Name:
Anastasia Casale
Company:
Sag Harbor Florist
Contact info:
3 Bay Street, Sag Harbor NY, ph: 631-725-1400, website: Sagharborflorist.net , email: Sagharborflorist@gmail.com
How many years have you been in business in NYC?
I have owned Sag Harbor Florist since 2004. I am a year- round florist, event and wedding business owner. Most of my business comes from word of mouth and referrals from caterers, party and event planners as well as interior designers
How did you get your start and what was your initial inspiration?
I started in the floral and event design business in 1992. I worked at SHF when it was owned by a previous owner and was located on Main Street in Sag Harbor. It moved to Bay Street in the late 90's. I started out at the bottom, cleaning and conditioning flowers, washing buckets, delivering etc. like many do when they start a job.
I never went to a flower school, but learned from hands-on experience and my deep passion to work with flowers . They are therapy for so many and convey so much. We are masters in the art of expression through our flowers.
What do you feel differentiates you from others in your field?
Since I am a retail flower shop and not a design studio, I make it a point to always have it full of flowers in an easy to view color blocking design. Everything is the freshest it can be as we get deliveries six days a week and I also hand pick 80% of my inventory. I shop in the NYC market where the selection is endless and that keeps me in a different league from other shops who might just pick from limited resources. We also buy direct from friends who have farms from New Jersey to Vermont.
What is your favorite part of your job?
The most exciting is that I own and live with my love, Keith Pierpont ( Pierpont Blossom Farm ) on our flower farm on the North Fork where we grow gorgeous and special varieties of flowers from mid March to the first frost
What is your favorite secret NYC spot?
My favorite Hampton spot is Beach Lane in Wainscott. It brings many memories of summering there as a child and selling bouquets of wild flowers, ice teas and painted seashells on the corner. That's where my flower obsession started... My secret favorite spot is the Shelter Island ferry that connects me to both forks ....where I work and where I call home.
How do you benefit mamas?
Mamas are my best clients. I encourage them to bring the children in. I love how they all put there faces into a flower and inhale . At any age flowers are "sunshine food and medicine for the soul"
What is the most memorable feedback a client has given you?
This past spring a customer sent me an email that said -as a world traveler with a passion for flowers and one who had been in countless flowers shops all over the world, she has never seen one as beautiful as mine :)
Pay it forward and name your top colleagues in the same field or related field:
I admire and am in awe of Ariella Chezar, Max Gill and Lewis Miller
What is the best advice anyone has ever given you? Or what is your "mantra" / words to live by?
Mantra- Smile , be kind, be mindful , listen
Best Advice - Never, never, never give up
As moms, the day can escape us, what is your best time-saving trick?
For those who have their own cutting garden and want that garden inspired look and don't have the time, we will come over and cut from your garden and you can say you did it yourself :)