Maybe much to the chagrin of the Miranda Priestly types, florals for spring can, in fact, be groundbreaking.
Case in point: Bloom Country Farm, a new East Hampton-based business developed by two East End women, creates intricate and personal floral arrangements along with covetable floral crowns that are sure to make anyone who wears them feel ethereally royal.
Owners Crystal Carneiro and Erika Garcia formally worked in floristry and gardening, respectively, joining forces last year after realizing they were doing something not only special, but in high demand for customizing private parties and events.
“I was a florist for a long time in Sag Harbor,” says Carneiro, “and I thought ‘let’s do something for Valentine’s Day,’ so I started making these crowns with extra flowers we had.”
That was a little over a year ago, and since then Bloom Country Farm’s repertoire has grown exponentially. Not only do they offer lush bridal bouquets and stunning table arrangements, they also do everything from boutonnieres to floral chair decorations.
Clients can customize their event, whatever the occasion, with on-site flower workshops led by Carneiro, complete with a flower pop-up bar out of their vintage truck and Vesper scooter. Check out their a la carte menu here.
“The crowns quickly started to become its own thing,” the Sag Harbor resident says, creating them for special events, predominantly weddings and parties all over the South Fork. “People really liked the different crowns, the different textures. They could really customize each one.”
Starting with a wire floral pipe, Carneiro hand makes each flower crown from both fresh and dried flowers and greenery weaved together. Depending on what the client wants, other elements like seashells, pearls and beads are woven in to add extra special details.
Offering three design tiers, “Simplicity,” “Lots of Fluff” and “Bloom,” crowns range from $75 to $120. Each one takes Carneiro about an hour to make and they also offer crowns for kids.
Currently sourcing their flowers from locations in Manhattan as well as East End florists and farms when they can, Carneiro and Garcia have made it their mission to offer not only beautiful flowers, but to create a hands-on experience around the plants themselves.
Garcia’s focus this past winter turned to building the outdoor space at her home in Springs, morphing her back yard it into an abundant and versatile flower garden. The pair just finished planting bulbs on the four-acre property, with flower types ranging from dahlias and snap dragons to lavender and carnations.
“One of our main approaches of the business now is the growing of the flowers,” Garcia says. “We want to incorporate a farm-to-table experience, but from a cut-flower perspective.”
The newly developed flower farm will eventually hold a farm stand, where potential customers can pick and choose which flowers they want and can cut them themselves.
“The idea is a full-on floral farm experience,” Carneiro says.
Although the bulbs were just recently planted, Bloom Country Farm is open for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscriptions now, with options ranging from weekly, bi-weekly and monthly orders. Deliveries or pick-ups for the CSA will be available beginning in June, with local delivery on the South Fork from Montauk to Southampton. CSA subscriptions start at $135.
With their new flower farm under way, and dozens of orders being created weekly, the women of Bloom Country Farm anticipate a busy spring season, with nearly 30 CSA subscriptions already on deck for the season.
“This started as a pilot project,” Carneiro says, “but it’s developed into this whole new thing. It’s truly a collaborative effort.”
