Our New Farm & Studio: A Recap

Since Hurricane Helene, we’ve moved about 7 times! It’s probably hard to keep track of it all. I thought I would refresh you about what’s going on with our locations and why.

So let’s begin at the beginning…

Hi, I’m Emily, and I started Carolina Flowers in 2016 in Marshall, NC. I leased an old tobacco field, and I set to work, just me and my shovel. Over the years, the farm grew from a small plot to about 5 acres — and we got tracotd. In 2020, we opened a shop about 5 minutes from the field, and it grew into a busy flower business providing blooms for daily deliveries, weddings and events. Today, our flower shop is in West Asheville. (More on that soon.)

Back in 2022, we had a problem. Farm Manager Melissa and the farm team had maxed out our growing space. We were ready for more opportunity, and we wanted electricity, running water, permanent storage...

We dreamed of a space with a flower studio onsite!

In May 2024, after two years of searching, I finally found a property with 30 acres of farmland, a building for a flower studio, a warehouse with a loading dock, and more!

The lease was available! It’s in Henderson County.

However, there were problems. The buildings were in rough shape — no HVAC, weird septic issues, tenants who wouldn’t vacate. The list goes on.

Negotiating this lease was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I remember feeling kind of sorry for myself in August 2024 about how it was going …

Meanwhile, our flower studio in Marshall was humming. Over the years, we had built it into a beautiful, organized space. Our studio manager Sophia had a place for everything, and we loved hosting workshops there. We were looking forward to moving — eventually, slowly, deliberately.

We didn’t get the chance.

Hurricane Helene rocked our world and gave me a new standard for defining difficulty. I couldn’t believe I thought lease negotiations were hard!

The new studio wasn’t ready. The old studio was  destroyed. It will never reopen in that space.

The farm was safe, thankfully.

With regular harvests coming in, we found ways to stay open. The hurricane happened on a Friday. We did a wedding the following Wednesday, and we resumed deliveries, working out of temporary spaces all over Asheville.With regular harvests coming in, we found ways to stay open. The hurricane happened on a Friday. We did a wedding the following Wednesday, and we resumed deliveries, working out of temporary spaces all over Asheville. I think we’ve moved 7 times!

In November, we finally signed the lease on the new farm. However, the upfit and move-in process remained complex.

We got the keys on March 15.

In the meantime, we moved into our shop in West Asheville. We are here permanently! Officially, we have a 5-year lease, but unofficially, we’re making plans far beyond that timeframe!

We moved into the West Asheville shop a week before Valentine’s Day and worked hard to open for the second biggest flower holiday of the year!

Our crew was used to working in a 3,000-square-foot building with lots of storage. The West Asheville shop is 1,200 square feet, but we made it work for our busy spring wedding season, and we were grateful to have a roof over our heads and lots of work!

During this time, all our flowers have come from our farm in Marshall. We are grateful for the many years we’ve had there. I have an incredible love for that land. This winter, we will leave. It’s a bittersweet parting.

Since March, we’ve been slowly building out the new studio at the new farm. All the time, I’m remembering our studio in Marshall and recreating my favorite parts, like the custom built in shelves for vases. Starting in August, all of our wedding production will happen there.

Our West Asheville shop will remain permanently for dailies, pick up orders, shopping and more!

The new space has so many exciting features, like a garage door.

We can’t wait to be there for fall wedding season and wreath workshops! We’ll share more details as we move in.

The best part about the new studio? It’s at our new farm! We’ll be planting our first test field there this week, and all of our spring crops will be grown there.

We can’t wait to host you for fall workshops at the new property. Here’s a photo of how much fun we had in our old space. The new space is going to be even better!

Tickets go on sale in September!