24 Hours With Bron Hansboro of The Flower Guy Bron
Photography by Alston Thompson Photography.
Between attending site visits, coming up with creative concepts, teaching workshops, and executing exquisite floral arrangements, Bron Hansboro, owner and chief creative at Richmond, Virginia-based The Flower Guy Bron, seems to be constantly on-the-go (his Instagram supports this assumption). “He’s the busiest man in America,” The Scout Guide Richmond editor Cheney Edmunds recently said of Hansboro, who provides bespoke design and styling for all types of events with a focus on exceptional customer service. “We don’t sell flowers, we sell experiences,” Hansboro says of his people-centric approach. Recently, we tagged along with him to find out more about what running his business entails. Here, he takes us through a full day of creativity, client calls, and commutes.
7:00 a.m.: Let me start by saying, this awakening has absolutely nothing to do with my biological clock, early morning productivity, or feeding the dogs. This is the time that my husband Lloyd’s alarm sounds! His stirring motivates me to roll out of bed and head to the kitchen to make our coffee and smoothies. I did mention the dogs, but their feeding routine is a multi-step process that involves additives, perfect measurements, egos, and power trips…I leave this job to my mother.
8:00 a.m.: By now I am working towards being fully conscious and creative, but not before reviewing my schedule. This is the type of adulting that battles my inner creative, but in the words of my husband, “Bad news doesn’t get better with time.”
8:30 a.m.: My morning commute is roughly 30 minutes, and while I loathe not living within walking distance to work, I use my windshield time wisely and make room for soundtracks and a strangely therapeutic run through the automatic car wash. Yes, the car wash—I’m certain this is the adult indulgence of my childhood fascination with washing machines, dishwashers, or any large appliance that performed a major task that we couldn’t see. In a sense it reminds me of my service philosophy. It’s like magic!
8:45 a.m.: I exit the interstate and am on the home stretch to the office. This requires a bit of musical inspiration. My go-to playlist typically involves a mixture of Christian Contemporary music and anything mixed by Calvin Harris, but this morning it was all Elton John and Dua Lipa “Cold Heart.”
9:00 a.m.: The first two hours in the office are all about returning calls, responding to emails, and getting updates from the different teams. This is when my job is more like firefighting. After the morning fires are extinguished, I pack up and get on the road.
11:00 a.m.: While driving to my site visit at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach, I make a couple of vendor calls while admiring the swiftly changing landscape. I’m inspired by hillscapes transforming to broadening water views and greenery quickly morphing into sand. Having previously lived in the Virginia Beach area, I’m reminded just how therapeutic the water is.
1:00 p.m.: I make it a habit to arrive to venues early so I can walk the space alone. This quiet time allows me to tap into my creative juices. I often take pictures and videos, sketch out concepts, and take measurements. Site visits are invaluable opportunities for designers to consider scale adjustments, color modifications, mechanics, and influence crucial decisions like contingencies.
1:30 p.m.: I love greeting my couple and their planner outside of the property to navigate them through what I call “the guest experience.” I always start at the front door of the venue because that’s exactly the perspective that guests will have. From there, I paint a very descriptive picture highlighting key features and making suggestions for decor. This is where the fun begins! Clients are always visual, and this part of the experience is typically the first time that couples sense in more detail what their design is going to look like. As they walk through the space with their proposal in hand, I layer on more considerations and explain my design process. It is the culmination of their wedding planning experience, and not too far from the television reality they have come to expect (LOL).
2:30 p.m.: Everyone has been telling me about the new Marriott property on the oceanfront, so I walk across the street to get a feel for what all the fuss is about. Well? The hype was certainly warranted. It’s the perfect setting for a beachside occasion.
2:45 p.m.: I get an unexpected call from a friend in the area, and we decided to have an impromptu lunch at the oceanfront. These meetups are always food for my collaborative soul and help substantiate my creative whims. After catching up, I realize that there is no reason to rush back to Richmond because the only thing waiting for me is a traffic jam. I can’t resist the opportunity to casually walk the boardwalk, listen to the waves, and take in all of mother nature’s handiwork.
6:30 p.m.: I pull into my driveway to immediately begin a marathon of design concept creation and inspiration image collection, fueled by my evening coffee.
9:30 p.m.: I realize that in my haste to respond to emails and tackle creative work I haven’t eaten since lunch. Luckily, I keep a stash of snack cheeses and hardboiled eggs in the refrigerator. Since it was a long day, I cap the night off with an Empress Dirty Martini and my favorite Costco find, KETO Clusters.
The Flower Guy Bron is featured in The Scout Guide Richmond.
