Meet Emily Phillips

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emily Phillips. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Emily, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome creeps into my consciousness almost every time I enter a new stage or level of my craft. “You think you belong here?”, challenges the voice. It’s not something that I have to overcome once and then it never reappears. I have found that the best way to stay grounded and confident, to keep imposter syndrome from discouraging or damaging my work, is by staying connected to the floral community around me. When I am a participating member of a community of other wedding professionals and florists, I see that we are all fallible humans, gifted and struggling in similar areas. When I separate myself from others, when I put my head down and charge alone into the industry, I easily fall into a belief that I’m the only one who has difficulty with X, Y or Z. It feels like everyone else has it all figured out! But that is a lie. When I spend time working with or talking with other florists, I see first hand that even those who are producing more complicated designs or bigger productions than I am, make mistakes, have to adjust, and are learning lessons from their imperfections. Don’t be fooled by perfect images and impersonal stories. Foster a community that is personal and real and you will learn that all of us are continually learning and growing.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’ve always been a creative and a project manager. For a long time it was only on a personal level—childhood crafts or games, school projects or events, hobbies, etc.—but when I befriended a peony grower shortly after graduating with my art degree, I began to ask myself, “what about floral design?” A year later, I had the opportunity to work for a florist in Singapore and that was when I realized that the medium of flowers was calling my name. When I moved back to the US in 2016, I began planning the start of my floral studio.
There are two main reasons why I love focusing on designing florals for weddings and events as apposed to having a retail florist shop. First, I love the flexibility it allows me to have as I grow our family alongside my floral business, Emily Kaye Floral Atelier. I just had our fourth baby and have enjoyed a lengthy maternity leave, soaking up these early days and making time to help our family adjust. The second reason why I love doing event florals is because of the scope of the design involved. Designing for a weekend or a day long event allows me to contribute to the transformation of an atmosphere. Clients hiring me for an event want to create an experience for their guests. For these events, I get to work with creative colleagues to produce something that uniquely distinguishes and celebrates that day for the client. As an artist, it’s an absolute pleasure and a privilege to work with flowers to create an experience on that scale.
For those who are curious to know more about my event work and how it exists with my calling as a mother to our four young children, you can sign up for monthly exclusive peeks into the studio at https://www.emilykayefloral.com/ (scroll to the bottom and enter your name and email). Currently, I am exploring how to merge the style of Texas/Americana with my love for the French/European aesthetic. It’s a marriage of styles that excites me and combines two cultures that have greatly shaped who I am today.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three things that have most impacted the trajectory of my journey into floral design have been my supportive community (family, friends and wedding industry colleagues), my passion for learning, and clearly defined desires/goals.
You will encounter difficulties in your life and in whatever work or craft you choose to pursue. Time and time again, it has been the love, encouragement, and mere presence of my community that has brought me through the difficult moments and seasons. Make time for your friends. Find the people in your industry whose work you admire and whose personal life you respect. You cannot succeed or even PROCEED significantly or with any level of sustained joy if you go alone.
You must also have a passion for what you do because even with the encouragement of your friends and family, if you don’t love what you are doing and hold an ambitious eagerness to pivot and grow within that pursuit, then the constantly shifting environment will leave you behind. Find people whose work ethics you admire, podcasts with tips grounded in real experience, and books written from founded research.
Lastly, to make a meaningful go of it, you must know what you want and where you want to be in one year, five years, ten years. Your goals will provide a channel for your energy. They lead you to make intentional decisions in every area of your work, decisions that will take you closer to your goal rather than create a purposeless floundering occasionally passing as progress because it at least keeps you afloat.
Without my community, my love for wedding floristry and business, and my vision for my future, Emily Kaye Floral Atelier would have closed its doors years ago.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I feel overwhelmed, I stop what I am doing and ask myself, why am I feeling this way? Really dig into the source. Sometimes you need to seek professional counseling. Often it’s a more simple equation you can solve with some intentional reflection. Sometimes it is due to something entirely unrelated to work. If I am overwhelmed by my work load, then I make a list (even mentally helps) of the things I need to do in the order of what’s most important. When I stop and examine all that I need to do, I realize that the tasks are not actually equally important. I have to prioritize in order to focus efficiently and to not feel like I’ve failed at the end of the day. Time blocking also helps. Often, I prioritize according to the most immediately profitable tasks. For example, instead of getting the newsletter out the day it is due, although that is a more enjoyable task, I will focus first on the client who is waiting for a contract or an invoice. Your business cannot run itself on a newsletter. Take care of your current clients first.
Another thing that I do when I feel overwhelmed is to remember why I have chosen to pursue a career as a self-employed event florist, Emily Kaye Floral Atelier’s “raison d’être”. I got into this business so that I could help with our family income, yes, but I have my own studio so that I can run it in a way that allows me to spend more time with our family. Sometimes that means saying no to a more minor business goal like a timely newsletter or a clever instagram post so that I can make a nutritious dinner, read a book to our two year old, or help our first grader with his homework.
Stopping to prioritize and realign almost always dispels the fog of overwhelm.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emilykayefloral.com
• Instagram: @emilykayefloral
• Other: Newsletter signup: https://emilykaye.myflodesk.com/gl91y1hwci

Image Credits

Katrina McArdle Photography
Gloriana Chan
Laura Watson
Elizabeth Ray
Rebekah Jin Photo
Alexis Lunsford