Revelations: How LaParis Phillips Turned A Side Hustle Into New York Chic Flower Boutique Brooklyn Blooms [Exclusive]

Stepping into Brooklyn Blooms is like stepping into LaParis Phillips’ imagination—this magical space is colorful, intentional, and joyfully unique. “The flower selection is very curated here,” said Phillips, who founded the charming floral boutique in 2017. “Let us create something beautiful for you.”

Hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Phillips moved to New York City in 2010 with dreams of making it in fashion. But even as she pursued a full-time career in the industry, something was missing. “Fashion was just not working for me,” she said. “I missed working with flowers and being creative, because I wasn’t able to be creative in fashion. Flowers gave me that space to express myself artistically, how I wanted to.”

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Phillips came into floristry with a strong foundation—she grew up around her family’s flower shop and worked with flowers throughout college. That early exposure laid the groundwork—nurturing the practical skills and entrepreneurial spark that would eventually bloom into her own business.

Before starting Brooklyn Blooms, Phillips worked in fashion during the week and spent her Saturdays working part-time in a flower shop. “I always did flowers on the side, because you can’t be a one-trick pony coming to New York,” she said.

As her love for floristry grew, so did her vision. Phillips began to imagine what her own floral business might look like. “I was like, man, if I had a flower shop or a flower business—whether it be a studio or a retail shop—what would it be called, just for fun? Brooklyn Blooms. I’m like, I like this. Brooklyn Blooms—it’s a sentence, it’s a statement, it just rolls off the tongue.”

Today, that vision is a reality. Brooklyn Blooms is not just a flower shop—it’s a boutique experience. “I feel like I’m making a difference just bringing flowers to the neighborhood and bringing beauty in that way,” Phillips said.

With two locations just blocks apart in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood, Phillips offers a handpicked, artfully curated floral experience for her clientele. “I like to think of Brooklyn Blooms as more of a boutique,” she said. “We go to the flower market and we’re handpicking everything.”

But the beauty Phillips brings to her community is about more than flowers. It’s about visibility and cultivating legacy. She hopes to inspire the next generation by embodying the success of a thriving Black-owned business. “You don’t really see a lot of young Black kids going into floristry at all,” she said. “I hope they see me as an example.”

That sense of purpose runs deep. “Black business, Black community is crucial and key.” For Phillips, independent businesses like Brooklyn Blooms play a vital role in keeping “money circulating within our community, from each other, through our own sources and venues.”

As the business grows, the floral artist is focused on the big picture. With every bouquet, every arrangement, and every storefront, Phillips is cultivating the future of her business. “I want a store in Manhattan, I want a store in Chicago, I want a store in Los Angeles—wherever I can have a flower shop that’s gonna welcome Brooklyn Blooms.”

“So that’s what drives me—is the success of the business to this point, and where can I take it?”

Watch the full REVELATIONS interview with LaParis Phillips above.

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