Local StoriesJune 12, 2023

Meet Hannah Loporchio Morley

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Loporchio Morley.

Hi Hannah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always enjoyed flowers. Growing up, my childhood home had been landscaped like an English garden with an abundance of roses. For a short time, my aunt lived with us and she’d often take us outside to clip flowers for arrangements. She’d offer us little tips and tricks she pulled from Better Home and Garden or HGTV. I was always drawn to it but I never thought I’d be a florist!

I like to say that I stumbled upon floristry. I graduated from Belmont University with a degree in Social Entrepreneurship in December 2015 and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Shortly after graduation, I moved back home to LA. I had been accepted into a program to teach English in Spain and was looking for a summer job to fill a few months before I left.

I’d previously been a ceramicist and was looking for a creative job that let me work with my hands. Browsing Craiglist, I saw a post for a studio assistant job from a floral studio called Of The Flowers. I thought the job might be a fun experience and applied. The next week, I met Felisa in her home studio and we instantly clicked. I’m pretty sure she hired me on the spot. At that point, I still wasn’t sure what she did or what the job would be like. My first day was making garlands and setting up a wedding at a gorgeous private garden in the Hollywood Hills. I had so much fun but still couldn’t envision it as my career.

As the months went on, I ended up falling in love with being a florist. I backed out of my teaching job in Spain and ended up working with Of The Flowers full-time as the studio manager for two years. I truly credit everything I know to Felisa. She has been an amazing friend and mentor for the past 7 years. I am so grateful for her. If she hadn’t hired me, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today! After I transitioned out of that position, I became a freelance florist. I also took some time away to sort out if this was the path for me.

In 2020, my husband and I bought a house in Nashville. We began splitting our time between LA + Nashville every month for work. In 2022, harnessing my previous experience, I began my independent design journey and started my own business – Porch Flowers, which operates in both cities. The name is an homage to my maiden name, Loporchio, and my immigrant grandparents who were entrepreneurs. Their sacrifice, tenacity, and hard work have been instilled in me and it is the foundation of Porch Flowers.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ve retired from being a florist… 3 times. After my first two years, I was burnt out. I was working events every weekend, sometimes with doubleheaders. I had an opposite schedule from all my friends, wasn’t taking care of myself, and was dealing with the general stressors of working in LA (crazy traffic, no parking, etc.). I transitioned to freelance part-time and decided to get a regular 9-5. First, I worked at a production company and then did events for a corporate company.

Neither job ever felt as fulfilling as being a florist. When I started to think about going back to being an event florist full-time, I knew I needed to set boundaries. I think I’d previously let it be my whole life because I was young and having fun and it didn’t feel like work – until I hit a wall and it did. Growing older and working in different positions help me learn how to set work/life boundaries and create a better balance. It clicked after I started doing flowers in Nashville. The pace is a lot slower here. Seeing my peers have lives outside of work helped me relax.

One challenge that my business has faced in Nashville is not having access to the same wide variety of products that I would in LA. It’s pushed me to think outside of the box in sourcing and designing to make sure that I am still creating unique and interesting arrangements.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Porch Flowers is a creative floral agency dedicated to bringing romantic and wild designs to life through sculptural arrangements. Based out of Los Angeles, CA + Nashville, TN, we specialize in experiential creations for unconventional clients.

Over the past year, our work has taken us out of the norm and across 5 states. We focus on sustainable floristry as an art form, striving to primarily use reusable mechanics and providing our flowers with a second life after events. Sometimes this looks like repurposing flowers into new arrangements, donating arrangements, or making sure that product is sent to compost instead of the landfill.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, my designs have been inspired by the wild + diverse landscape of the west coast. I am drawn to very textural flowers with a lot of movement. Flowers give me the ability to convey a wide range of feelings and emotions. I love being a part of the pendulum that swings from romantic and bright to moody and funky.

What were you like growing up?
I’ve always been very creative and very sensitive. I spent a lot of time as a kid drawing, painting, making up stories, dressing up, and writing. I loved make-up and art and reading. Our neighborhood always had a few neighborhood kids running around, so I spent a lot of time outside with them. We’d make up games or ride bikes or draw with chalk. Our house had a pool so I spent an of time swimming until I was wrinkled. I loved parties and would dream up activities to do at sleepovers or birthdays and would decorate the house accordingly.

My parents had an open-door policy so there were usually friends coming in and out of the house at any given time.

There was always a dreamy, romantic narrative about the world in my head. I had strong visions of what I wanted things to look like or be like and was very stubborn about it. When I’d get bored in the middle of summer and it was too hot to be outside, my mom would take me to the craft store. We’d walk around until we’d think of a project to do. She always encouraged and invested in my creative endeavors. I was also entrepreneurial. I’d make up a lip balm recipe and try to sell it. Or I’d collect bowls of fruit from our fruit trees and set up a fruit stand outside our house. I loved talking to whoever stopped by.

I feel like who I am as an adult still encompasses all those things. I’m still enamored by art and design and hosting friends for dinner parties. It’s very tender to see those things in me as a child and see them reflected in me as an adult.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Alexes Lauren Photography, Robert Morley, Mckenna Mansfield Photography, and Jamie Pratt Photography

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