Freshman Shivani Ramirez thought long and hard about what she wanted to gift her friend junior Alejandra Espino for her birthday. After deciding to create something homemade, she gathered ribbon, cardboard and roses and wrapped it up all into one gift. When she gave her friend her gift, word spread around about her talent.
Ramirez started selling homemade heart bouquets in October after being inspired by a family friend who also makes bouquets.
“She began making rose bouquets from fabric, and I was so impressed by it,” Ramirez said.
When Espino received the heart bouqets, she wanted to help her by advertising her business online.
“I didn’t plan on helping her with physically making them, but I told her I would help her advertise them,” Espino said.
Due to Espino’s encouragement and help with advertising about her business on her instagram, Ramirez continued her business.
“Ever since then, she was kind of my inspiration,” Ramirez said.
Alongside Espino, her father helps by buying her materials.
“He’s working with me but instead of making the flowers he’s like a delivery man,” Ramirez said. “If you think about it, he buys me all the supplies that I need, and doesn’t question it.”
Since her father buys her materials, Ramirez said that she hardly ever struggles to make a fair balance between her income and spending on materials.
“So I have been deciding like maybe lowering prices, maybe pulling in some customers,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez said she mainly cares about the customers interest and how they want their bouquets made.
“If they wished for me to like do whatever I want with them, or they can ask me for certain colors and shapes that they want and like how many charms they may want in their designs, they can pick whatever they want,” Ramirez said.
She also does deals, especially during the time of holidays such as Valentines day, where she plans to sell her gifts for five dollars.
“Simply because I want people to be able to enjoy the season and it would just be fun like seeing people happy,” Ramirez said.
She normally sells her rose bouquets at prices of five to 20 dollars depending on what the customer orders.
“This won’t be as expensive as it’s just like $20 or probably even less since like I don’t want to make my clients pay a lot,” Ramirez said.
Freshman Bryan Valencia also had received one of these as a birthday gift.
“I don’t have any idea of how she started her business, but it is very creative of her,” Valencia said.
After also hearing encouragement and praise from friends in her folklorico class, Ramirez plans to continue this business in hopes to help her in the future.
“My main goal for the business is to be able to expand it a little bit, and I will continue the business as long as the rest of my high school life and for my college years,” Ramirez said.
