Mien Muse | Theresa Anderson of Petals & Pop
If you've been following Mien Studios since the beginning, you may be familiar with Petals & Pop, a beautiful flower atelier that I often collaborate with. Theresa, the owner and master florist of P&P, has become a very dear friend of mine through the years. She's a business owner, a mother of two sparkling little girls, building a successful flower business that has been featured in major press outlets such as Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot, and more. Creatively, her work and her work ethic inspire me. As a person, she is warm, genuine, humble, and witty - a true friend that I can count on through the ups and downs of business ownership and my own motherhood journey. Her flowers fills our Seal Beach flagship store, and my own home. When I think of the community of women that we have built around Mien, Theresa of Petals & Pop is an integral member of our circle of incredible women and I'm thrilled to feature her as our first Mien Muse for 2020.
xxLisa
Get to know our lovely friend, Theresa Anderson of Petals and Pop
How old were you when you discovered your love affair for flowers and unique floral arrangements?
I naturally gravitated towards flowers when I was a child. I was 17 when I first started arranging flowers. As a young girl my Cousin would entertain often and have Lavish parties at her home. She would often ask me to help her decorate and create arrangements alongside her. Throughout all the events she inspired me and my love for flowers grew immensely.
What is your favorite type of flower and why?
Most people love peonies and roses but I’m more attracted to flowers with variations and texture and imperfections. Flowers like foxglove, fruitililia, helleborus - I’d like to affectionately call them flowers with freckles - those are my favorites. I also love the way sweetpea seems to move with its fine trindles. These flowers all dry beautifully, withering in a beautiful way and shape. I love that these varieties are rare and only available in their particular blooming seasons so that we have to wait to see them again. Roses you can see year long but my favorite flowers require patience for their beauty to come along.
When you create a bouquet, where do you pull your inspiration from?
If I know someone is into a romantic look, I take cues from his/her demeanor and the way they carry themselves. If I do a bridal bouquet, the inspiration definitely comes from the couple or the bride, the wardrobe, the couple’s personality, the couple’s lifestyle. The couple’s story comes from how they met, and I can create from that.
When did you know you wanted to open your own business?
Right after I had my second child I started Petals & Pop. Before that, I worked in the competitive and fast-paced medical sales field. When my second daughter was born, I found myself home with a newborn for five months and that gave me some time to think about what I wanted in my life. I longed to be a part of something more meaningful, to create. I also wanted the freedom to be with my children and be a good example for them by doing work I was passionate about. With Petals & Pop, I was able to show them the story of different flowers and finding beauty in everyday life. Before I started my business, I walked the typical life path, checked all the boxes: went to college, got my degree, got a good job, but I didn’t delve into my passion for flowers but only watched on the sidelines. At the same time, I wasn’t seeing people creating flowers the way I saw how it could be done. I was at Museum d’Orsay in Paris and by coincidence the galleries were displaying still life paintings that heavily showcased flowers and arrangements. I saw in the painting how flowers were effortlessly arranged and full of life in the past and realized that today we don’t have that same kind of art in our modern lives. I took that as a sign.
You and your husband are both entrepreneurs, can you describe for us what the average week looks like for your household? How do you divide your time between work and personal life?
Is there a division? There is never one. Our work and personal life all blend into one another. If you love something, it’s part of you work and your life. We love being parents, our home life is busy but full of love. I love flowers and design and my husband John, who is also a designer, loves his work and also owns a business that he’s passionate about as well. We both love our children and we think it’s important that they also can see that we value and enjoy what we do for a living because when both of your parents are entrepreneurs, work sometimes doesn’t stop for us just because we are home. Even if we’re traveling a lot for our businesses, we maneuver our work schedules and always try to make it special for our kids by bringing them along and involve them when we can. They’ll be at the studio and the shops with us, helping clean up and just spend time with us there. Our businesses also become an extension of our home, our family’s environment. It’s also important to us that people we work with are in tune with our home life and get along with our kids because they do see our children around. The hardest part with both of us being entrepreneurs is learning to turn off the stress, especially with finding balance during our busiest times.
Any advice for fellow mom entrepreneurs on how to balance their time between business woman and mother?
You are a busy mom, what is your go-to weeknight meal that's quick, easy and healthy that your kids love?
What can we expect from Petals and Pop in 2020? Do you have any events coming up?
Weddings, weddings and more weddings! Our 2020 calendar for weddings is filling up very quickly. The Petals & Pop website is relaunching in an exciting way this year. I’d love for people to follow us on our Instagram @petalsandpopshop to see the latest weddings we created florals for, our new projects, and upcoming events.
Do you have any tips and tricks to share for making a bouquet or centerpiece for a dinner party or gathering at home?
There are two things you need: poultry wire and binding wire, these two things you should always have to help with creating a simple vase arrangement. As for the flowers, you would be surprised how much you can pull from your garden if you have one. Even clipping branches from your tree and buying a few stems of specialty blooms from your local florist will create a beautiful, and more importantly, an effortless flower display. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, a simple and thoughtful arrangement will bring life to your home and gathering.
Wardrobe by Mien Studios, shown above:
Maison Dress in Light Copper
Lakeside Jumpsuit in Turmeric
Sedona Dress in Saddle Brown ~ Coming Soon
Photos by Jenna Norman Photography
Florals and Set Design by Petals & Pop
