[ad_1]
On Hollywood Way in Burbank, just down the street from Portos, behind an inviting storefront filled with color, fragrance, and the soft hum of creative hustle, sits The Enchanted Florist. Its owner, Kimberly Williams, moves through the space with the ease of someone who knows every bucket, bloom, shelf, and stem by heart.
To her, flowers are not merchandise—they are tiny miracles, each one a reason she feels lucky to do what she does.
Kimberly was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital, raised in Burbank, educated in local schools, and still calls the city home. Her roots here are deep. Her memories here are long. And her floral shop—now one of the city’s most cherished local businesses—started not in a building, but on a street corner.
A Dream on a Corner: How the Shop Began
In the early days, Kimberly was a young mother with a two-year-old daughter and a simple desire: to create a small business she could bring her child to rather than place her in daycare. She had always loved flowers, ever since childhood, when she marveled at the way blossoms emerged from the ground or from pots like small natural wonders.
“I thought every single flower was a miracle,” she says.
When she found a tiny “waiting room” space—wedged between a laundromat and a dry cleaner on Pass Avenue and Alameda—she approached the owner of the larger space next door, hoping to rent it. He was hesitant. So she proposed a test.
“I started selling flowers on the corner,” she recalls. “And he told me, if I stayed there for a month and still wanted the space, he’d give it to me.”
One month later, she cleaned out his small candy-and-bench waiting spot and turned it into her first floral shop. It was barely big enough for a handful of buckets and a few displays, but it was hers.
She stayed in that little space for close to fifteen years—long enough to become a neighborhood fixture—before the property changed hands and her rent doubled. The sudden shift forced her next reinvention.
Riverside Drive, Priscilla’s Coffee, and a Burst of Energy
Kimberly moved her business to Riverside Drive, just doors down from Priscilla’s Coffee—before Priscilla’s became the beloved institution it is today. She was the first tenant in that building, and soon it filled with unique shops and steady foot traffic.
“It ended up being a really fun building,” she says. “People coming and going all the time.”
Her business thrived. But eventually, the building was sold and the rent was doubled again. Impossible. She had no choice but to move. This time, she and her family made a bold leap: they purchased their own building on Hollywood Way.
The Shop That Grew by Necessity—and Creativity
The Hollywood Way building had two spaces: one for the florist shop, and a second unit next door where Kimberly hoped to place a tenant to offset the mortgage. When that tenant suddenly disappeared—unable to pay rent—panic set in.
“How are we going to pay off the building without a tenant?” she remembers thinking.
They tried renting it out again. It didn’t work.
So Kimberly did what entrepreneurs always do: she pivoted.
They turned the space into a combined invitation, gift, and floral accessory shop. When the world eventually moved to Evites and digital RSVPs, Kimberly pivoted again—phasing out invitations and expanding the gift shop.
Today, the two sides of the store work symbiotically.
Customers picking up bouquets wander into the gift section and leave with candles, cards, or small treasures. Others come in searching for a present and leave with flowers. The two spaces support each other—financially, creatively, and visually.
“It works beautifully,” she says. “People can get everything in one stop.”
A Family of Artists, A Life of Flowers
Though Kimberly doesn’t come from a family of florists, creativity is in her blood. Her mother is a production designer. Her grandmother was an oil painter. Her siblings and step-siblings are artistic in their own ways. When Kimberly was a child, a breathtaking arrangement from Rancho Flowers changed her life.
“I was maybe ten or eleven. I looked at that arrangement and thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’”
She attended floral design school, but believes her true education came from hands-on apprenticeships: cleaning buckets, processing flowers, prepping containers, learning mechanics from the ground up.
“Howard Hughes learned from the bottom up,” she says. “That’s the best way.”
She built her career the same way—slowly, patiently, with attention to detail and an openness to constant change.
Because in floral design, change is the only constant. Styles Change, Flowers Change, People Change.
Floral design is like fashion. Trends cycle. Colors shift. What was once taboo becomes stylish again. Carnations were out—now designer carnations are back in demand. Baby’s breath went from outdated filler to chic bridal aesthetic. Roses, succulents, and unconventional pairings that would have been “wrong” years ago are now celebrated.
“There are no rules in nature,” Kimberly says. “If it looks pretty to you, it works.”
She loves the ever-changing rhythm—modern minimalist weddings, lush autumn palettes, haystack arrangements for upscale barbecues, abstract centerpieces for galleries. Every event has its own style, its own energy, its own story.
It keeps her days varied, her creativity flowing, and her work meaningful.
The Mechanics Behind the Magic
Kimberly insists anyone can become a good floral designer—with practice and solid mechanics.
“How do you roll the chicken wire? Do you use Oasis? What greens give structure? What flowers give balance? It’s not brain surgery—it’s flowers.”
But the heart of her work is emotional connection. She creates arrangements with a touch more than clients expect. A small surprise. A thoughtful detail. A finishing touch that elevates it from “pretty” to “personal.”
“That’s what I specialize in,” she says. “A little something extra.”
Hollywood Work and the Art of Showing Up
Because of her proximity to the studios and her reputation for reliability, Kimberly’s shop has long been a go-to for film and TV productions. She’s done work for countless sets—finding out last-minute what containers they need, tracking down out-of-season blooms, and getting everything delivered precisely on time.
“That’s the most important thing,” she says. “Show up. Every time.”
It’s the same attitude she brings to birthdays, weddings, funerals, celebrations, and simple just-because bouquets. Her shop has survived inflation, rent hikes, changing trends, and shifting city layouts because she and her team show up.
Every day. Without fail.
Originally Published in The Burbank Bla Bla – Living Arts Magazine – www.theburbankblabla.com/published
[ad_2]
Brad Bucklin
Source link
