We were lucky to catch up with Julia D’Angelo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Julia , thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
Growing up with an enormously generous of heart family got the ball rolling early. It wasn’t necessarily spoken but shown in little acts of kindness in our day to day. I think that is a great lesson in not feeling pressure to take extreme measures at your own detriment. While maintaining your own mental health you are doing small gestures that have meaning and add up. It can be as free and simple as listening.
I’ve always worked in hospitality in varying roles and floristry is absolutely an extension of that. You set the table when guests come over or you share a bouquet in celebration or sometimes in mourning, and those are gestures that hold a lot of feeling. Generosity I believe stems from doing something for another human that doesn’t ask for anything in return. Of course you get that warm fuzzy feeling when you do but that always feels like you’ve gone to bonus town.
Through the Pandemic and all the other bananaland things happening around the world, generosity is something we should be practicing more. And that absolutely includes generosity towards yourself.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Fern Botanica is a female lead, sustainably minded floristry. We offer community compost as well as dry and compost all our unused blooms. We’re currently working on offering pressed and eco-dyed floral items. Stay tuned! On the daily we are building bouquets for our neighbors or somewhere on a ladder in Brooklyn installing a floral ceiling display, arch, meadow….this job is not boring.
We offer classes of all kinds in our studio as well as have a boutique of locally curated and mostly handmade items for gifting.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Kindness. The ability to always learn something new. Always even now I’m still learning. Openness to change.
My greatest advice is to never shy from asking questions and to be kind to all. I strongly encourage proudly holding your space and vocalizing boundaries, but that can be achieved with kindness too.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Take a big ass breath and pause. Repeat as necessary. Some things will be scary and overwhelming but descending into panic helps no one especially you. Stay grounded with those that know and love you. And maybe sometimes just a glass of wine and time to think.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fernbotanica.com
- Instagram: fernbotanica
Image Credits
From left to right. Elena Wolfe. Karen Obrist Photography. Erycpdt Weddings. Karen Obrist Photography. Clarence Chan. Headshot: Karen Obrist Photography.
