With the high costs of running a business, Jessica’s doing what she can to promote accessibility while still paying the bills. Cotrim sells $20 bouquets at pop up events around San Francisco. At her store, clients can also create bundles ranging from $10-50.
Her flower offerings range in price. So, in addition to designing for high end weddings and banquets, she even offers delivered bouquets throughout the Bay Area starting at $70. And whenever she has leftover flowers from events, she puts out a bucket with a sign “Flowers for the Hood” offering them for free.
On this episode of Rightnowish, Jessica Alicia Cotrim talks to me about the ways flowers can promote wellness and how we can cultivate our intuition with the help of our flower friends.
Episode Transcript
Jessica Cotrim: And if you want to mostly just like, gather them and then we can go back and, like, design them a little bit better.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Ok, Yeah. That sounds like a plan.
[Music]
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Hey Rightnowish listeners, welcome to the third episode of Adorned. Today we’re taking time to smell the roses and make bouquets with the help of Jessica Alicia Cotrim. She’s a floral designer and the owner of Beija Flor Flower Gallery in the Excelsior neighborhood.
Jessica Cotrim: The Excelsior in San Francisco is just really special to me, especially seeing how much it has changed and will continue to change. Just owning this store, this studio, in the neighborhood that I grew up in, it just makes it that it was a way for me to like, hold space in my community.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Jessica’s custom flower arrangements also help folks express their emotions. If you need flowers for your altar, or to leave at the gravesite of your loved ones, She got you. If you want to celebrate your homies new promotion by sending them a bouquet, she got you too. Or maybe you just want to buy yourself some flowers, give yourself some TLC because you deserve that! Jessica can absolutely help with that.
[Music]
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Whether it’s making elaborate arrangements for weddings or small bundles for a casual customer…Jessica takes her craft seriously. She knows that flowers can truly transform one’s space and mood.
Jessica Cotrim: Sometimes when you’re, like ,in a city setting, it’s really hard to get those moments, getting out in nature, unless you, like intentionally, like drive somewhere for it. So I think, like, flower shops and creating bouquets of cut flowers are like a really nice way to like, get your hands in nature and creating with nature while still being within, like, the city setting.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: In this episode, Jessica talks to me about the power of adorning our spaces with colorful flowers and how creating bouquets can help our intuition blossom. I’m your host Marisol Medina-Cadena. That conversation coming up right after this.
I’m looking at these sunflowers that you have toward the entrance of the shop. They’re really calling to me. You work with so many beautiful flowers. Do you have a favorite flower?
Jessica Cotrim: Growing up sunflowers were actually my favorite flowers, I actually have one tattooed on my finger [laughs] So they… they still hold the spot as like one of my favorites. But as I started working with flowers, it’s just really hard to pick one. So now I’ve developed a list of my top five favorites. So when people ask me. like what my favorite flower is, I just have to say them all.
So sunflowers are still on there. Dahlias. I’m in love with, um, there’s just so many different types of dahlias, and they’re also like the official flower of San Francisco, which is the reason that I like them a lot.
And then roses, but specifically light pink roses. For some reason, they just, like, bring this, like, softness to my space that I feel like I need sometimes.
Black calla lilies I love. I just think they’re, like, super unique and elegant…like a balance to remind you that like there is darkness in the world, but it’s beautiful too. And then my fifth favorite flower would be the King Protea. It just… it dries really beautifully. Yeah, it holds a lot of power. It’s kind of shaped like a crown. So it kind of reminds me of like royalty and power. So those are definitely my top five.
[Music]
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Do you have suggestions for, like, places or how to use flowers in our homes to kind of bring a different mood or an energy?
Jessica Cotrim: I think any room in the house should have flowers and can have flowers. I think that, you know, just their presence will bring like a little bit of a more, like, homier feel but somewhere near the entrance when you’re, when your guests are coming in or when you’re coming home at the end of the day, maybe having like a little table or something near your door and having an arrangement there is really special because they’re kind of like greeting you and creating like the energy for the space.
