Meet Bobbi Bicigo | Floral Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bobbi Bicigo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bobbi, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Authenticity.

Being authentic and true to yourself and what you create yields the best version of yourself to reflect your brand.

I stay true to what inspires me and design through my heart. I want my customers to feel the love put into each piece I create. Whether is a huge wedding or a $10 petite bouquet, it’s all about designing with intention.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Honestly, my love for nature stemmed from a child. I studied horticulture and environmental science in college.

After moving to Portland, OR I realized there was so much more that brought a spark to my life.

I landed myself a job at an upscale flower shop, Sammy’s Flowers, where I learned floral design from some of the top designers on the west coast. I fell completely in love. I realized that everything I wanted was in floral design. Connecting with nature, getting be artistic and creative in addition to making money?! It was exactly what ignited my passion.

Getting to where I am today has had a winding path. I left Sammy’s to buy a coffeehouse and sell flowers out of it. After some wild ride where I found myself homeless from a shady business partner, I decided to rebuild my life.

I moved back to Michigan to start my family and decided that floral design was still what I wanted to do.

In December 2018, I started Protea. From the first week of opening my less than 50sq foot “studio,” I’ve been busy. I say “studio” because I essentially bought a 5-wheel camper to remove everything from it and make it into my work space. From dealing with well water issues, salty local florists trying to put my business out, to freezing buckets and flowers, I made it work. I took my first wedding as Protea three weeks after opening. Now, we’ve completed over 200 weddings and are currently booking into 2023.

When everything happened with my coffeehouse and the other business partner, I realized I had missed something huge, I ignored my intuition and didn’t give myself the value and worth I had deserved. Acknowledging this was a huge epiphany in my life and made me realize so much more. This made it a fairly easy decision when it came to leaving my job at a local grocery store flower department. Even though the money was consistent, it wasn’t where I wanted to be. I felt stifled by what I could do and what I wanted to do. Taking that leap to starting Protea was the only thing I could feel resonating with me and my goals in life. It also gave me the ability to spend more time with my children and family, especially in the very beginning months where they were at the studio day in and day out with me as we were building our business.

In 2021 i decided to add growing a few blooms for our studio. I bought some dahlia starts and loved it. This year, 2022, I have planted nearly 1200 seeds and more than 50 dahlia tubers. I am so excited to add to our growing business. My goal is to be a self sustaining flower and plant shop.

The reality of life when it comes to changing your dreams are, if it feels uncomfortable but you have this burning desire to do it, take the leap. There’s only one of you in world of billions. Follow your heart, feel your passion and listen to your intuition. Your dreams won’t come easy and that’s okay. Hard work does pay off even if it’s not the route you’ve planned on initially. Holding on to something too tightly only hurts you and keeps your world limited.

When it comes to Protea, my goal is to create works of art for your visual enjoyment. I believe in designing with the seasons and that using nature in all of its glory, creates the most eye-catching designs. I keep guard petals on our roses, love the whimsical and embrace the oddball. I believe nature can have many forms of beauty and like to showcase the perfectly imperfect. i love to design arrangements with movement, flow and depth and rarely use filler flowers, although they can have their place and time, When it comes to flowers, I like to choose only the best to create the best.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to Great Sands Beach, Brockway Mountain, the covered road to Copper Harbor and some of our waterfalls.

We’d of course have to start our day grabbing coffee from Steep & Brew if we were in town and Keweenaw Coffee Works if we were heading up into Copper Harbor.

As for food, I’d take them to The Den and Bonfire Continental Fire Company.

I’d suggest they stay at least one night at The Vault Hotel, too!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There’s a group of business women, “Boss B*tches.,” that have truly had my back with so much support on so many levels.

A lot comes from my partner and soon to be husband, Zach. He is always my rock when I’m needing something to lean on.

My grandparents and parents for always being my support and cheering me on from the sidelines.

Website: www.proteafloral.com

Instagram: Protea_floral_botanicals

Facebook: Protea Floral + Botanicals

Image Credits
Love + Lichens Hart Photo Co. Johnna Christine Co. Lume Photography Boy Girl Beauty World Protea Floral + Botanicals