Exploring Life & Business with Tiera George of TG Floristry Creative Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiera George.

Hi Tiera, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
TG Floristry is a Raleigh-based floral design company, owned and operated by Tiera George. I’m a two-time graduate of NC State University where I focused my Master’s study in community engagement, activism, and agricultural and extension education for Black, Indigenous, and communities of color. Post undergrad, I served my community through AmeriCorps. While stationed at a county extension office, I served as an extension educator, planning and delivering lessons in nutrition, agricultural, and horticultural education to non-traditional audiences. During this time, I grew a special interest not only in community food security, but for cut flowers, and using arranging as a vehicle for learning, artistic expression, and getting children engaged with their landscapes. After finishing my time with AmeriCorps, I saw fit to continue my journey working with community and school gardens, all while practicing my arranging skills. When the time came to begin graduate school, I worked as a shop florist to put myself through school. However, once things got a bit too hectic, I was forced to choose between the two. Valentine’s Day was on the horizon so I couldn’t quit, but this was the first time people saw fit to pay me to create arrangements independently. Soon after, I quit, but continued to make arrangements and bouquets for people on the side while in school. 

School was hell, and frankly depressing. Arranging flowers was the only thing that brought me joy through this time. Flowers offered me creativity, and the chance to express myself without limits. After I got my confidence in a good place and thought “hey, you might be kinda good at this!” I started applying to be in various markets and pop-ups to not only get my name out, but for a chance to really delve completely into something I was so passionate about, even if that time could only be reserved for weekends.

From there I began my journey as a floral vendor in grocery stores, while also running subscription services, curating design shoots, fulfilling daily orders, and designing for weddings and events. Things were growing quickly. Therefore, when I graduated last November during COVID, I decided to put all my efforts in pursuing my art full-time. Since then, I’ve been pretty busy. When I started my floral journey, all I wanted to do was create, but quickly realized, oh Tiera, you run a business, and business stuff actually needs to be handled, ha! After years of pouring into this venture, we finally signed the paperwork to our very first brick and mortar that I’m so excited about.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There’ve been some challenges, more so understanding the inner workings, sacrifices, and adjustments it takes to run a business. When I reflect on how much I’ve done to get myself here, it was probably a bit more difficult than I let on at time, especially when you’re only one person. Which is actually something that I find myself repeating daily. However, currently our biggest challenge is remodeling our storefront. It’s a fairly old building that hasn’t had much remodeling, and has been vacant for quite some time. While we’re DIY-ing parts of the upfit (all documented via our instagram page), it’s still a costly endeavor that we’re embarking on. We’ll be launching a kickstarter in the coming days to help with offsetting some of the cost for construction, coolers, materials, supplies, and literally everything needed to make the shop the best it can be. So in short, funding for the remodel is our biggest challenge at the moment. Then staff, because we’ll be hiring very shortly!

As you know, we’re big fans of TG Floristry Creative Studio. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
TG Floristry is an immersive floral design studio, prioritizing modern design, community wellness, identity and training the imagination. Our studio offers whimsical and eclectically designed florals that compliment your one of a kind nature. Whether you’re picking up a bouquet on the way home, or planning your wedding, you can trust our intuitive designers to curate a beautiful floraling experience from start to finish, using some of the best seasonal and local blooms. Aside from our overwhelming floral beauty check out our shop for a rotating selection of local art and artisanal goods.

In addition to our creative services, we offer floral workshops for novice designers, and the general public where we hope to deepen your understanding of color theory, improve your eye for design and cultivate creativity.

However, if you’re looking for a time to decompress with your loved ones, make it a date! Reserve a bloom table for a self-guided floraling experience in our downtown Raleigh courtyard where your assigned designer will give you tips and tricks along the way.

Lastly, looking for a space to host your next reception, luncheon, micro wedding, elopement, workshop or meeting space? Book our downtown Raleigh Courtyard, or conference room. Stop by the shop at 130 E Morgan Street (Coming Soon), or email us directly at [email protected] for more information.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I actually never set out to find a mentor, and the times I did, I was unsuccessful. Working as a florist, Black women are still very underrepresented, and it was also proving difficult to find people knowledgable enough to help me take those big steps. What has helped me though is having a growing network of people I can ask questions to. Anyone can tell you that I literally don’t know how to shut up, so I just talk, and share, and ask as many questions that I can. This has allowed me to gather knowledge and perspective from others, to make the decisions best, and most applicable for my business. I realized I didn’t have to do things like other people, and I could invent something new. In doing this, I’ve created some great relationships with people around me. When I think of mentors, I think of my peers, old bosses, I think of my broker, my mom, people I’ve met along the way, advice from friends, gut feelings, florists I’ve talked to in random and impromptu conversations. I try to be a sponge because the more I do, the more I realize I don’t really know. So with the help of good people, Google and Youtube, I’ve been figuring it out!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.tgfloristry.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tg_floral/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tg-floristry-raleigh