Bathrooms are really popular, like having like a nice small, bud vase, usually maybe something fragrant and whatnot. and like, kitchens are also another one where people love to have flowers a lot of times like, you know, just like on a counter you have like an island or something having like, a little vase of flowers somewhere in your kitchen.
And then I would say like your bedroom, like having something near your bed, maybe something a little more intentional, like looking into like the different symbolisms of flowers and having, like, eucalyptus or lavender or, like, flowers that help promote, like, rest and ease your mind at the end of the day and having that, like, near your like, your bed is definitely like, a great idea.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Why is that… that flowers, like, really have this impact on like, our mental health and and our wellness?
Jessica Cotrim: The most basic reason is just that they’re really pretty to look at and they’re like the colors of them and how unique they are and how they’re such a gift from the earth. Like, they’re not trying. They’re just beautiful. And I think that people kind of pick up on that energy. And I think it subconsciously reminds people that things are just beautiful.
Buying flowers for yourself, I think that that’s like a really great thing that people can do to cheer themselves up.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Aside from buckets of fresh flowers, Jessica has adorned her shop with artwork made by her friends and other local artists. There’s spray painted canvases with the city’s 415 area code and collages with the old school transfer tickets Muni used to give. The space is steeped in San Francisco imagery, making it feel like a love letter to the city.
[Music]
Marisol Medina-Cadena: But Jessica doesn’t just rep her Frisco roots. She hangs a Brazilian flag and one from El Salvador in the shop to celebrate her mixed identity.
Jessica Cotrim: You know, you always hear, like, people that are um born here but have family or like, first generation saying like, “no soy ni de aqui ni de alla.” When I think of myself, I think of me being from El Salvador, Brazil and San Francisco. And I feel like for me it’s like I’m split between three “no soy ni de aqui, ni de alla, ni de alla!” So I try to just bring all of it in and like, represent all of it as much as I can so that I don’t feel like I’m leaving out any of my culture and anything that I do. And so I just try to represent that everywhere.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Let’s talk about the name of the place, Beija Flor. I know it has layers of meaning for you. Can you tell us what’s the story behind it?
Jessica Cotrim: Yeah. So Beija Flor is a Portuguese word, Brazilian, Portuguese. And it basically means hummingbird. But when you take the two words apart, it also means to kiss a flower. So beija and flor and it kind of just came to me one day that it was just really powerful to me because my dad, being from Brazil and me not being as close to that side of my family as I am to my Salvadorian side. So just kind of trying to bring in that connection a little more. And just how significant like hummingbirds are overall in like Salvadorian culture, Mexican culture, Brazilian culture.
So yeah, definitely just the connection to like the afterlife and just like the spirit of people that aren’t here anymore is what I think of when I come across hummingbirds or when I think of hummingbirds.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Were flowers kind of always a part of your life?
Jessica Cotrim: When my grandma first came into the country in the 80s, she actually worked at a flower shop in San Francisco. She’s always told me that. So I kind of always knew that there was like a little background of, like flower shop work there. And like, when she comes in here, she’s always like, “Oh, like I used to clean the leaves and the petals or do this or that or whatever.” So there’s that.
And my grandma on my dad’s side, and I think this is one of the reasons why sunflowers are my favorite flowers, is my grandma’s house in Brazil always had, like, really big, tall sunflowers in the front. She passed away a few years ago, so it’s kind of like I just associate sunflowers with her. That’s a really early memory of flowers for me. So I guess, like connections to my grandmothers a lot.
[Music]
Marisol Medina-Cadena: On your web site, you talk a lot about how when you’re designing floral arrangements, you also, like, tap into your ancestral intuition. And that really, like, resonated with me. And I’d love to hear you explain that or say more.
