July 22, 2023

This room also features a piece of furniture full of history: the old pharmacy cabinet that has been with them since the studio was still operating inside the couple’s old apartment. There, a glass door reveals another paradisiacal setting: the backyard. There, the two reserve space for house plants.

“Imagine over the years how many plants we have collected! But since we live in several houses, many were fixedly planted. And so glad they were part of our life. Now, they’re going to be a part of someone else’s life,” she explains. Despite the smaller number of species, all are iconic.

LOOKING FORWARD TO SPRING

In 2020, the plant and flower sector moved BRL 9.6 billion across Brazil, according to the Brazilian Institute of Floriculture (Ibraflor). However, long before the hype of the urban jungle in decoration, Carol and Jotta envisioned in botany the possibility of a business, started in an unpretentious way.
Founded in 2013, FLO emerged from the couple’s desire to change areas, as they both worked at a content agency focused on fashion and beauty.

“I was pretty tired of the mechanical task in front of the computer. I missed something, but I didn’t know what. This will was discovered during a trip to New York. The unscheduled trip came from an award given by Instamission, a project created by Instagram, which, at the time, gave users photo missions in exchange for rewards — the chosen click was a wedding record. “We took the opportunity to get to know less touristy neighborhoods and discover incredible stores and restaurants. All decorated with terrariums, like we had never seen before”, he recalls.

And this was not the first insight delivered by chance: during their honeymoon, in Paris, they came across very particular flower shops. “The shelves were covered in moss, it looked like an enchanted garden. That stuck with us,” he says. Jotta came back with the fixed idea of ​​making a terrarium. “We always had plants, which was something different among the friends. We thought it strange to go to people’s houses and not see vases. I think it’s a habit inherited from our families”, reports the fashion designer.

However, they knew that creating one from scratch would not be an easy task. “We went to Ceagesp and discovered a new world, which we hadn’t seen up close yet”, recalls Carol regarding the successfully executed task. A short time later, with no idea what to give a friend at a party, the couple decided to present her with a terrarium.

The reaction from the hostess and other guests might not have been better, and the gift resulted in dozens of orders. The idea was professionalized and arrived at what is now FLO, a studio in Vila Madalena, in the São Paulo neighborhood, with an immense catalog of plants and also opportunities to get closer to the botanical universe.

“The business grew and grew… Until we understood that we needed to stop and plan. The idea was not to go out making terrariums, we wanted the person to feel, in some way, the enchantment that we feel in our travels.” The concept store offers arrangements, indoor plants, courses and even mentoring. In addition, availability is plentiful and immediate, and it is possible to acquire them not only by order. After all, “flowers cannot be something just for special dates”, points out Carol.

The enterprise’s anniversary is celebrated, by a happy coincidence, always in the spring. This year, it’s already ten, and the couple knows exactly how the milestone will be celebrated. The end of September is also the expected period for the arrival of the new family member. “Before we moved here, we were in an apartment. It gave me such a great relief to know that I would be a mother here!” For sure, the springs on the ship will be special.