Getting together with your girlfriends for a fun night isn’t always an easy feat. But Tess Finnegan and Liz Levin may have discovered a way to make it just a bit more manageable. The business partners are the founders of Bouquet Club, a newly launched local company that offers on-demand flower arranging workshops in your home.
They came up with the concept when Levin, owner of her eponymous interior design studio in Bethesda, reached out to Finnegan, who owns Green Hydrangea Flowers in DC, and asked her to offer a flower arranging workshop for a school charity auction.
“We did [charity events] twice, and both times we just kept looking around the table at this riot of color. Everybody was happy by the time they left, no matter how bedraggled they showed up with the pressure of work or family on their shoulders,” recalls Finnegan. “When they left, they were shining like children, holding their bouquets. It had only been about an hour, but you could just see this transformation.”
And then: “It was literally the next morning I texted Tess and I said, ‘We should make a business out of this.’”
They launched Bouquet Club within six months, and since November 2018, they’ve booked more than two dozen parties in NoVA, DC and Maryland. Guests learn how to arrange flowers, but, as Finnegan says, “It’s not your grandmother’s garden club.”
Finnegan and Levin handle all of the arrangements, from monitoring the Paperless Post RSVPs (parties require a minimum of 10 people) to setting up floral arranging stations to cleaning up. Finnegan and Levin share their flower and design expertise during the hour-long workshop and guests leave with a beautifully arranged bouquet in a vase. The flowers are premium, in-season blooms (think zinnias paired with garden roses) and each recipe includes 10 to 12 types of flowers.
“Basically, it’s the easy button. The hostess does wine and cheese and we roll in with everything,” says Levin.
They offer a range of party options, including around milestone events like bridal showers, birthday parties and even corporate team building (the luxury executive team at The Ritz-Carlton booked them for a corporate retreat), but they’ve had particular success with their “Girls Gone Mild” package, a party that brings together busy friends to simply unplug and recharge for an evening.
“I think people want to get off their phones, they want to create,” says Finnegan of Bouquet Club’s success. “It actually becomes kind of a meditative Zen moment.”
Bouquet Club is quickly growing and the pair already has plans to add florists to the team who can conduct workshops. They’ve also got their eyes on going global (Bouquet Club Paris, anyone?). But, for now, they’re focused on offering a standout experience for busy floral fans here.
“I always say you can’t make more time, but you can make more energy. Every single time, someone says, ‘I can’t believe I made this … It’s so beautiful!’” says Finnegan. “Bouquet Club creates that positive energy.” // In-home parties, $100 per person, 10-person minimum; pop-up workshops also available at Fostr Collective, $80 per person
This post originally appeared in our July 2019 issue. For more content like this, subscribe to our newsletters.
