Tolani Agoro
Founder of Lux B Flowers
Interview by: Sherry Collins
Floral designer and founder of LUX B Flowers, Tolani Agoro was inspired by her own wedding to start her floral business. Creating her brand on the side while working full-time, Tolani prioritise her projects on how they will get her to where she wants to be. She shares her journey and future plans.
What inspired you to launch Lux B Flowers?
Actually my own wedding. I had a large bridal team and couldn’t afford a florist, so I took the plunge and did the bridesmaids’ bouquets myself. I was surprised that I was good at it, but thought it was a fluke. Shortly after I volunteered to do flower arranging for my church and again seemed to be naturally good at it, so I started to think of it as a sign and to look into this further. I also wanted to provide a slightly different experience based on what I felt was missing when I was going through my wedding journey. After doing a trial run for my friend’s wedding (that went really well), I took the plunge to officially start my own business. I launched the bouquet delivery division during lockdown when there was a large demand to send gifts and not every florist was able to meet that need.
What do you love most about what you do?
I love being able to bring a smile to someone’s face with flowers. You tend to forget how people use flowers to express their love, gratitude and other emotions, so being part of that is humbling. I think this has become even more important with the pandemic, where we’ve been apart from our loved ones and had to find ways to express love through gifts.
You create flowers for wedding days as well as personal bouquets. How do you go about selecting your blooms?
I go with what I feel is striking and unique. I’m fortunate to live close to New Covent Garden Market which has one of the biggest selections of seasonal flowers and foliage in the county. Being able to walk around and look at what catches my eye, then go home to make an arrangement is really the process. There are also practical elements, such as how long a flower lasts, the scent, how it blooms and how delicate the stems are. There’s some environmental factors such as what’s in season - it’s an art with some science to it!
Your brand is currently your side-hustle, how do you juggle both a full-time job and growing the brand?
I think it’s all about being intentional with your time and planning ahead. I tend to work better when I have more things on the go as it makes me more disciplined. For example, if I know I have to go to the market very early before work, I’ll get to bed earlier to make sure I have the energy. Also prioritising what projects I want to work on and how they will get me to where I want to be. I’ve realised I can’t take on everything and that’s OK.
What makes things easier?
The florist community on social media has been so helpful. I’ve made some really good friends who I’ve been able to bounce ideas off, get advice and collaborate on projects. Also, the use of technology to find sub-contractors for deliveries and other tasks that are quite last minute.
Where do you see the brand in the next few years?
I see it not only as a household brand for floral design, but as a lifestyle brand that integrates with technology. The lockdown has shown us we need to be more innovative on how we deliver our services and I have some cool ideas how to make this seamless, but that is in the long term. I would also love the brand to grow to allow an increase in employment for Black youths and to teach entrepreneurship.
