Today I wanted to take some time to introduce myself. For those of you new here, I’m Molly. (Middle name is Oliver). WELCOME and THANK YOU for following + for your support! 💕
I started Molly Oliver Flowers in 2012, in my early 30s while working several p/t jobs in urban agriculture. (Before that, I worked for environmental justice non-profits, + farmed full-time. Before that I lived in Chile – another story for another day).
I was short on case and time, and so I started a floral design business! (The joke is on me). But in all earnestness, I had a vision offering floral design dedicated to using local flowers, supporting small farmers, + reducing waste. My dear old artist friend Emily built me a website. 8 years + 100s of weddings later, those values haven’t changed – they’ve only deepened; and the intersections I see between race, class, environment, + health are only more pronounced.
Here I am, circa July 2020. If I had to sum it up, a couple things have driven me in my life: a love of this planet + all its natural creations, and, a desire to see a more socially just world. As bell hooks said, “Love is an action, never simply a feeling.”
I’m committed to anti-racist learning as a lifelong process + I’ll continue striving to build a business that is earth-loving + equitable. That equitable piece is not easy in capitalism, in a country + an era when all labor + goods are expected to be cheap and on demand. Thanks, Amazon. 😭
When the calendar year of flower-filled events emptied out this year, my passions — for flowers, farms, community, — only fired up more. I launched the #seasonalflowerproject as the farmers I love to see supported had stems to sell and no way to postpone harvests. I knew New Yorkers were needing some color + uplift. So voila, here we are.
I’m 39, still getting my hands dirty and still leaning on flowers for moral support. Still wearing that chrysanthemum shirt I love. Still trying to build a business that supports myself. This year, thanks to the collective action of many of you in signing up for weekly flowers, I found joy + many silver linings. Have you heard? Seasonal Flower Project annual, 3-month and monthly subscriptions are live! I hope you’ll join me for more magnificence in 2021! 10% off annual and 3-month subscriptions thru 12/15!