Meet Teri Leatherman | Floral Artist

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

Hi Teri, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?

I really had no thoughts on starting a business after I retired in 2020. I had spent 18 years working on staff at Community of Faith in Hockley, TX and knew that I wanted to continue being involved in supporting mission work taking place locallyand internationally. I thought that if I could do something creative, stay busy and be able to support some great organizations I’d be in a great spot.My business evolved quickly from simply pressing and drying different types of flowers just to stay busy and explore my creative side. I worked initially doing some cute small frames with simple dried flowers and began learning how each flower is unique and requires different a different process. My curiosity led me to begin exploring how other florals artists use different media to create their pieces and I began to gravitate to preserving wedding bouquets. Having 5 daughters who all had weddings I know how expensive flowers can be wanted to be able to give brides an affordable option to preserve a piece of art from their special day.

Raising children and working in ministry doesn’t give you a lot of opportunity to explore your creative side. I really had no expectation of developing a business but I retired right during the peak of COVID and had lots of time at home to really just dive right into the trial and error of flower pressing. I have added some great techniques and some tools that make the process much more efficient. And being able to organize and store flowers is also a very important part of the
process. What now inspires me is working with different customers to help maketheir vision become reality. Seeing the joy on their face when they receive their piece is always fun.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
While a good number of the pieces created are now focused on the bridal bouquet creations, which are the most time consuming but I love the outcome and giving the brides a piece of their wedding they can keep. I also like to do dried and silk floral pieces that celebrate the seasons. I do some spring, fall and Holiday creations that feature seasonal flowers and integrate some unique processes to offer my customers something special.

I have overcome some of the challenges by resting, taking a step back and valuing the time involved. I am trying to set good expectations. Time management and remembering that this is something I love to do and taking time to enjoy the process.

My daughter owns Cypress Calligraphy and we often work together to do special pieces. We encourage each other in the small business arena.

What I would want the world to know is – pursue what you love and give back. I love to give back to our community. Knowing that I am doing a small part to help in a non-profit.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Houston has a great collection of Museums, so starting at the Museum of Natural History would be a good start. A day in Memorial Park or at the Zoo would also be great. Houston is a great foodie city and there are no shortage of places to try. My Husband and I love good BBQ and Gatlin’s and Truth BBQ are among our favorites. Live music is also a great way to entertain guests. From a small local venue like the outdoor stage at Frio Grill in Cypress to the Cynthia Woods Pavillion with a seat on the grassy hill, there is always someplace good to enjoy.A drive to historic Galveston is always fun too! While we don’t get to many sporting events, for the sports enthusiast there is always something going on in the pro or college level. It’s a great city, with great people!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Chanel Wilson, she is a small business owner of Cypress Calligraphy. She does the writing on the ornaments and frames for the floral projects that are done. She has encouraged and helped me along the way with Social Media, etc.

Website: www.floralswithheart.com

Instagram: florals_with_heart_tx_teri

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floralswithhearttx

Image Credits
Tracy Leatherman