Megan | Phoenix, AZ Florist | Fleur de Vie Studio
Intuition is one of the most underrated design tools in the floral industry. Here’s what it actually means and what it produces that a brief alone never can.
Okay so this one’s going to sound a little out there and I’m just going to own that upfront.
I was setting up a floral installation for a wellness retreat. They had a whole weekend planned of breathwork, Reiki, yoga, the whole deal. Very intentional crowd. And when I’m designing for something like that I’m not just thinking about what looks cool in the space. I’m thinking about what the space needs to FEEL like. What energy needs to move through it.
So I took shredded grasses and shaped them into these long windswept curls. Flowing, reaching, like something caught mid-exhale. The whole piece was built around movement. Around release. Because that’s what the retreat was about.
One of the guests walked up when I was done, stood there for a second, and said: I can feel the energy and chi flowing out of this.
Dude. Yes. THAT is the goal.
So what does designing with intuition actually mean
It’s not as mystical as it sounds. Well. It’s a little mystical. But hear me out.
When I sit down to think about a client’s design I’m not just matching their Pinterest board to a flower order. I’m reading them. Who they are, how they show up, what they wear, how they talk about their partner, what their family dynamic feels like, what drew them to their venue specifically. All of it is information. All of it tells me something about what this design needs to feel like before I’ve touched a single stem.
I’m an INFJ. My whole thing is reading people and feeling into what they actually need versus what they’re saying they need. Most of the time those are two different things and the gap between them is exactly where the most interesting design lives.
It sounds woo woo because it kind of is woo woo. But it works. Every time.
Real example because I know you want one
I had a bride whose energy was just very yellow and purple to me from the jump. Warm, happy, vibrant, bold but not loud. You know the type. The kind of person who lights up a room without trying to.
She came in wanting a meadow style design. Pastel oranges, yellows, purples, pinks. Totally valid. But something felt slightly off for HER specifically so I pulled in a different direction. Leaned into yellows and purples as the foundation with pops of magenta woven through. Made her bouquet in the colors I felt about her, not just the ones she described.
Her whole wedding party came up to me while I was still working. Her parents. The groom’s parents.
Everyone said basically the same thing:
this is SO her. It looks like her in flower form.
That’s not something you get from a brief and a Pinterest board. That’s just knowing people. And trusting what you feel about them.
Hannah put it this way in her review afterward:
“Megan told me she felt drawn to yellows and purples after meeting my fiancé and me. How cool is that? She followed her gut and brought her instinct to life in the most incredible way I could have ever imagined. I truly could not have dreamt up more perfect florals for our day if I tried. Our florals were the single most complimented part of the entire day.”
The single most complimented part of the entire day. *sigh*
That’s what intuition as a design tool actually produces when you trust it completely.
But here’s the thing. It wasn’t just about her.
Her fiancé had this completely different energy. Calm. Grounded. The kind of steady presence that perfectly balances out a bright spunky person. You know those couples where you immediately understand why they work together? That was them. So when it came to the vessels for the table designs I pulled in my onyx crystal bowls. Dark, smooth, earthy. Grounding energy in physical form. Her florals were vibrant and expressive. His influence was in the weight and stillness of what held them.
The whole design ended up being a portrait of both of them without either of them knowing that’s what I was doing.
That’s intuition as a design tool. Reading the whole picture, not just the brief.
Why I ask the questions I ask
When we first talk I’m going to ask you things that might seem random. What do you wear day to day. What’s your favorite trip you’ve taken together. What does your family feel like at a party. What kind of art and shapes and styles do you appreciate. Is your venue choice about the aesthetic or is it about something you FELT when you walked in.
I’m not making small talk. I’m designing.
Every answer fills in something for me. The energy I’m building toward. The feeling I want your guests to have when they walk into that ceremony space and their chest does that thing where they don’t know why they’re emotional but they are.
That’s the goal. Always. Not just pretty. Actually felt.
And that intention carries into everything, including where I work
If I’m reading your energy and building something around it, it would be kind of weird to then go design it in a chaotic, low vibe studio space, right?
My workspace is intentional. Soft. I design on rose quartz turntables. I believe the energy in the space where the work gets made flows into the work itself and I have zero apologies about that. The flowers that get made with genuine care for the specific humans they’re being made for carry something different than the ones that get punched out in a high volume assembly line situation.
Your guests feel it even if they’d never be able to explain why. And honestly that’s my favorite part. The fact that it works whether or not someone believes in it.
Call it experience. Call it instinct. Call it being an INFJ who has spent years quietly reading rooms and people and spaces.
I call it my most useful design tool. And it’s not on any mood board.
If you want florals that actually feel like something when you walk into the room, let’s talk. I’d love to get a read on you.
Want to work together? Let’s connect.
Want to see more of the pretty things? Follow me on the gram!
What does it mean for a florist to design intuitively?
It means reading who a client is beyond what they say they want and designing toward their actual energy rather than their stated brief. It’s the difference between executing a description and creating something that feels specifically like the people it was made for.
Can a florist really tell what style suits you just from talking to you?
An experienced designer can learn a tremendous amount from how you talk about your venue, your relationship, your family, and what you wear. These details create a picture that often tells more than a Pinterest board does.
Why do some florists ask about things that seem unrelated to flowers?
Because everything is related to flowers when you’re designing from who someone is rather than from a catalog. What you wear, where you’ve traveled, how your family behaves at a party, what drew you to your venue, all of it is design information.
What is the role of energy and intention in floral design?
The care and presence a designer brings to their work flows into the final product. Arrangements made with genuine attention and intention for the specific humans they’re being made for carry something that guests feel even if they can’t name it.
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