Member Spotlight: Ashley Overholser of Primavera
Hey ladies! Welcome to another Member Spotlight, featuring our members — influencers, entrepreneurs, bloggers, and girl bosses alike! Next up: Ashley Overholser of Primavera!
Read on to learn about what inspired Ashley to start her business and hear her valuable advice on how to find your passion.
Q: Tell us a little about you, girl!
A: Something inside of me came alive the day I first stepped into a floral studio. I was 10 months deep in depression, when I discovered flowers. For the past few years, I had a dedicated career in peace education and violence prevention. I had the opportunity to travel the world and work on complex conflict issues, both in the U.S. and abroad. It was difficult work and I knew that I needed to pause, reflect, and think about possibilities outside of the life I had carved out for myself. I had never considered floral design as a future career but the more I learned, the more I practiced, the more I couldn’t help but continue to create.
Q: What inspired you to start Primavera?
A: I was inspired to start Primavera, after working with various floral designers in Atlanta. The more I designed, the more I realized how much I loved working with flowers. I was just beginning to come into my own, as an artist, and develop my own personal style. From fashion shoots to film sets, I live to take design risks and change the way people perceive and experience floral design. Sometimes I think the world forgets that floral design is a form of artistic expression. I wanted to approach floristry, as an art form, and provide more than just a product - I wanted to create an experience.
Q: Tell us about the new additions to Primavera including dried vase arrangements and botanical sculptures!
A: I’m so excited to launch my new dried floral collection! Our current collections are available for a short time and in limited numbers. New collections will be released throughout the year, stay tuned! Inspired by color, texture, fragrance, and most of all the changing seasons, I value understated details and create bespoke pieces that will spark conversation and connection around art and beauty. Our bespoke collection is made up of exclusive pieces of botanical artwork handmade with an intentional selection of real preserved flowers and greeneries, making it the perfect conversational element. I have two dried vase collections - The Modern Romantic and The Modern Bohemian. With the Modern Romantic, I wanted to create a piece that was dark, unconventional, and masculine. The Modern Bohemian collection was created with neutral tones in mind, keeping the base tone muted to create a harmonious, soothing blend of sand, pinks, and golds to capture a modern bohemian aesthetic.
Q: This time has definitely been uncertain and strange. How have you pivoted your business strategy?
A: I lost all of my clients when the pandemic hit. All of my events were cancelled indefinitely. I lost my hotel account, which would have provided a consistent source of revenue generation for my business. It took me a few months to make the decision to start my dried floral collection. I knew that I wanted to set myself apart from my competitors. With a passion for floral preservation and sustainable floral design, it felt natural for me to start a business that repurposed dried blooms into one-of-a-kind art pieces and vase arrangements. I loved the idea of searching for unexpected dried materials, walking into the woods for foraged finds, and using my imagination to create a conversational work of art.
Q: What’s your biggest piece of advice for someone looking to find their passion?
A. Find your passion. It’s hard to get through this life without feeling compelled to answer that question. I used to think that to find out what I am passionate about, I had to focus in on one passion area and that would be what I was meant to do. Conflicted, I found that I had multiple passion areas and those passion areas were not connected or related to one another at all. I felt that I had to sacrifice one to pursue the other. You can still do what you feel called to do, without sacrificing the other parts of you that are passionate about other things. For example, I am passionate about mental wellness so I volunteer with a mental health organization. It’s not my job but it’s a way for me to give back. If you’re not sure where to start, that’s okay. It’s more than okay. It’s exciting! Talk to anyone and everyone. Listen to people's stories of success and failure. Listen without comparison. This will inspire you. This will lead you closer to understanding who you are, what’s important to you, what it is that you value in life, love, and career. Even more importantly, always remember - It’s okay to reinvent yourself.
