with nature. I started by taking several online courses and soon came across the No Floral Foam movement, which made complete sense to me. On the last Mother’s Day before the pandemic ended, I started taking bouquet orders from friends, neighbors and acquaintances, and received more than 50 orders. Then came my children’s birthdays, when I also did the flowers for their parties. Through those children’s parties, I made my first connections with event decorators who still hire me to do the flowers for their events today. From that moment on, everything took off.

For me, a turning point in my career was when I taught my first sustainable floral design course in Colombia, together with Juliana from Ora Flower Agency. I shared with her the challenges our industry is facing and introduced her to the movement toward more conscious floral design, which was already gaining strength in Europe and Australia. She embraced the idea, and in Colombia we held our first masterclass together. It was through this experience that I came to understand the gap that existed for florists in Latin America around this topic, how important it was to bring this knowledge to them, and how much this purpose meant to me. After that experience, I never stopped. Today, Juliana and I are close friends, we collaborate on some courses, and she also continues to spread this way of working with flowers.

Today, my main role as a florist is to offer sustainable floral design services for all kinds of events, working with brands and people who share this mindset. This means using sustainable mechanics and reusable materials, and always prioritizing local, seasonal flowers. Through my masterclasses, I also continue to encourage florists to adopt a more conscious way of working within their own floral businesses. I believe the key driver of change is information: with it, we can make more conscious decisions and understand the impact of each choice we make.

I feel the most important skills here are curiosity and leadership. It was curiosity that led me to research and learn more about this new movement. I’ve always loved researching and learning about the subjects that interest me, and it was through that research that I discovered it was indeed possible to work with flowers in a way that felt more meaningful to me. Today, we definitely need to make better use of the access that technology and social media give us to see what other florists are doing around the world. Information is everything. I also feel that stepping up to lead this movement has been very important. Thinking outside the box and doing things differently is always a big challenge; proposing something different from everyone else isn’t easy, but it’s incredibly rewarding. My mindset and philosophy throughout this movement have never been about trying to convince anyone, but rather about sharing information with those who believe in it and are willing to change.

I feel the biggest lesson I’ve learned in this profession, beyond anything academic, is the importance of nurturing good relationships: with fellow florists, with suppliers and with our clients. Relationships built on trust, ethics and transparency, and on a sense of community where we can add value to one another, where collaboration comes first and everyone can contribute according to their own strengths and experience. I believe that’s where a true sense of community comes from. Building this community through sustainable floral design has been my greatest lesson.

My main challenge is learning to deal, day to day, with the demands of being an entrepreneur and with the changes our profession brings. We have very busy months and very quiet ones. In Brazil in particular, the country is going through a crisis and a lot of economic uncertainty, which is clearly felt across many sectors. Those of us working in event design see a slower market and smaller budgets for flowers. Courses are also being affected, making it harder to fill classes. Learning to manage my finances for these periods has been a big challenge, but it allows me to plan better every time. Using the quieter times to study, practice and do everything we don’t have time for during the busy event season has been an excellent way to learn how to navigate these periods.

A typical Monday tends to be more of an office day. It’s when I coordinate the breakdown logistics for the weekend’s events, tidy up the studio and close the books. It’s also a day for sending out quotes, finalizing proposals and organizing all the orders for the upcoming events.

Alongside the event floral design I do for decorators and agencies who outsource their flowers to me, which is currently my studio’s main and most steady source of income, I run a line of courses. These masterclasses are announced about eight months in advance, giving florists and decorators time to plan ahead. The fee for each spot is what allows me to organize and cover everything: the guest artist, catering, flowers, venue, photographer, team… everything. I always count on the support and sponsorship of the Veiling Holambra and Cooperflora cooperatives, which are always there with their flowers. That’s basically how my business works.

At this stage of my career, I feel I can still position myself more clearly as a floral artist who works sustainably. As entrepreneurs, we often end up doing everything: I run my business, manage the finances, take part in the production and design of floral projects, buy the flowers, create the courses… all while being a mother to two young boys. Managing my time is a challenge, and above all, learning to delegate whatever can be done by someone else. I think I’ve already improved a lot in this respect, by understanding what truly depends on me and getting my priorities in order. Another thing I’d like to improve is having more time to create content and sustainable floral design courses that help me share this knowledge more consistently.

