Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Ramsey.
Hi Linda, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
As a kid, I happened to be at my grandma’s when she and my aunt were about to have an ikebana lesson. I remember the excitement and earnestness of waiting for their teacher to arrive, and after, getting to see their asymmetric creations. I fell in love. At home, my mom and dad claimed portions of their yard for their flora–mom claiming the front, with snapdragons and daisies flowing over the edges of pots, my dad, the back, with rows of bonsai on concrete risers. I sensed that they, too, were in love.
Many years later, my partner and I moved to Downtown LA from Austin and I felt I had lost so much–the security of the old place, my friends, that comfort. Flowers soothed me and I got their power. You’re 20 miles from the ocean in Downtown LA, it’s dusty and loud and there isn’t a ton of green space. The LA Flower Mart is unassuming on the outside but inside is just an absolute riot of shape, color, humidity, and scent. I set aside $50 every week, bringing the flowers home in brown kraft paper, experimenting with composition, color theory, and structure. In what I created, I felt emotion. So as one does in writing, I yearned to find my “voice” in this artform.
In 2023, back in Austin, with LA behind us, I was impacted by the tech layoffs. And this was a career I had grown in for twelve years and I felt sorta like being on a frigate in a storm with so many of us thrown out to sea after weathering a global pandemic. In this state you’re just trying to keep the water out of your lungs and breathing through some intense feelings. It was in this survival state I kind of met myself again and asked some hard questions. And for me, one year from turning 40, I felt I needed to embrace something scary, lonely, and wonderful, like opening a flower studio and calling it a cult.
Today I run Cult of Bloom and I’m encouraging Austin to usher flowers into life’s everyday rituals and ceremonies, not just that big flower day (usually, it’s our weddings).
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?
Man, haha, It hasn’t been easy or smooth! Creating something special involves constantly embracing discomfort and patiently talking yourself through mental obstacles. Before I launched cultofbloom.com, I came up with all sorts of excuses for not pursuing this, 100% out of fear. For example I kept getting hung up on the size of our house. I had convinced myself that we needed to move before I could begin my flower studio.
My business coach called me out right away. She went “Ok. If someone ordered five bouquets for Austin delivery today, what would you do?” And I thought I’d be damn excited and out the door to see Janet at Southern Floral, or one of the other excellent flower markets in Austin to fulfill these five orders straight away. Too small, too this, too that–your brain will go on and on. It was hellishly uncomfortable, her calling out that my space was just an excuse–but she helped me recognize that these assumptions all blocked my path forward.
Of course, there are so many other challenges—like marketing and clawing your way to Page 1 of Google search results for “Florist Austin Texas.” But the biggest obstacle was simply deciding to begin.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
You can order flowers for Austin delivery 24/7 through our website, cultofbloom.com. And we’re trying to have fun so that ordering is fun for you, too.
Reverse Cowgirl makes for an incredibly sexy anniversary surprise. Bitch Aquarium is teeming with color–like a coral reef–and makes a terrific birthday bouquet. But here’s the thing, you can order any of our bouquets for yourself, too. I think a lot of us get in the habit of waiting for flowers to happen to us. And one thing I want to shout from the rooftops is that it feels amazing to get yourself flowers!
When you indulge in gifting yourself flowers, we skip the card and calligraphy, offering custom pricing to reflect this. And when you order flowers as a gift, we hand-write your gift message (as long as you want it to be) on these gorgeous hand-painted cards from the UK. We then write the giftee’s name on the envelope in calligraphy and seal the envelope with our branded wax seal. Throughout, we’re jamming out to the song you selected for us to rock out to while putting your floral order together.
Then the flowers are packed with love and gorgeous tissue and ribbons and delivered to any doorstep, whether you’re in Tarrytown, Pflugerville, Bouldin, Round Rock, Crestview, Windsor Park, Westlake, Rosedale, Dripping Springs, or Georgetown. Cult of Bloom delivers feisty flowers all over Austin.
All that’s to say, we’re focused on the retail floral experience from start to finish and we believe every detail counts. We’re very proud to be Austin’s feisty florist.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but when you asked, the first experience that popped into my head was the memory of being held by my parents in the surf, that first encounter with ocean water and being submerged in something: the ocean taste, muffled sound, filtered light. In life, I think it mirrors the sensation of being wrapped up in something big and surprising. Now that I think about it, that’s kind of what we want to do with every Austin flower delivery.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cultofbloom.com/
- Google: https://maps.app.goo.gl/URD73n4d1yn1wNTV8
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cultofbloom/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cult-of-bloom
