By Allison Hageman | ahageman@alextimes.com 

Flowers are one way to brighten a home and during the pandemic many people have been buying them from local florist Michaela Gosar.

Gosar’s floral arrangement studio, Fleurelity, is based out of her Alexandria home and provides a personalized floral concierge service. While many businesses have struggled during the past year, Gosar’s sales increased, as people looked for new ways to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays and events that got cancelled because of COVID-19.

“They just have been ordering more flowers just because they want to make someone happy or cheer their own home,” Gosar said.

Gosar is originally from the Czech Republic and moved from Belgium to Alexandria in 2008 with her American husband. In Brussels, she worked as a policy officer at the European Commission, but said she pursued flowers as a hobby. When Gosar and her husband moved to the U.S., she took a break from her job, had kids and continued her flower hobby.

“I just wanted to do what I always liked to do – and that was arrange flowers, be around flowers and just give flowers to others,” Gosar said.

For a few years, she volunteered with local flower shops, including Helen Olivia Flowers in Alexandria, Hillwood Museum and Gardens in D.C. and the Urban Petals Floral Design Studio. Gosar said this helped her gain experience and allowed her to help with flower arrangements at the Kennedy Center and even at then Vice President Joe Biden’s home for Christmas.

After volunteering for a few years for free and taking care of two kids, Gosar said she wanted to do something for herself and launched Fleurelity’s website just before Valentine’s Day in 2014. Her first customers were the fellow members of an eastern Alexandria mothers club.

“They were my first customers that year and that kind of helped me to get introduced to the community here and to get exposure to potential new customers,” Gosar said.

For the past three to four years, Gosar’s business has grown steadily alongside her social media presence. She currently has 46,600 Instagram followers and became a part of Bloomnation.com, a website that connects customers with local florists.

The past year created an extra boost in Fleurelity’s growth, and business has been blooming for Gosar’s one-woman operation.

“Basically, every day, every week, every holiday just many more orders are coming in,” Gosar said.

Gosar credits her success during the pandemic to her personal touch and her flower arrangements’ customized style – what she calls “garden style” and “wild- flower meadow.”

Gosar said no two arrangement she creates are the same. The customer’s wishes and the story behind each order inform Gosar’s approach to each arrangement. The customer’s story includes who it’s for, the occasion, flower preference, allergies, where the flowers are going and favorite colors.

Gosar also walks her customers through their order, creates it and delivers it herself.

“I just like more flow, more sort of very airy wild-life, but flower looking style or garden style,” Gosar said. “So, like different colors, different textures, different stems, different depths.”

Despite her success, Gosar had her share of challenges during COVID-19. In 2020, like many florists, she faced issues in the flower supply chain after events were cancelled. She has since pivoted to working with more suppliers and getting more deliveries at different times to keep up with her demand.

Even with some challenges, Gosar’s arrangements have continued to wow her online customers.

“I am beyond impressed with the beautiful fresh flowers Michaela had arranged to have delivered for me,” one customer wrote on Gosar’s Bloomnation.com page. “Not only are they beautifully arranged, fresh, & stunning but her service/communication is top notch!

You can tell she puts a lot of heart into her arrangements.”

“Every arrangement we have received or commissioned from Fleurelity has been breathtaking. The uncommon variety of flowers and the artfully natural display elicit joy and appreciation from everyone who sees them. We are so happy to have found this artist,” another customer wrote on Gosar’s Bloomnation.com page.

Even with more demand, Gosar said she plans to keep the business small, with the possibility of expanding beyond her home studio, hosting workshops and even adding an extra hand to help when needed.

This upcoming Easter weekend, Gosar said her arrangements will be in Easter baskets, boxes and door wreaths that contain spring seasonal flowers like tulips, daffodils and snapdragons. In the spring, Gosar said she likes to bring the season inside her customers’ homes with a colorful blend of peach, white, creamy yellow, light blue and light green.

As always, Gosar will be delivering the flowers herself, with the hope of seeing customers’ delight as they receive their floral arrangements.

“Connecting with the nature of working with flowers and just being around flowers, I think just brings me joy,” Gosar said.