Meet Sarah Sullivan and Shannon Baker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Sullivan and Shannon Baker. They share their story with us below. 

Sarah and Shannon grew up together cousins, but most importantly best friends. They spent many nights crafting and creating in their parents’ basements. Life took them in different directions, Sarah all around the southeast as she worked for a corporate company and Shannon to Atlanta as a flight attendant. After several years, Sarah decided the corporate life wasn’t for her and took the leap to work for a big event flower shop in St. Pete Florida where she learned the trade. In early 2020, Shannon and Sarah found themselves both back in Lexington and knew it was time to put their old crafting ways to work and opened Roséalia. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not at all! We did our first bridal show at the beginning of March 2020–not great timing with COVID about to strike. We had to adjust our business plan and focus on shifting to 2021. But we fared so much better than a lot of small businesses as we didn’t have much overhead and were able to wait it out. We ended up doing 35 weddings in 2021, which was only our second year in business! 

We also started the business in Sarah’s dining room of her duplex, which was very interesting trying to do two weddings and a rehearsal dinner in one weekend with very little space. We are so thankful for a full studio space and a cooler now! 

We began the company thinking we were also going to do wedding coordinating, but after two weddings we quickly decided that wasn’t for us. You have to realize your business is always going to evolve and change as your plans and goals change. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We specialize in florals for events and weddings. We are known for our boho, artisan style and our ability to take our clients’ unique vision and translate them into floral creations. We like to think our distinct, modern, and expressive styles set us apart from other designs you may see and why so many couples seek us out for their big day! We are incredibly proud and honored to have such amazing feedback from each and every one of our couples. We’ve been continually blown away by the response to our work thus far. 

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Every job comes with its own set of risks! We are always wanting to push ourselves and our skills and are always aiming to go above and beyond our clients’ expectations. When you are working with product that could look great one minute and be dead the next, the risks are always there. And of course, there is no doubt that simply starting a business is a huge risk in itself. But, so far, we have been fortunate and grateful for our accomplishments! We plan to continue to grow and learn new and improved techniques so we can take even more exciting and creative risks! 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: rosealiafloral.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/rosealiaflorals
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/rosealiaflorals

Image Credits
Morgan Tolentino Photography
Stella Sharpe Photo Frame Visuals
Macey Joy Photo
The Olive Branch and Company
Era 26 Photography