Stephanie Spear Vienna resident Lisa Waters has turned her passion for flowers into a thriving business. Though Lisa has always loved flowers, a therapeutic connection with flora during a difficult time in her life helped her realize the joy that flowers could bring. The Fairfax Girl caught up with Lisa to learn more about her business and what clients can expect. Read on for more with Lisa Waters of I Can Buy Myself Flowers.
Lisa’s Journey
Vienna native Lisa Waters is a French immersion teacher at Kent Gardens School in McLean and is the woman behind local florist business I Can Buy Myself Flowers. “I was going through a tough time and bought myself just tons of flowers,” Lisa said. “I put them everywhere in my house to try to lighten the mood.”
“I was never somebody who felt like I could have flowers around. I always felt like they were so expensive. and I never liked how grocery store flowers looked and I had never really played with [florals] myself,” Lisa said. “I had a moment where I realized that this [playing with flowers] was actually so much fun. I thought, ‘I feel so much better, these look pretty and I’ll be happy for the rest of the week.’ It clicked for me,” she said.
This was toward the end of the 2022 school year, and for fun, Lisa started bringing flowers to school. “I did a flower subscription for the teachers, and a lot of parents ended up buying the subscriptions for the teachers,” she said.
The school year ended and Lisa was still enjoying the budding (Editor’s note: sorry, couldn’t help it) flower business. In Summer 2022, Lisa started planting flowers in her yard and learning more about floral arranging. She also observed the local market to understand the demand for florist services and how it would change from season to season. Lisa took a floral workshop with Holly Chapple, a Waterford-VA-based florist and event designer. “It was such great training about arranging flowers and some business practices that are specific to the floral industry,” she said.
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By Fall 2022, I Can Buy Myself Flowers was official, and Lisa started taking on clients in earnest. “I had to find a balance between keeping it fun and still a hobby but also not losing money on it,” Lisa said. It took some trial and error to find the right match of pricing, events, and offerings, and soon she was on her way. “One of the first events I did was a floral arranging class at Caboose Brewing here in Vienna,” she said.
After being in business for a while, Lisa realized there were clues all along about her floral focus. “I didn’t grow up with big arrangements in my house or anything like that,” she said. “But I always loved having a flower in my hair. And I realize now how many items I own that have flowers on them, like clothing.”
About the Business
One of the signature elements of Lisa’s business is that clients don’t exactly know what they’re going to get. “Flowers are part of nature, and you have to go with what’s available,” she says. “I can work with certain colors, or if there’s something to avoid I can handle that, but that’s part of the fun.” Lisa gets her flowers from local wholesalers, local flower farms, and her garden.
I Can Buy Myself Flowers does flowers for special events such as weddings or parties, restaurants, festivals, and hosts private events such as bloom bars or flower arranging classes. She also offers arrangements by pre-order and on-demand via DoorDash. Lisa also offers floral subscriptions, where a client can choose the frequency of the arrangements, which she frequently delivers herself.
“I work with the customer and their budget,” she says. “I don’t have a catalog that people can point to. My style is more minimalistic, with a balance between the blooms and the negative space.” Lisa draws inspiration from the in-season florals as well as her life experiences. She spent time as a teen in Japan and finds herself designing arrangements much like Japanese ikebana florals. “It’s very minimalistic, maybe one or two big blooms,” she said.
Lisa has an incredible collection of vintage vases and vessels that often inspire her designs. Or, a client will bring in a vessel or vase that will spark creativity. On our visit to Lisa’s studio, she grabbed a red-orange bloom from a bucket and plucked out a vase that had orange accents that matched the bloom.
The more time Lisa spends in business, the more she learns about the supply chain in the floral industry. It’s made her a more astute consumer of the products, and she cites another local Vienna business, Trace Zero Waste, as a great resource for those who want to learn more about reducing their waste.
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Lisa also says she has made many new friends and acquaintances through her business. “One of the most important people I’ve met is my friend Joan Fuller,” Lisa said. “Joan lives in Falls Church but also has a flower farm near Lake Anna, and I’ve bought so many flowers from her. We met right when she was starting her farm. I’ve gotten to know her and have learned so much from her about gardening.” Even the recipients of her floral arrangements, whether for a one-off or a subscription, have become part of Lisa’s network. “I’ll visit with some clients when I drop off their arrangement, it’s nice to get to know them,” she said.
Becoming a business owner in Vienna has also opened up new relationships for Lisa. “I’ve gotten to know the team at The Virginian and Cafe de Vienna,” she said. “I feel so much more connected to Vienna now, despite living here off and on my whole life. The team at Caboose Brewing is so great to work with, and I’ve learned a lot from Mala at Trace Zero Waste.” Lisa says even her neighbors are invested in her business’ success. “Everyone knows I’m always on the hunt for vases and containers,” she said. “People will tag me in stuff on Buy Nothing or will just leave bags on my front step of vases or containers.”
Even during slower months, Lisa finds ways to use flowers to connect with the community. “I ran a contest on Facebook to nominate a local business who should receive flowers,” she said. “The person who won wanted to give the flowers to the Post Office. She came along with me to deliver the flowers and it was a really special day.”
Lisa is looking forward to seasonal blooms, and teaching more workshops throughout the area.
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