Today we’d like to introduce you to Deanna Huffman.
Hi Deanna, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Hi! So I have a hard time finding the balance between concise and verbose. This will likely land in the latter.
In high school, I worked through flower shops and retail, learning mechanics like floral rosaries and broken wagon wheels, how to light Christmas trees, and merchandise the heck out of a store. I learned the basics of design before I learned what they were officially. I went to college in Los Angeles at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, where I studied visual communications. During that time, I also worked for an amazing florist (Flowers by Manjit) who was single-handedly the most talented designer I’d ever met. I learned a lot about draping, fast working, and big parties.
When I moved back to Minnesota, I did displays and visuals at Pottery Barn and Anthropologie, managed a flower shop and garden center, and managed operations at a large floral wholesaler. I eventually got to the point where I wanted to get into weddings and event work; I loved the energy, design, and planning that went into producing any event- big or small. I started by contracting for florists and event producers and felt like with my experience, I wanted to do more than what they offered.
That started my business. I wanted to do floral and non-floral work. I started Botany Creative Works in 2016, and what felt like a fake-it-’til-you-make-it thing at the time has grown into one of my proudest accomplishments. I wanted to create amazing things out of everything we had around us; the beautiful things and the unexpected ones.
Someone once asked me if I could pick which was my favorite- installations or floral. That’s an impossible question! I think it’s like choosing a favorite child.
Answering the design questions in weddings and events can be like working out- sometimes it comes easily, other times it’s hard while it’s happening, but when it’s done, you’re like Yes. That. Dopamine.
Personal bits: I grew up in Ramsey in a big family; my dad likes to refer to us in our birth order, which makes me #4. I’m married and my kids are 3 1/2, 7, and 10. I’m an introvert, enneagram 5, night owl, and everything makes me gag. I have new seasonal allergies, I am a newly converted tomato eater, and I love good food but love it more when someone else does the planning and cooking. Sitting next to me are 4 different unfinished drinks, if it’s soft or comfortable, I Must Own It, and I enjoy movies. I love reading and listening to podcasts, and my taste in music is varied but, let’s be honest- probably basic (although I do love a good obscure 90’s grunge deep-dive). If sleeping were an Olympic sport, I’d be at least a bronze medalist. My cold tolerance is low, my heat tolerance is lower, and sweating makes me insufferable. I’m obsessed with great lipstick and have an obnoxious collection of earrings.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a smooth road?
Hah! Never a smooth road. I’ve always struggled with self-worth. Am I good enough? Am I competent enough? Was that the right decision? What if ___?
It seemed like every job I had got right into ‘my stuff. It happens to us all, right? Nothing like the openness of the world and workplaces to expose our past trauma. Our insecurities and the things we are unwilling to and unable to face by ourselves seem to surface once we have to interact with other people.
I struggled with working under many male-dominated leadership roles. I am fiercely independent and don’t fit well into the submissive, compliant, and agreeable mold. I struggled with giving too much of myself to my jobs for the benefit of others, and as a detriment to myself. I didn’t like that for me; I don’t like it for others either.
Once I was out of the machine of working for other people, I could see that my biggest obstacle would be my own self, my own blocks, and my limits. What came naturally and felt the best way to work on my stuff. It’s the hardest work I’ve ever done, and I don’t regret it. I don’t know if I have the right answer, but it’s never the wrong idea to invest in yourself first. If you’ve always wanted to do a thing, go to the place, or meet the person, do it! Just start. Start somewhere. You’ll never look back and say, “I wish I had let that obstacle stay there.” Do the work. Go after the thing.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My business and my work center around events. Weddings, corporate, celebrations, etc. I customize each job around my client’s unique needs and goals. Botany Creative Works offers decor options that span just about any possibilities in tabletop decor, hanging decor, backdrops, and unique, temporary art pieces. That often includes floral and just about any other medium; ribbon, fabric, wood, metal, paper, balloons, and everything in between. I’m most proud of figuring out challenges in each job; for instance, making transparent backdrop that don’t block the natural light in a space, figuring out the best mechanics for hanging over a thousand paper leaves and flowers, safely suspending poles in midair at 35 feet above the ground, creating a backdrop that goes together and comes apart in single pieces, and so many more.
I hope what sets me apart is my ability to see the big picture and fill in the design details from there, along with having more good ideas than projects to execute.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I doubt this is a hot take on success, but it means that I would rather chase personal success every day than prioritize career success. I think success should come from the personal work we’ve done and be a natural outcome of that work. Therefore, personal success for me is self-awareness, self-actualization, flexibility, humility, forever learning, kindness, honesty, seeking, being open to opinions, people, and ideas different than my own, and being willing to change my perspective based on my blind spots. That, to me, is a harder thing to do than to make a bunch of money or be well known and is a greater metric of success than those factors. Because when it’s over, I won’t have my work or money with me; I’ll have me.
Career success for me is as simple as would that client hire me again when it’s all said and done. If it’s a yes- that’s the biggest indication of a well-executed job. I love what I do
Contact Info:
- Website: www.botanycreativeworks.com
- Instagram: @botanycreativeworks
- Facebook: @botanycreativeworks
Image Credits
Russell Heeter Photography Ashley Rehwaldt Photography Laura Rae Photography
