By Josi Stone, Owner and Creative Director of Wildly Floral in South Orange, NJ

I grew up on the mountains and beaches of southern California, surrounded by the sights, smells and sounds of Mother Nature. But my connection to the natural world really developed in my grandmother’s backyard, where I would pick her fragrant, bright pink geraniums and use them to decorate my homemade mud pies. To me, combining natural elements found in the world around me was a way to recreate the same feeling I’d get breathing in the fresh salt air coming off the ocean, or watching from a peak as an amazing sunset painted itself across the sky like a brilliant watercolor.

In January, 2018, I turned my love of the living world into Wildly Floral Co. as a way to share the beauty and serenity nature provides with SOMA and the surrounding communities. I like to think of floristry as the art of writing a love letter using Mother Nature as a pen, and as a conduit through which people can connect to each other despite distances. The natural world can be joyous, haunting, breathtaking, heartbreaking and inspiring, and these elements are reflected in the emotional moments our arrangements help celebrate, commemorate or mourn. I also cherish the fact that fresh cut flowers don’t last forever. This serves to remind us of the temporary state of life and beauty in this world, making us slow down and cherish what we have while we have it.

The name Wildly reflects our design ethos; nature-inspired, lush and evocative of the constant movement and seasonality of Mother Nature. We use sustainable practices and locally-grown flowers as much as possible throughout our business to make sure our practices reflect our values. We compost all green waste with Java’s Compost and use only compostable or recycled and/or recyclable materials in our packaging. We value, both personally and professionally, the relationships we have built with local flower farmers over the years.

As florists, my team and I are inspired by giving. We are honored to facilitate the sharing of love, gratitude, sympathy and celebration between members of this community with every arrangement we deliver. Especially during pandemic times, helping people connect, communicate and share beauty on a daily basis has been deeply satisfying. We’re also thankful to be able to participate in providing flowers as a regular mood-boost for our subscribers, and to share our skills with fellow flower enthusiasts who learn to design gorgeous, nature-inspired arrangements at our hands-on flower workshops.

With the support of the generous South Orange and Maplewood communities, we have been fortunate enough to participate in charitable giving supporting our local frontline healthcare workers, the hardworking teachers and staff of our school system, the East Orange Animal Alliance and the Equal Justice Initiative. Another charity we are particularly passionate about is the Moms Helping Moms Foundation, which provides families in New Jersey with essential baby items. Each Mother’s Day, we donate 10% of our profits to support their work, and we participate in their Period and Diaper Drives as much as possible. When our new shop opens, we look forward to collecting donations for these drives in person on a regular basis.

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Nature-Inspired Floral Design www.WildlyFloral.co   @WildlyFloral.co