What's in a name? The Origin and Meaning of "Fleurish & Bloom"

When I first began dreaming of my own floral and event design business, my mind was filled with so many lovely thoughts, visions of romantic photo shoots dripping with lush floral arrangements yet to be made, of color combinations yet to be explored, of the beautiful work space I'd design for myself. But I was overwhelmed by other thoughts too, thoughts like what kind of equipment I'd need, the best way to build my portfolio, the paperwork I'd need to file in order to make my business legitimate, how much business I could expect to do in the first year, and my business name. This last one threw me for a loop, hounding my thoughts at every waking moment (and a few dreaming moments too).

You see, I'm a bit of a logophile. And it's not just because I love to read and I dabble in writing. It's because I believe that words are our most powerful tools. They've motivated great men to make decisions that have undeniable and lasting impacts. They can lift a person up. They can break a person down. They help build and destroy relationships, nations, civilizations. The words that we choose to act on impact us in profound ways, molding each of us into who we are. The words we choose to speak tell our story - where we come from, where we're going, who we want to be. Words define us. And if words define us, then the answer to the question Shakespeare once posed, "What's in a name?" is actually... well, "A lot." Especially for a business.

Armed with the idea that words would define my business, I knew I needed something original, something that stood out and told a story, explained my purpose. I knew that, like my product, the business name had to be perpetually pretty, something that would attract the kind of clients I wanted to serve. Naturally, my love of words came into play in more ways than one. After tossing around a few stinkers and semi-stinkers ("Freshly Picked", "Rose & Crown", "Free Spirit Florals", "Bloomin' Lovely") I thought I was about to give up. Luckily, I was rereading Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone at the time (proud nerd here!) when I stumbled upon this lovely little passage:

"They bought Harry’s school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all."

Such a quaint description of a charming magical bookstore. I wanted to be there, to cozy up in a corner with a cup of tea and dive into a sea of books. Bam. It hit me like the lightening shaped scar on Harry's forehead! "Flourish and Blotts." The name conjured images of perfectly imperfect script - dribbles of ink mingling with flowing ornamental curves. It mimicked my design style in the most amazing way, a little bit undone, a bit wild and free, but still pretty, romantic, charming in all it's imperfections. It inspired me.

My next step was a trip to the dictionary, where I found the definition for flourish: "verb. to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment. synonyms: thrive, prosper, bloom..." It was literally the textbook definition of my sincerest hopes for my client's marriages. I wanted them to thrive, I wanted them to bloom, to grow in faith and love in each other for the rest of their days.

Flourish.

Bloom.

flourish & bloom.

I liked it. The "bloom" part of the name seemed enough to indicate a florist, but I still wanted a little extra romance. The French word for flower is "fleur" and it fit so perfectly (French is the language of love after all!), that I had to incorporate it. And with that, fleurish & bloom was born.

So it is with pleasure, dear reader, that I leave you with my one great wish: I pray that you continue to flourish & bloom in the most spectacular ways.

Yours in blooms,

Jess