Empty Nest Career - Meet Madeleine, Floral Designer

Madeleine found a way to satisfy her need to create with her desire to start a business. Here’s her empty nest success story.

When did you start your empty nest adventure?

I started Fleur de Vie , an event and floral design studio in 2010, when my youngest son was entering high school.

How did you feel at first?

I felt a little nervous about how people would accept me as a professional again since I had been a stay at home mom and community volunteer for 18 years. (When I told one friend about my new business, she said, “Do you have a warehouse? Do you have trucks? “ As if my business was not legitimate unless it was large scale on day one.) I had to look past the doubters and find my own path. But my 15 year career in financial services marketing before having children gave me a foundation to build upon. And I have a very supportive and encouraging spouse! I was thrilled to receive my DBA certificate after spending so many years supporting and working for others. This was mine alone!

After several leadership roles in non-profit organizations, planning and designing for fundraising events, treating each one like a professional job, I had decided I was ready to get paid for my hard work again and focus on something creative. I had been a volunteer art educator, art program director and led tours in museums for students for 13 years and missed that element in my life.

What are you doing now?

My floral design studio Fleur de Vie is “fleurishing!” With my contract design team, we design weddings, parties, galas, luncheons, and other events. My social network is a great source of referral business, as many women in my age group have adult children that are getting married or are doing a lot of entertaining (showers, anniversary and birthday dinners, non profit galas).

What do you love about what you’re doing?

I love working with flowers and botanicals and making my designs artful, as nature and art have always been a great source of joy for me since I was a small girl.

Creative challenges and figuring out how to do something I have never done before, like a large scale floral installation is a lot of fun. Working with people, especially brides and their mothers is fun because it is such a special time in their lives. My approach is to be a supportive advisor to them, as most are planning a wedding for the first time. It is one of the biggest and most expensive events most people will do in their lifetime and the stakes are high! I get my biggest paycheck when the bride sees her bouquet or the ballroom and gets tears in her eyes. Or when the mother of the bride says “it’s more than we even imagined” or “it’s as if you read my mind.”

In the past ten years, I have enjoyed many exciting design opportunities like doing a workshop at a gorgeous estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Montecito with 400 of Oprah Winfrey’s gorgeous garden roses. Working all night in a hotel ballroom on a huge design showcase with Jeff Leatham, the international design superstar and head designer for the 4 Seasons/ George V hotel in Paris. Working with leading British designer and Chelsea Flower Show five time Gold medalist Joseph Massie on a design presentation and fabulous floral fashion show at the Museum of Fine Arts.

I also love teaching workshops as I enjoy sharing my love of flowers and art and helping people feel more confident in exploring their own creativity.

Any advice for other empty nesters?

Take some time with to really think about what you want/need out of this next phase of

life. I call it Momma’s Third Act!

I met with a friend and a life coach. Think about your skills and experience, what makes you happy (I.e., creativity? Working with people? Teaching ? Developing or expanding your skills?) Think about your work/life balance (full time or part time business? How much income do you need or want, if any? How important is flexibility?) Narrow down the elements that will work for you to help clarify your options.

When my second son approached high school age, I read a wonderful and enlightening book “Emptying the Nest” by psychotherapist Brad Sachs. It helped me grieve the loss of my children’s childhood so I could move on to what was next for me and let them go joyfully into their next stage. As women, it is very easy to say yes and take on whatever people ask of us without thinking first about what we really want. I resigned my board commitments and created a space in which to think and explore. The time I spent wandering in what Sachs calls the “fertile void” with no plan and exploring options was a bit uncomfortable as I am used to getting things done. But it was necessary to clear my mind to do this work, and was extremely valuable as it led me to my current career.

Financially, I think it’s important to keep overhead low in the beginning. Don’t go into debt so you will be in the red for years. Start slow, invest in the basics and build up cash you can invest back into the business. Use contractors instead of hiring full time employees if you need help. My largest single investment in the early years was my own continuing education. I studied with the best designers available and invested my earnings in conferences and design workshops all over the country so I could grow as a designer along with my business. I joined an industry group that has been invaluable in learning about how to run a design business profitably, find resources and solve problems. I freelanced part time as a contract designer for a leading event design company for a couple of years in which I learned first hand about how to run event studio. Internships are a great way to build skills.

As a result, I have won several Best in Show awards at design competitions which gives me confidence when I have responsibility for a wedding for 350 guests or a large gala budget that I have more design and art education than many people who design flowers for a living.

And finally, as you get established, it’s very important to define for yourself your market niche. I have been asked to design events for 1,000 people or more which requires another level of personnel, equipment and resources than I am willing to commit to. I know what my market segment is and I stay in my lane. It’s hard to turn down a big opportunity but bigger is not always better.

What’s next for you?

In addition to weddings and a couple of galas coming up this fall, I am already working as Co-Chair of a major biennial flower show “Florescence” at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston to be held for two days in April of 2020. The new Kinder wing will be open by then so there will be lots of exciting changes at the museum. It is a huge endeavor and a very exciting opportunity to educate people about horticulture, conservation, and of course, the intersection of great art and floral design, a culmination of several things that are very important to me. It is by far my biggest challenge so far.

I am also continuing to present floral design workshops that are open to anyone who wants to learn how to create an artful floral design for their home. The next one is at the Fall Florals Event at the Houston Design Center.

And, I have also been producing workshops and presentations for leading floral designers from around the world. The next one at Mayesh Wholesalewith with Putnam and Putnam. They are the design divas of the NYC social scene right now, having recently designed Gwyneth Paltrow’s wedding and being published in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Town and Country, Veranda etc.

I am excited about the next chapter!