Jessica Cotrim: I definitely think about it in like the spiritual way of your ancestors energy being around you. So yeah I feel like sometimes when I’m choosing to put like a rose next to a dahlia or something in a specific arrangement. And I’m not really, like, thinking about it. It’s just like a flow that’s coming out of me. And it’s just, it just comes out that way. I think it’s because of the way that like I appreciate flowers and and that and just like this this wisdom that’s in me but that it’s been passed down like through like from my people and from my culture.
So just like a really deep lineage of creativity and diversity and ways of doing things and thinking about things. And I feel like sometimes it’s not like a conscious decision. It’s just you’re this way because of your ancestors and that’s why your work comes out that way.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Hearing you talk about your intuition, I’m realizing, like, I feel a little separate from that right now. And I’m wondering, like, do you have maybe some advice about how I could cultivate that intuition again through flowers?
Jessica Cotrim: One thing that I could definitely recommend is like visiting like a flower shop or, you know, looking up like local floral classes or like just being in a space where there is a variety of flowers for you to choose from and just kind of like spending your time with them or like, you know, just like admiring them and getting your hands dirty with them. So like letting yourself be attracted to different ones without not so much thinking like, oh, what will the end result be?
But just kind of like choosing flowers that are sticking out to you for, you know, for whatever reason… just be open to the fact that the decisions that you’re going to that you’re going to be making, even if you’re not thinking about the end result too much, is the right decision for you because you’re making it from a place that’s guided by like all this history.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Can we get our hands on some flowers and like, make a small bouquet together…
Jessica Cotrim: If you want, we can like have you choose some and then I can tell you what the different energies that you’re putting into, like, the bouquet that you’re making and whatnot. So we could definitely do that yeah.
[Music]
Marisol Medina-Cadena: I choose some flowers that I’m drawn to…Jessica says they’ll each serve a different purpose in my bouquet, so the solidago I find will be my filler flower. It’s a green stem with clusters of bushy golden flowers. My secondary flower is called a snapdragon. I pick really tall ones to give the arrangement some height. I also select some eucalyptus to add some texture. Lastly, I pick two different colored dahlias as my focal flowers, including one that’s a deep plum purple.
Jessica Cotrim: the main thing you have here is the dahlias. So you’re attracted to like a very, like, elegant flower…which actually, this is funny because this was your intention, spiritual evolution. So what you’re trying to do is, like, tie in with like, your spiritual side and your intuition a little more. Dahlias are really good for, like, grounding and whatever.
The solidago, which is like the filler flower that you chose. That is known for, like, encouragement, good luck, success. So if you like, have that around, it might, like, help you bring in, like, financial stability and that kind of thing. And then the little yellow snapdragons, these are symbolically known for, like, creativity, which I think is really cool because you’re like, trying to be creative with the flowers right now. And then for the eucalyptus that we’re working with for the… the greenery, eucalyptus is symbolically known for like purification and the magical powers that is… that it has is for healing.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Cool, It sounds like what I was called to are things that I’m trying to channel. So it was like this nice….Like I put out that energy and that’s what I got back. I’m attracting it.
Jessica Cotrim: Yeah, definitely.
[Music]
Mariosl Medina-Cadena: Next, Jessica shows me how to assemble the individual stems I picked into an elegant bouquet. First, we start by removing all the leaves and petals on the lower parts of the stems ‘cause petals in the vase water ends up creating bacteria and we don’t want that.
[sounds of flowers being clipped and placed inside a vase]
Jessica Cotrim: So then once you have that stripped, the next thing I do is to go through and look at it and just make sure that nothing on it is like dying. So, like, let’s say it was like a rose you would cut, you would pluck off all the like wilting petals and whatever, which actually also is known to help flowers last longer because you’re kind of taking away the little parts of the flower and might be spending too much energy trying to heal or bring back. So if you take off like a leaf or a petal that is dying, you’re letting the flower concentrate on like… on the good parts, and then it’ll help it, like, last a little longer because it’s not wasting energy trying to bring that back.
