Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Dickenson
Hi Emma, 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?
I’ve spent all my life around flowers! Growing up, my mom always had veggie gardens during the summer and flower beds year-round. One summer when I was in middle school, we visited a farmers’ market for the first time and saw people selling flowers by the stem. My unfiltered middle school self turned to my mom and said something along the lines of “Mom, your flowers are prettier than those! You could sell your flowers here!” I like to say I planted a seed in my mom’s brain that day. We spent a couple seasons selling at our town’s tiny market and Napping Cat Flower Farm was born. Eventually we outgrew that market and moved to the Market Square Farmers’ Market in Downtown Knoxville where we’ve been selling cut flowers for about 15 years!
Over the years, Friday nights were designated to making bouquets for the market and Saturday mornings to working the table. While my mom dabbled in providing wedding flowers for a short time, she discovered growing the flowers was her passion, not arranging them. Meanwhile, I was desperate to get my hands on anything to do with weddings! She wanted to turn down wedding inquiries, but instead I asked her to pass them on to me. During college, I interned with a local wedding florist and learned the ropes of the wedding industry. After that season, I decided I wanted to offer a local and more sustainable option for wedding flowers. Napping Cat Floral Studio was born!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ironically, I’ve found myself a part of something completely opposite to everything I believe in. The wedding industry is known to be indulgent, wasteful, and expensive. In fact, the “wedding industrial complex” is a term used to describe the extensive and complex web of vendors, businesses, and processes that cater to the high demand, turnover, and expectations of wedding clients.
Instead of conforming to what’s considered normal in this industry, I’ve stuck to my core beliefs. My conviction to have a sustainable business model that prioritizes using locally grown flowers, minimizes single-use items, and supports a circular economy is unconventional. However,
I seem to have stumbled upon a niche in the wedding floral industry of brides who value the same things I do! Both sustainable and traditional floristry have their pros and cons, but choosing to do something that actively goes against the status quo is always going to take some extra creativity and courage.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in locally grown wedding florals! My mission is to show people that beautiful wedding flowers don’t need to be imported despite that being the industry standard. Additionally, I implement other sustainable floristry practices like boycotting floral foam, composting all organic matter, and supporting as many local farmers as I can!
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was happiest being outside. I loved climbing trees, camping with my family, and playing with our (napping) cats! I remember being enamored by weddings. I was a flower girl a few times and loved being part of the excitement. One time, I remember I got to take home a rose that had been on the wedding cake. When I got home, I put that bloom in water and wished it would last forever.
I always loved crafting and making things with my hands. My hobbies over the years included knitting, origami, paper rolling, pottery, basket weaving (yes, I actually took a summer camp class on this) flower pressing, and stained glass. In high school, I focused on art classes and eventually fell in love with photography. I thought I wanted to be a wedding photographer at one point in college but am thankful I pivoted to floral design instead!
My college experience was really frustrating. Despite being a “smart” kid in school my entire life, I didn’t feel drawn to a particular path. I struggled with depression and anxiety throughout college. I was a Spanish major for a couple years but eventually switched to Sustainability. Unfortunately, it was a brand new major and wasn’t very well organized. Despite never feeling like I found my place on my college campus, I graduated with a degree in Sustainability in 2021.
The idea of sustainability always felt very natural to me. I was coined a “tree-hugger” by my friends growing up. I grew up composting, recycling, and gardening and was taught to respect the earth in general. I would say a frugal “waste-not-want-not” mindset was imprinted on me from an early age. At 26 that mindset is still hardwired in my brain although it shows up in different ways now. Hand-me-downs in any form are welcomed, repurposing pasta sauce jars to gift flowers is standard, and bringing my own bags to grocery shop is normal for me. I try to being my own Tupperware to restaurants if I expect I might have leftovers, despite strange looks from friends and servers. Thrifting or the occasional shopping spree to a sustainable brand is the only option, never fast fashion. Does it sound snobby? Maybe. I realize it’s a privilege to be able to make decisions like these. It’s more of an irrational stubbornness and unwillingness to break my habits that drives me to avoid unnecessary waste and instead salvage anything of value that might have creative or practical potential to be used later in my creative journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nappingcatfloralstudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nappingcatfloralstudio/