I feel that within our industry there is, and always will be, room for new florists, decorators and landscape designers. I think the most important thing is to find our purpose within the profession and to do everything with integrity, ethics and transparency. I deeply believe that when we do what makes us happy, always giving our best and staying true to that, opportunities arrive when we’re ready for them, and everything flows and happens naturally. In a profession that calls for originality and creativity, whatever path we choose to take, we should bring our own essence and truth as artists into our work. That is what belongs to us, it’s unique, and it will always be what sets us apart.

If someone asked me for advice, I’d tell them to start by being true to what they really believe in and what feels meaningful to them. I’d also tell them to prepare well, to study and never stop investing in knowledge, because that’s where new ideas and growth in our profession always come from. Even if we have creative talent, mastering the techniques opens up many paths to new ways of creating. And of course, I’d encourage them to work sustainably, to keep up with the needs of today’s market and build a floral business that will last into the future, feeling empowered and aware of the power we have as florists: we have the freedom to choose the materials we use in every arrangement or floral project, and the flowers we use to create them. We have the power to bring people closer to nature.

Being a Colombian florist leading this movement toward more sustainable floral design in Latin America has undoubtedly been the most incredible challenge of my career, and it’s where I found my purpose. What I’ve been learning through these courses is that this is a transition that takes time, but it must keep moving forward, because the reality of our ecosystem demands it. Just as every industry is looking for more sustainable alternatives, it should be no different for us as florists and for the floral industry, especially when our main raw material is nature itself. We’re already seeing real, direct impacts with consequences that affect us. On the other hand, I’ve learned that the most important thing, as I mentioned earlier, is to share information from a place of respect and without judgment. Everyone is free to create in the way that feels meaningful to them and that they believe in. Every day I’m learning not to feel frustrated with those who aren’t yet ready to embrace this approach to floral design, and to understand that awareness of sustainability is a personal journey; it’s not about trying to convince anyone. What matters most will always be sharing information and showing new paths to those looking for more conscious alternatives.

The sustainable floral design masterclasses are always created and run by me. Veiling Holambra is a partner in this project, and this year, in addition to sponsoring some of the flowers and plants, they purchased an experience with TJ, which gave us the opportunity to visit the cooperative, see the auction system it operates on, visit one of its member growers and, finally, teach a short sustainable floral design class to a group of the cooperative’s key clients. I’d like to clarify that the courses are my own and that Veiling takes part solely as a sponsor! ;)

As for the Brazilian industry, I feel we still have a lot of room for improvement across the whole supply chain: better use of resources and packaging by growers, and more visibility for the good practices already in place… We have one big advantage: we’re fortunate to have a wide variety of flowers all year round and to work almost entirely with locally grown flowers. On the other hand, although we still have a long way to go, more and more florists are seeking to understand how to work sustainably, and that’s a huge step. Showing an industry that has worked the same way for the past 80 years that this model no longer works, and building awareness that we need to evolve toward a new way of thinking, means breaking paradigms. In short, there’s still a lot to be done, but I feel confident and optimistic knowing we’re on the right path.

Change is already happening! Slowly, but the movement is underway. I feel the key to making these changes increasingly part of the reality of the Brazilian market, and of Latin America as a whole, is to spread more knowledge about sustainable techniques and alternatives. I often come across the idea that working sustainably is more expensive, more time-consuming or complicated… My answer is always that, above all, we need to be willing to think outside the box, do things differently and be open to learning new ways of working. The time ends up being the same; you just spend it on different things. As for cost, by using materials we can reuse many times over, such as pin frogs or simple plastic planters, we achieve not only a lower environmental impact but also significant savings for our businesses in the medium and long term. It’s an invitation to relate to flowers in a different way, to embrace the power we have as florists, to keep learning and seeking information, always understanding the impact of every choice we make, and to explain to our clients the reasons behind our choices and where our flowers come from. It all comes down to a shift in mindset that each of us must commit to.