So once you have, like, your stems and you’re like, okay, this seems like it’s ready to work with, um, I like to start with the greens because you kind of like, create this base. So you, um, yeah, you grab your greens so that, um, you have a little, like fluff to work with. After the greenery, I will go for the filler flower next because you’re still kind of creating like this little nest where you’re going to put like the focal flowers.
And since both of what we have left is dahlias. They’re both technically focal flowers, but since these are a little smaller, I would go with… in with these next. So usually I’m putting in like the larger flower last.
Because it’s, like, really like the star of the show. So once you have like everything kind of shape, then, you know, like where there’s space to really show off their focal flower. So I would do the little flower, the littler dahlias first.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: They’re kind of like a sunrise color, which I think is why I was drawn to them, because they really pop with the yellow snapdragons. The snapdragons, almost kind of like this highlighter yellow. But then these are more soft. And so it’s this nice play.
Jessica Cotrim: A little, like, sorbet, like sunset type of situation going on. And then you’re going to put it in like the darkness of the night. It’s like this whole process of the sun going down that you have going on. I love it. Yeah.
[Music]
[Clinking sounds of flowers being arranged in a vase]
Marisol: I kind of like the way like the flowers kind of hug each other. Just based on, like, where you put them. I like that.
Jessica: Yeah, they definitely, like, play with each other and, like, um, just kind of like, vibe off each other.
Marisol: I like it, I’m happy with it.
Jessica Cotrim: It looks really beautiful. It’s definitely giving that, like, end of the day, like, all the vibes you need to get, like, a nice rest. Yeah, I love it. It’s so beautiful
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Do you ever name your bouquets?
Jessica Cotrim: You know, on my website, um, certain, like, arrangements have names that I’ve put just to be able to, like, recognize them. But when I’m doing, like, hand ties and stuff like that, not really. you should give it a name.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: I really like what you’re saying about sorbet. I don’t know. Is it cheesy to call her sorbet?
Jessica Cotrim: No, I think it goes! sorbet.
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Sorbet, I’m really feeling the sorbet.
Jessica Cotrim: Dahlia sorbet?
Marisol Medina-Cadena: Dahlia sorbet!
Jessica Cotrim: Yeah. You did a great job. I love it. Thank you.
[Music]
Marisol Medina-Cadena: As soon as I got home, I placed the flower bouquet in a glass vase to rest on my altar. With Jessica’s guidance on changing the water every 2 days and trimming the dead leaves, my bouquet lasted me a good 10 days.
For me, putting flowers on my altar is a two fold offering, one to myself and one to my ancestors. It’s a way to tell them, I’m thinking of you. This abundance is for you and in turn is a mirror to remind myself there is beauty around me.
So big, big Thank you to Jessica Alica Cotrim for having me into your space and showing me the ways of the floral world. I learned so much from you!
If you, RIghtnowish listeners, also want to learn from Jessica, she offers in person workshops on how to make your hand tied bouquets/ so be sure to follow her on instagram to stay in the loop for upcoming dates. Her handle is @beijiflorgallery
And For those of you who want to order yourself or a loved one a bouquet for pickup or delivery you can order directly on Jessica’s website at https://www.beijaflordesigns.com (beija is spelled B-E-I-J-A)
[Music]
Now time to give thanks to the whole squad that makes this show possible.
Xorje Olivares produced this episode.Chris Hambrick is our editor. Our engineer is Christopher Beale.
The Rightnowish team also includes Pendarvis Harshaw, Sheree Bishop, and Ryce Stoughtenborough . Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldaña, and Holly Kernan.
I’m your host Marisol Medina-Cadena. Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed it, share the episode with a friend, or hit me up on twitter @marisolreports to let me know what your favorite flower is.
Rightnowish is a KQED production.
Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on NPR One, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
