Meet Whitney Virden | Independent Florist

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

Hi Whitney, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Growing up I always wanted to be an entrepreneur but I didn’t have a specific business in mind. I just knew that I wanted to build something that would serve others. I spent my time building my professional skills starting out as a waitress, working in the banking industry, leading a real estate brokerage, and eventually working in the non-profit world. Between my leadership in real estate and non-profit work, I found myself lost. I was not filling fulfilled and I desired to do something more meaningful in my life. I stumbled upon a temporary position at a flower shop and after working two weeks and a full 24-hour day over Valentine’s Day I fell in love. There was something about flowers that captured my heart. However, I spent most of my life saying I didn’t have a creative bone in my body. So I wasn’t even sure where to begin. I just decided to start somewhere. I started foraging wildflowers from pastures and bought a book from Hobby Lobby on arranging. I worked with flowers available to me with no clue about how to access commercial flowers. It wasn’t until I found a floral workshop did I finally get set free and started to build on my creative confidence. I started pushing myself out of my comfort zone and designed for 14 weddings in my first year in business in 2019. I had 28 weddings booked for 2020 when I found out I was pregnant and due in August 2020. Weddings were canceled or postponed and our daughter arrived in the middle of the pandemic when daycares were closed. Without childcare, my husband and I agreed that I would leave my full-time job to care for our daughter and to try and make the flower shop thing work. In February of 2021, I hired my first employee, Pam who helped build our retail business. We decided to stay away from major flower networks and build our flower shop as an independent flower shop. As an independent flower shop, we do not receive wire orders from networks or have access to their vast library of containers and designs. Let’s just say Pam was used to doing on average 30 designs and deliveries a day and when she started with me we were doing 6 a week. We really had to hustle to earn business. We started in a market with 3 very established flower shops 2 of them being multigenerational owners. We carved out a space for our farm fresh nature-inspired designs. We grew our team and expanded into a second market this year. We have learned so much along the way and are continuing to pivot and learn how to gain local market share organically through community engagement and excellence service.

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.
My creativity was sparked through a lack of resources. I didn’t have the financial resources or time to dedicate to a floral class as I set out to learn the art of floral design. This lack led me to create with what I could find and most of what I could find was blooming in a pasture. I started foraging and picking up roses at our local grocery store to learn the art of design. My first event was a tea party for my daughter where I set a table using only foraged items and a few roses. After I started my business and received a tax permit I was able to start shopping at a flower wholesaler located over an hour away from me. I didn’t know the names of flowers, how to buy them, or how to really care for them. However, my salesman was so patient and kind I could send her pictures and she would tell me what flowers were in the picture. For my first couple of weddings, I wasn’t sure how many flowers to order and if I came up short I knew I could forage and find things in my pasture to finish them out with. Therefore my work began to take on a very organic and natural look. It has always amazed me what a flower that flew in from Ecuador can look like next to a ditch weed. Because of this resourceful beginning, I feel a design isn’t finished without something foraged. I am known to say if you think it’s missing something add in some sticks or berries. We recently found a farm in Stillwater Oklahoma that drives a semi to our Pawhuska location every Tuesday and I get to personally hand-pick what comes in our store. They also forage on their farm for me, so I always have something foraged I can put in my designs. Because our designs are mostly seasonal and I don’t know what we will have in the shop week to week we had to find a way to market this to our community. Customers are used to going online looking at design catalogs and buying a design they see arranged. When we don’t know what we will have in the shop because of seasonality and my personal picks from our farm flower truck we had to find a way to sell seasonal products to our community. So we started our farm fresh collection. Our farm fresh collection are 3 different sizes of mason jars from small to large that we tell our customers we will fill with seasonal products. This requires a level of trust with our community to not see a design but to trust, we will make something beautiful. We also have farm-fresh bundles in our shop at all times customers can come and grab them at any time. As my design confidence builds I have found new and fun ways to combine farm-fresh products with commercially grown flowers, which truly sets our designs apart and has built our brand.

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.
Our Pawhuska shop is located in the heart of downtown where you can find the Pioneer Women Mercantile and restaurant. Pawhuska has been named one of the top five small towns in Oklahoma to visit. You can. Take a lodge where Ree Drummond films her cooking show, eat at one of her restaurants and even stay at her Boarding House. You can also hike the Tallgrass Prairie reserve and have the world’s best cocktails at the Dirty Laundry Saloon. You can even visit Osage Outfitters for the latest in western wear fashion and finish your outfit off with jewelry from Prairie Sky or Bucking Flamingos Jewelry division. The Big Rain Gallery & The Water Bird Gallery offer kind Native American art and fine jewelry and are a must-visit when in the heart of Osage County. Don’t forget to book a private flower workshop with us or try your hand at floral design with our flower bar where everyone becomes a budding florist. You can also walk down the street where Killers of the Flower Moon was filmed featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone directed by Martin Scorsese and shop at local boutiques. You can’t soak up all Pawhsuka has to offer in one day so be sure to check out Cross Bell downtown, the Oilmans Daughters, or the Strike Axe house for lodging! Bartlesville, Oklahoma which is where our original shop is located is also a great place to visit. Bartlesville has amazing dining experiences at Frank and Lolas or Painted Horse and features a local brewery in the heart of downtown called Cooper and Mill. You can take a tour of the Price Tower, Frank Loyd Wrights’s only skyscraper, and catch a karaoke night or make reservations at their fine dining restaurant. You can also take a tour at Woolaroc where you will be greatest by buffalo, elk, and other exotic wildlife, and walk around their western art and history museum.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Pam Scott our lead designer who helped start our retail business and is now managing our Bartlesville location.

Anthousai owners Jenny & Katie are also independent Florists in Tulsa. They have mentored and taught me the basics of nature-inspired design and color theory.

Perspective Advisors have worked as my accountant and business advisors.

Regent Bank of Bartlesville have believed in me and helped provide funding and encouragement along the way.

My family who have cheered me on and supported throughout this journey of entrepreneurship.

Website: Roots-blooms.com

Instagram: Roots_blooms & rbpawhuska

Facebook: Therootsblooms

Image Credits
Andy Dossett – foraging picture Allie Lee Photography