[title subtitle=”words: Liesel Schmidt
images: courtesy 27 Rue de Fleur”][/title]
From the celebration of new life entering into the world to the marking of one leaving this earthly realm, flowers are a way to acknowledge an occasion. We send them to our loved ones to show them we care; we send them to ourselves to create an air of mystery. We buy them in bunches and buy them by the stem, knowing that whoever receives them will be receiving something far greater than a simple flower—they’ll be receiving affirmation that they are loved and in the heart and mind of the giver.
These fragrant blooms are a powerful sensory tool, their colors and shapes and scents the stuff that remains in our mind’s eye even long after the flowers themselves have faded. We begin to associate them with certain memories, like markers on the timeline of our lives that make us remember that one day…that one time…that one person. There’s a sentimentality that makes their natural beauty all the more compelling, which is why, in this day and age of all things digitized, the tangibility of a flower is something that has never lost its power.
For floral designers like Leah Musgrove, that power is something she feels from her fingertips to her soul, each piece she creates the work of love and passion that resonates in the finished product. In Leah’s hands, a flower isn’t just a flower—it’s a chance to design a masterpiece that will bring beauty to someone’s day, to craft a moment that will live forever in the memory of whoever receives what she has made. This is her art, and with every arrangement she executes, she’s making the world a more beautiful place.
“I really see my work as art, not just putting flowers together according to some predesigned plan that follows a formula so that they all turn out the same,” says Leah. “I invest a lot of emotion and feeling and beauty into each piece, and I fully believe others can feel that when they see what I’ve created.”
That emotion is clearly a powerful part of her success in her work, as—a mere two years after starting her business as a mobile flower cart that did pop-up shops throughout the area—she’s seeing her dream fully realized as she opens the flagship store for 27 Rue de Fleur, a name inspired by the street address of the flat owned by Ernest Hemingway’s favorite critic. It sounds romantic, the perfect moniker for a luxury floral boutique somewhere in Paris—which is exactly where Leah found herself standing when a client of hers flew her to France to create the floral arrangements for her destination wedding.
“Basically, it was like a dream come true,” Leah says. “A bride based in central Arkansas had seen my arrangements on Instagram and flew my husband and me out to France for her wedding at a chateau! It was a fairytale.”
Fairytales aside, there’s a personal component to Leah’s work that goes beyond what she’s doing for her clients. For Leah, there’s a therapeutic aspect in touching them, smelling them, and bringing out their beauty. “I have complex PTSD from different types of childhood and adolescent trauma and being in nature has always been my safe space,” she explains. “Working with flowers—clipping and designing them and experiencing their fragrance—have all been very healing for me.”
Anyone who’s seen her arrangements is left with no doubt that she’s got talent, that she follows no set plan when she creates her blossoming beauties. Rather, she lets her natural instincts guide her as she selects the perfect blooms for each piece. “I never took floral classes, though I would love to travel to see some of my florist idols. I just sort of jumped in and taught myself. I naturally have a creative eye, so pair that with gorgeous flowers, and you have a perfect match.”
A perfect match, indeed, and one that’s gaining her popularity with an increasing number of clients—everyone ranging from women who buy her flowers as a way of treating themselves to men who come to her seeking the perfect way to show some love to their special someone. Whether for the everyday or for a truly special occasion, however, people see something in Leah’s work that they don’t see anywhere else. “I’m always inspired by European garden design, so my florals are bespoke and romantic; and that’s something that was really missing in this area when I started this business,” she recalls.
As a former wedding photographer, Leah’s “jump” into the floral design industry could almost be considered a natural shift, as she came to gain a greater understanding of her medium through such frequent immersion in the world of wedding wonders. “Seeing those pieces really inspired me and made me want to do something unique, and I think I’ve achieved that. You can give me the same types of flowers as another florist, and I will design a very modern and lush piece that looks nothing like the others, and people really respond to that.”
Having now opened her first brick and mortar, Leah’s offerings at 27 Rue de Fleur include fresh flowers by the stem, premade daily arrangements, and gorgeous custom-order pieces as well as subscription options for clients to have weekly or bi-weekly flowers delivered to their home or office. “Everyone deserves to have beauty in their lives, and I love knowing that what I create is doing that,” says Leah, who sources most of her blooms from Holland and has them shipped overnight to ensure the highest quality and the greatest freshness.
It’s clear to see that, in every piece she creates, every stem she puts her hand to, Leah approaches her work with the same intensity of passion and love. It shines through in the liveliness of the color pallets, the pungency of the fragrances, the absolute vibrant life that seems to burst forth from every blossom and bloom and bud. Hers are far from mere arrangements—they’re a symbol of something that goes beyond words.
27 Rue de Fleur
2801 Old Greenwood Road, Suite 15
Fort Smith, Arkansas
479.420-9651
