Floral Design Career Brings Student Full Circle

Posted in Learning Experiences, People on May 5 2009, by Plant Talk

Louis Gagliano, a graduate of Continuing Education’s Floral Design program, is co-owner of Harlem Flo floral atelier, a floral boutique in Manhattan. He will talk about his path to becoming a floral designer at a free Career Information Session on Floral Design, Horticultural Therapy, and Landscape Design on Wednesday, May 13, 6–8 p.m., in the Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall.

What is the path that brought you to where you are today? This is always the interesting question people ask when getting to know one another. It may at times be simple and at other times complex. Mine was the latter.

Growing up in a family business, I have always known the responsibility of ownership: Coming in early, leaving late, changing my plans…not the ideal situation but it comes with the territory. Knowing all this, I still chose to open my own floral design business with a partner.

The path to here, though, wasn’t direct. I graduated college with a degree in hotel/resort management and in 1994 went to work for a luxury Hilton hotel. After three years, I heard about this new-ish, booming coffee company called Starbucks and became a manager at one of its stores in New York City. My experience with Starbucks was fantastic and varied. Besides my role as a store manager, I opened new stores, became a training manager for soon-to-be managers and assistant managers, taught the basics of coffee and service, and was head of hiring retail employees for my district.

Seven years later, I left Starbucks and moved to Paris to fulfill a dream of living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. All along I kept thinking that if I go back to New York City, maybe I should try a new career path.

With many years of managerial experience, well-established skills in customer-service training, a solid foundation in retail management, and an interest in flowers, I started to research areas that would match my strengths. I was returning to New York in June and found the Floral Design Summer Intensive program offered by The New York Botanical Garden.

To learn more about Louis’ experience at NYBG…

I really had no experience working with flowers, and this curriculum offered a comprehensive package of learning the basics. Upon completing the five weeks, Monday through Friday, of hands-on experience with flowers, ribbons, and other floral products and after a 120-hour internship, I would be awarded a certificate in Floral Design. I was so happy to be able to go to such a beautiful oasis such as NYBG everyday to learn. The instructors were fantastic; they had decades of experience and wonderful stories, and provided the hands-on training I needed.

I found a job as a designer’s assistant right after the completion of the program. I was able to put everything I learned into practice. We created floral displays and managed all of the indoor and outdoor plants for two hotels in Manhattan.

Walking by an incredible European-style florist on 14th Street one day, I stopped in and talked to the manager and owner of the shop, and voila, I was offered a job as the store manager, coming full circle. This position exposed me to the amazing world of Out of this World events, unique designs, and fantastic suppliers. Our accounts were the best in New York City: restaurants, salons, offices, and residences. We worked together to keep our clients excited about our work and to attract new clients to our distinctive style.

This great opportunity brought yet another great opportunity. In 2007, just four years after completing my certificate course at NYBG, I opened Harlem Flo floral atelier, where my business partner, talented floral designer Stefan Handl, and I are working to grow our business and spread our designs around New York City.

Besides the Continuing Education program Summer Intensive sessions in Floral Design, individual courses are also offered throughout the year.