10/02/2026
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about what “custom” actually means at Flowers for Mirabelle.
Because I've realized that I've been using one little word to describe some VERY different experiences.
Sometimes custom means: Here are my colors, here's my budget, I love your work — do your thing.
Sometimes it means choosing a general style and color palette together, talking through a few important details, and then giving me room to create.
And sometimes it means something completely different. It means working closely together from the beginning. Comparing flower shapes, colors and greenery. Finding inspiration. Sourcing something specifically for one person. Making changes. Trying something, taking it apart, trying it again. Hand painting the tiniest details until everything feels right.
Those are all custom orders. But they're not the same level of custom. And I've finally realized that my pricing and ordering process need to reflect that. ❤️
Going forward, I'm working on creating different levels of customization — from simpler, artist-led designs where you give me the important details and let me run with them, all the way through a truly bespoke experience for someone who wants to be deeply involved in creating something entirely their own.
The level of care isn't changing. The level of involvement is.
I think that's the most important distinction. A smaller budget doesn't mean I suddenly stop caring about the details. 😂 I'm still going to fluff the flowers, soften things that look too stiff, fuss with the shape, fix the flower that is driving me nuts, and probably stare at the finished piece from six different angles before I let it leave the studio.
What will change is how much time is built into the process for consultation, communication, sourcing, experimentation, revisions and individual decision-making.
I'm also creating different questionnaires to help me understand that from the beginning — not just what colors do you want? but how involved do you WANT to be? What's most important to you? Do you have a very specific vision, or are you happiest giving me a handful of details and saying, Kim, do your thing? 😆
And strangely enough, my little Color Library helped spark this whole evolution.
Creating something clients could physically look through instead of trying to describe a color through a phone screen made me realize how much more I want to offer during the design process.
So the Color Library is growing into an entire consultation/display wall/collage in the studio. Actual boutonniere samples you can hold up and compare. Core flower styles and sizes. Mini flowers. Specialty pieces like pocket boutonnieres. Color inspiration. Design examples. And probably several things I haven't even thought of yet, because I am incapable of having a small idea and leaving it small. 😂
And I want this change to make room for different kinds of clients, too.
If you have a modest budget, please don't read any of this and think there won't be a place for you here. There absolutely will be. I can work within smaller budgets — we may just need to simplify the size, materials, choices or level of customization to make the numbers work.
And if you're someone who wants the whole experience — who wants to sit down with me, explore all the weird little possibilities, choose details together and create something nobody else has — there needs to be a way for me to offer that honestly, too.
Because that kind of work takes time. A lot more time than anyone sees in the finished photograph.
I want someone sitting down with me to be able to see the possibilities, not just hope we're picturing the same thing.
And one thing I'm learning as both an artist and a business owner is that my time is part of what I'm selling.
I'm really proud of where Flowers for Mirabelle is headed. Not because I want to make ordering more complicated or exclusive — actually, this is going to do the opposite.
I want it to be clearer, so you know what you're paying for.
I want you to be able to choose the experience that fits you.
And I want to keep creating in a way that lets me give each order the care it deserves without quietly giving away hours and hours of myself to make that happen.
It's taken me a while to understand that those things can exist together.
I can have a giving heart and run a sustainable business.
I can make room for different budgets and properly value my time.
Honestly, I think learning that might be one of the biggest ways Flowers for Mirabelle is growing right alongside me. ❤️🌿
