1. Founded in 2012 by urban farmer Molly Culver, the studio focuses on seasonal floral design and weekly flower subscriptions that feature flowers grown within 200 miles of New York City.

    When Molly launched her small business in 2012, she was working as a full time urban farm manager and educator, training dozens of adults in organic farming techniques - including flower farming    sustainable flowers  techniques - every year from a 1-acre farm in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

 

In 2010 and 11, when 2 close friends got married within six months of each other and begged her to design for their weddings, she realized there was a gap in the market for seasonal floral design, and floristry that aimed to reduce waste and avoid the many toxic chemicals and products used in traditional floral design practices. She began using the descriptor ‘sustainable florist,’ rarely used a that time, but necessary to distinguish her approach.

 

About Molly Oliver Flowers’ eco friendly design:

 

Today, Molly Oliver Flowers (MOF) produces between 30 and 50 events per year – weddings, galas, brand activations, bridal and baby showers, corporate workshops, bat and bar mitzvahs, and, runs a 100% locally sourced flower subscription program.

Their studio’s sustainable design begins with sourcing: while 80% of all flowers used in floristry today in the United States are grown abroad (Ecuador, Colombia, the Netherlands, Japan, Kenya, Vietnam and elsewhere), Molly sources 80-100% of all flowers for events from regional flower farmers, year-round! From May - October, the height of the local flower growing season in the Northeast, that number is closer to 100%. In the shoulder seasons, MOF is still able to source flowers within their 200 mile radius, but also will source blooms from the mid Atlantic, Florida and California.

 

MOF uses purely sustainable design “mechanics:” in other words, support systems in vases and in installations that can be re-used or composted. MOF has always been a “foam-free studio,” meaning they do not use Oasis ‘floral foam’, a cornerstone of conventional floral design since its inception in the 1950s. Oasis floral foam is made from formaldehyde and other carcinogenic, non-biodegradable substances. Instead, MOF used chicken wire or ‘floral frogs’ (glued to the base of vases) to help hold designs in place. There are other new products, made from mushroom, corn and other plant based mediums, they have been experimenting with. These materials are used over and over again (or composted).

 

During production for and post events, MOF composts all organic waste, through a partnership with a local urban f

farm. Since the majority of the flowers Molly Oliver Flowers sources are grown with organic methods (and are not sprayed with pesticides or herbicides like conventionally grown flowers), the waste is safe to send to compost.

 

Sustainable sourcing goes beyond flowers:

 

Other items that are used in abundance in events are candles, paper products, and ribbon. MOF has always used either 100% beeswax or ‘GoodLight’ natural votive and pillar candles: these are paraffin-wax free, and safe to burn. (Standard votive, pillar and taper candles contain paraffin, which releases carcinogenic chemicals into the air as they burn).

 

100% plant-dyed, natural silk ribbon is another favorite of this sustainable floral studio: Molly Oliver Flowers sources ribbon from ‘Silk and Willow,’ a small business based in upstate New York, and their silk ribbon is 100% plant-based and compostable.