introducing gaia

Hi guys :)

I am Sarah, the owner and lead florist of Gaia Florals. 2020 has been a hell of a year so far. What a weird time to run a business. What a weird time to be alive in general.

For me, quarantine has been a time of deep reflection. It has forced so many of us out of our comfort zones and made us approach life in a way we would have never imagined. It has made us all slow down and pushed us to see + feel things that we have previously ignored. It has made us cherish our friends + family like never before.

And then, in the middle of a global pandemic, came another very challenging event: the unbelievable death of George Floyd and the multitude of conditions following. In the middle of pandemic hysteria, we were then slung into a (much needed) Civil Rights movement. It has been heartbreaking to witness such hatred but also encouraging that we, as humans, can possibly rally together and make some changes. The Black Lives Matter movement is monumental and has also provoked conversations that should have already been happening. Not only has it made us reflect as a group but it has also pushed so many of us to reflect internally and recognize ways in which we may be inadvertently contributing to continued racism.

Lately, it has been hard to see an end in sight but I know I will always look back and remember what all I learned during these wildly important events in history. One of the things that I have constantly gone back to is the need that we, as humans, have for physical affection (I'm a huge hugger), connection, and belonging. The other main thing I have very consistently visited in my head is that we are all humans. No one is bigger or better than the one right next to you. It is such a beautiful thing and something that I feel we have all (at times) taken for granted.

All of these thoughts led me to reevaluate my brand and what exactly I wanted it to stand for. I have a gazillion master plans written down (in my brain lol) and one of them has always been to rebrand and form something that actually represented who I am. Magic City Flower Market was the name given to the weekly collective flower market that was formed with local flower farmers in 2019. This name continued on with the storefront that I opened in October of 2019. This name was fine and good for what was happening then but the shop has grown and taken on an identity of it's own—it has evolved. "Magic City Flower Market" has never truly been deep enough or personal enough for me.

In working with Morgan of Retail Therapy on rebuilding my website, I threw out the name I had decided on for whenever I did eventually rebrand. And then as the gears kept turning and Morgan and I discussed this more in depth, we realized there was no better time than now to give my brand and shop the look, feel, and meaning that I wanted it to have.

This is where Gaia was born.