2023 Speaker Profile: VALERIE CRISOSTOMO

THE STORY OF BLACK GIRL FLORISTS -- Valerie Crisostomo established Black Girl Florists as a community for Black women in the floral profession. Hear her story as an event planner-turned-floral designer-turned-change leader in the floral industry. Meet the creatives involved in Black Girl Florists and learn how you can get involved in this dynamic collective that is opening doors and elevating Black women in floristry.

Like any well-executed event, the genesis of Black Girl Florists started with a list.

Valerie Crisostomo, owner of One Soul Events and Flowers, was responding to a particular request from clients. “It was 2020, during the height of racial turmoil,” says Valerie, “and people were looking to support Black-owned businesses, so I started to look for florists in the industry who looked like me.” She spread the word and created a list of vendors for potential clients. “But then I found that a lot of the women wanted to engage with one another, so I turned Black Girl Florists into an organization,” she says. Today, Black Girl Florists is a professional organization and thriving non-profit with Valerie at the helm.

When we chat, she’s still buzzing from the second annual Black Girl Florists conference that wrapped up a few days before. She’s spent a good part of the day clearing out her inbox and arranging distribution of extra flowers to local Atlanta-based florists. The two-and-a-half day gathering is very hands-on with this year’s 35 participants from across the country (and Canada, too) working on different pieces throug