Lisa Foster Floral Designs

It’s always been about flowers. From her early years to today as a successful business owner, Lisa Foster’s life has been focused on beautiful pieces of art in the form of a stem and petals.

“When I was four or five years old, my great-grandmother had a beautiful flower garden,” Foster says. “I was drawn to the colors, shapes and smells of all those flowers.”

Her great grandmother’s garden became her happy place. It was the place they would go to cut flowers together and simply be. When they ventured inside, she would stare in awe as the weathered hands of her great-grandmother would place them carefully in vases to brighten the family areas of the home. In fact, it was here where Foster would design her very first flower arrangement, guided by the example of the woman she looked up to.

Fast forward to today and those details are still so vivid in Foster’s mind. Years after garden walks with her great-grandmother, she began working for a local florist and after several years decided weddings would be her forte. She set out on her own in 2004. “I worked out of my garage for a few years,” she recalls. “As my business grew, and with the support and encouragement from my family, I took the brave step to open a floral shop in Bearden Hill.”

“Shop” is an understatement.

Today, Lisa manages a team of seven at Lisa Foster Floral Designs as she works to provide hundreds of brides with the floral designs of their dreams. She does more than create happy brides; she creates a happy community. “We pride ourselves on delivering excellence in everything we do,” she says. The shop also books events and offers full service arrangements for all occasions. “No arrangements are made up in advance of the customer’s flower order. Our designs are based on each individual’s request.”

This is where she seems to set herself apart. Every piece is designed specifically for one person. As Foster and her team begin to formulate what those arrangements will look like, they find themselves pulled into a memory, as customers open up to them about their “why”. Grandmothers love hydrangeas for their yards. Brides simply have fallen in love with snapdragons. Sons recall mothers love of peonies. “It’s always a pleasure to discuss the customer’s color choices and their favorite flowers.”

Their design space is just as open as their conversations. Visitors to the shop can watch the design team in action. With more than 70 years of combined floral design experience, Foster’s team works daily to bring people’s visions into reality. “We attend training to keep up with the current trends and methods of preparing and designing all flowers,” she says. “Each member of our staff contributes so much to the success of our business…we are a family.”

It is evident, not just in the fact that Foster trusts her team with her vision, but also in fact she calls it “our business”. Foster instills a sense of community in her space, and though hundreds of folks come through her doors every year, she keeps herself grounded in faith and trust that she’s part of something bigger. “I have a strong faith in God and depend on his guidance in every phase of my life, including our business,” she says.

Foster turns that feeling into an opportunity to give back to her community with initiatives such as Random Acts of Flowers and Lost Sheep Ministries’ Under the Bridge Project, which supports the homeless. “We have asked our customers to bring gently used clothing to our shop to support this mission. Our staff members and their families join us in meeting with the homeless to provide clothing, water and snacks.” They are whole-heartedly committed.

Committed. That seems to be what Foster is all about. She remains committed to a dream that grew in her as a young one. She is committed to her team, to her family, to her patrons, to her faith. And above all, she’s committed to the idea that with every center piece, bouquet, boutonniere, and corsage, she’s making someone’s small dream a reality.

“I would never have thought my love for flowers that began in my great-grandmother’s garden  would result in a floral business that I love and enjoy,” she says. “But it has.”