Juliet Flores—whose name hints at her professional destiny—started working with flowers as part of her first real job, arranging and selling blooms from a hut in Santa Monica when she was 16. Later, she apprenticed with designers working on events at the Hotel Bel-Air and the Beverly Hills Hotel, and has taken a variety of classes in subjects such as floral and interior architectural design at local colleges to develop her technique and style.
Now 40, Flores offers floral design, along with occasional event production, through her new company, Flowers by Juliet. She prefers to work on events with no more than 100 guests, with arrangements starting at around $50 each.
“Flowers to me are like an ode to life—they signify a celebration,” Flores says. “Their scents, like those of lilacs and sweet peas and Casablanca lilies, transplant me to a better, happy place.”
Flores makes weekly floral deliveries to offices and other venues, and has worked on events like a recent business luncheon at Spago, as well as a Renaissance-fair fund-raiser at Wonderland Avenue Elementary School in June. For the school event, Flores went for a look she describes as “mom-’50s-picnic—a sweet, colorful tribute to a simpler time,” mixing potted daisies and lavender in rustic tins and bright peonies in clear, shapely vases on a vintage tablecloth. Old-fashioned candy filled a jar, and assorted plants and flowers added splashes of color.
“She’s got a lot of attention to detail, and she is the sweetest person you’ll ever work with. Everything is really tasteful,” says Julie Mader- Cintron, the event’s co-organizer and part of the school’s parent group. “I’m a designer myself, and with flowers, she totally outdoes me—stuff I never would have thought of. She was able to work well within a nonprofit budget, and she is a true professional.”
Flores says, “Ultimately, you have to have your own style to stand out, and my style varies depending on the event or occasion. I can make sweet, old-fashioned arrangements or fresh, contemporary, architectural ones.”
