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

Hi Karen, how do you think about risk?
I think I’ve always been a gutsy person, I’ve always believed in being true to yourself, no matter what that means. When I decided to leave the safety of a corporate setting I knew that it would be a big change and I knew that I wouldn’t ever want to go back. To me that just meant I’d have to work really hard to get things to grow. I’m not going to lie, my first year as a florist and a business owner was pretty tough, a lot of mistakes were made but it’d made me much stronger and my vision clearer.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m most proud of how my style and brand have grown in a year! I’m known for colorful custom arrangements and I’ve recently begun to grow and sell my own succulents. I’m very excited for my next pop-up: Valentine’s Day weekend at Mizzen + Main. There’s also a creative project that I’ve been working on and I hope to launch it in the Spring.

Creating and growing a business is not easy, especially when it was done during the pandemic. Even though people loved my work, it was hard to let people know I existed. I did markets for the first 6 months that my business was open and that’s how I created an audience. There were other journeys that tied into it all too, one of them being: knowing your worth! Working with flowers and understanding the financial aspect of it was what lead me to have an honest conversation on pricing and making sure I was charging enough for my skill and craft.

Then our studio caught on fire mid-January of this year and all of my resources and attention has been poured into bouncing back, I feel blessed to be able to pull off a pop-up despite what happened.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’ve recently found myself going to ‘Flight Club’ which just opened up! It’s a British inspired dart bar with amazing drinks and fun dart games!

Other than that I think you can do no wrong by going to Chinatown in Bellaire, it’s grown so much in these past couple of years and it has so many amazing restaurants and delicious dessert spots! Some of my favorite spots would be House of Bowls for Hong Kong style Chinese food, Moshi Moshi gifts for cute gifts and Reiwatakiya for Japanese imported skincare. You could head over to Tiger Sugar for some delicious Boba Milktea and finished the route by grabbing some donuts at Sul Bing Su! You could literally go each day to Chinatown and eat delicious different food everyday.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shout out to two lovely people. The first would be my partner Cameron for being by my side since day one and for building my business alongside me. The hardships of starting a business and learning from my mistakes wouldn’t have been as easy to handle alone.

The second person would be to a fellow florist and friend, Fili Scheveloff! We met while freelancing in an event company here in Houston and I immediately knew that I wanted to aspire to. She has given me invaluable advice for the floral industry here in Houston and my career has flourished with her help.

Website: www.flowersbykarenterrazas.com

Instagram: @flowers.bykt

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flowersbykarenterrazas

Image Credits
Warm Tone Bridal Bouquet: Nadine Burns @justlikehoney.us Pictures of me making an arrangements: Karla House @khouse.studios Violet and White Arrangement: Fajar Hassan @fudge.photo

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutHTX is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.