I decided to use my $10 bill to start the process of ordering flowers for my wedding. There was one florist listed on the One Large site, but that business was all the way out in Monroeville (I know....) and I live in the Hill District, so I was hoping for something a little closer. I visited the Pittsburgh Black Business Directory (http://pittsburghblackdirectory.com/) and found POSY, located right down the hill from my house.
Paulette and I have an appointment set for next week! Since I don't have my flowers yet, I'll post the email exchange that began with me filling out the form on Paulette's website:
Event Locations (all venues): First United Methodist Church, Pittsburgh PA (Ceremony) David Lawrence Shelter, Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, PA (Reception)
Name: Vivian Appler
Email Address: [email protected]
Event Type: Wedding
Event Date and Time: 6/13/2015 4PM
Flowers and Style: I think something blue and in season would be nice, with colorful accents. Iris, Delphinium, cornflower, maybe with Alstromeria here and there. But your photos are absolutely gorgeous, so I trust your judgment!
How did you hear about us?: Black Business Directory
Wedding Flower Budget: Hoping for something in the range of $500.
Please List Preferred Dates & Times for Consultation: Now that school is out (I'm a grad student at Pitt), I'm free pretty much any day. I'd love it if I could do a consult this Friday or Saturday (5/1 or 5/2), but any day next week would also be fine. Any time before 3:30 is best for me. Looking forward to hearing from you soon! Vivian 267-467-8121
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She got back to me after the weekend. Here's our email exchange thus far:
Wedding Flowers
Inbox
Paulette
May 4 (11 days ago)
to me
Hello Vivian!
Thank you for contacting Posy regarding flowers for your June 13, 2015 wedding. Let's set up a time to meet next week or the week after. My best times are Tuesday and Wednesdays.
All the best!
Sent from my iPad, please excuse any typos
Vivian Appler
May 4 (11 days ago)
to Paulette
Wonderful!
Is Tuesday May 12 a good day? I can meet any time after noon.
Looking forward to meeting you,
Vivian
Paulette
May 11 (4 days ago)
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It turned out that we both lost people close to us this week, so we've had to postpone our meeting until next week. Looking forward to meeting her and spending those 10(+) dollars!!
----------------------------------------------
I thought this was a good idea when I first heard about it, but I was not prepared for the emotional response that it would bring - to Paulette and me!
When I finally made it to my appointment to discuss the flowers for my wedding, I told Paulette about the One Large project. She was floored. As soon as I brought out that $10.00 bill and explained the project to her, she immediately started sharing stories about her family's move to their current neighborhood, her career change away from finance and into flowers, and the the ups and downs of the last five years of her business.
Unfortunately, it seemed like she has had a lot of push back from the local community because of the color of her skin. She described a number of actions and reactions to her business that ran the gamut from sad to rude to downright frightening. After starting her business as a retail florist, she found that she had a hard time giving her flowers away. Her business is events-only now. Even so, she said that often people come in expecting a white proprietor and are surprised to find that she is the one who owns the business. It had never occurred to me that florists tend to be thought of, culturally, as a "white" profession. Doesn't everybody like flowers?
After sharing some stories, she returned to the One Large card, still a little shocked, and said, "I didn't think that people knew about how hard it is to be a black business owner. I didn't think anybody cared." And then she shared more statistics on the number of black business owners and CEOs in Pittsburgh.
Needless to say, I think this is a very important project. It's starting conversations, and those conversations spark more conversations, and actions inspire further actions. I'm excited to see where the One Large project goes and what its impact will be!
Thanks for letting me be a part of it!
Sincerely,
Vivian
Paulette and I have an appointment set for next week! Since I don't have my flowers yet, I'll post the email exchange that began with me filling out the form on Paulette's website:
Event Locations (all venues): First United Methodist Church, Pittsburgh PA (Ceremony) David Lawrence Shelter, Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, PA (Reception)
Name: Vivian Appler
Email Address: [email protected]
Event Type: Wedding
Event Date and Time: 6/13/2015 4PM
Flowers and Style: I think something blue and in season would be nice, with colorful accents. Iris, Delphinium, cornflower, maybe with Alstromeria here and there. But your photos are absolutely gorgeous, so I trust your judgment!
How did you hear about us?: Black Business Directory
Wedding Flower Budget: Hoping for something in the range of $500.
Please List Preferred Dates & Times for Consultation: Now that school is out (I'm a grad student at Pitt), I'm free pretty much any day. I'd love it if I could do a consult this Friday or Saturday (5/1 or 5/2), but any day next week would also be fine. Any time before 3:30 is best for me. Looking forward to hearing from you soon! Vivian 267-467-8121
--------------------------------------------------------------
She got back to me after the weekend. Here's our email exchange thus far:
Wedding Flowers
Inbox
Paulette
May 4 (11 days ago)
to me
Hello Vivian!
Thank you for contacting Posy regarding flowers for your June 13, 2015 wedding. Let's set up a time to meet next week or the week after. My best times are Tuesday and Wednesdays.
All the best!
Sent from my iPad, please excuse any typos
Vivian Appler
May 4 (11 days ago)
to Paulette
Wonderful!
Is Tuesday May 12 a good day? I can meet any time after noon.
Looking forward to meeting you,
Vivian
Paulette
May 11 (4 days ago)
----------------------------------------------
It turned out that we both lost people close to us this week, so we've had to postpone our meeting until next week. Looking forward to meeting her and spending those 10(+) dollars!!
----------------------------------------------
I thought this was a good idea when I first heard about it, but I was not prepared for the emotional response that it would bring - to Paulette and me!
When I finally made it to my appointment to discuss the flowers for my wedding, I told Paulette about the One Large project. She was floored. As soon as I brought out that $10.00 bill and explained the project to her, she immediately started sharing stories about her family's move to their current neighborhood, her career change away from finance and into flowers, and the the ups and downs of the last five years of her business.
Unfortunately, it seemed like she has had a lot of push back from the local community because of the color of her skin. She described a number of actions and reactions to her business that ran the gamut from sad to rude to downright frightening. After starting her business as a retail florist, she found that she had a hard time giving her flowers away. Her business is events-only now. Even so, she said that often people come in expecting a white proprietor and are surprised to find that she is the one who owns the business. It had never occurred to me that florists tend to be thought of, culturally, as a "white" profession. Doesn't everybody like flowers?
After sharing some stories, she returned to the One Large card, still a little shocked, and said, "I didn't think that people knew about how hard it is to be a black business owner. I didn't think anybody cared." And then she shared more statistics on the number of black business owners and CEOs in Pittsburgh.
Needless to say, I think this is a very important project. It's starting conversations, and those conversations spark more conversations, and actions inspire further actions. I'm excited to see where the One Large project goes and what its impact will be!
Thanks for letting me be a part of it!
Sincerely,
Vivian
One Large participant: VA
Name of black-owned business: Posy
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Race/ethnicity of participant: White
