The Floral Reserve and the Business of Blooms

Semia Dunne’s Providence Flower Market Brings Local Growers and Designers Under One Roof

Semia Dunne rarely has a spare moment to pause and reflect, but on a recent morning at The Floral Reserve in Providence, she stepped aside and quietly observed her bustling market. The lofty, bright space overflowed with fragrant local blooms; floral designers shared ideas as they shopped the floor; and farmers stopped by to drop off their flowers. The whole room had a certain buzz to it and Semia (pronounced Se-MEE-uh) remembers thinking, “This is what it’s all about.”

After 19 years in the floral design business, Semia launched The Floral Reserve in December 2017 as a wholesale floral market, offering local and domestic flowers, and carefully selected imported blooms and artisan materials for floral designers, such as hand-dyed ribbon, floristry tools, styling fabrics and candles.

“The Floral Reserve is another way to serve the floral industry that I love so much,” she says. “I wanted a space where I could offer the products that have transformed my own design work, and show other designers what is available.”

Semia delights in finding new sources, such as Ardelia Farm, a Vermont farm that grows the most incredible variety of sweet peas, and Fast Pony Flowers, her source for hand-dyed botanical ribbon. Rhode Island farms, such as Little State Flower Co. and Robin Hollow Farm, offer their wholesale goods, as do local artisans, like J. Schatz, who designed ceramic vessels exclusively for The Floral Reserve. Semia even offers flowers from her own farm, Blonde Acres.

More than 25 local farms were represented at The Floral Reserve during its first year of business, of which only five were familiar to Semia when she first opened. “Nothing brings me greater joy than discovering new local sources,” she says. “To see the look on designers’ faces when they discover the beauty of a local product like blueberry on the vine, Belle Époque tulips or foraged greens—it’s just incredibly fulfilling.”

While Semia is wholeheartedly committed to offering local flowers, she does source from outside of New England, especially during the winter season. “I have taken the time to travel to Holland and Ecuador, to visit as many places as I can to understand how flowers are getting to us,” she explains. “I’m committed to sourcing ethically grown flowers, and I want to offer blooms that are inspiring and aren’t available at other flower markets.” As a floral designer first and fore- most, Semia has a deep understanding of color and design, which translates into the unique offerings she curates at The Floral Reserve.

It makes perfect sense that Semia’s path would lead back to locally grown blooms, as her love of flowers began in her own garden. When she was growing up in Lincoln, her family had a small farm where they grew fruits and vegetables. The summer before heading off to college, she planted a small cutting garden filled with a random assortment of flowers; with that, a transformation began.

“My family farm was the precursor to being a floral designer,” Semia says, “though I didn’t know it at the time!”

Though she studied pre-med in college and began a second degree in landscape architecture, the farm and its flowers pulled her back. Using the blooms from her cutting garden, she began dabbling in floral design for family and friends, which led to a part-time job at a flower shop. After that, there was no turning back and, in 2000, Flowers by Semia opened in Johnston.

Once she began specializing in wedding and event design, Semia quickly outgrew that storefront and went on to open a shop on Mineral Spring Avenue in North Providence. In 2013, needing still more space for larger event installation pieces, as well as room for teaching floral design classes, Flowers by Semia moved to its current home at The Steel Yard. Semia filled the large, open studio space with furniture on wheels so that she could quickly transition from working studio to teaching space.

As Semia’s design work flourished, she increased her cut flower garden at Blonde Acres, and began bringing her blooms to the studio to incorporate into her designs. “I could never grow enough to fulfill all our needs, but I grew enough so that my home-grown blooms became a signature of our brand and aesthetic,” Semia explains. “There is such uniqueness to every flower when you grow it from seed. You watch it unfurl and flourish, observe the surrounding color palettes of nature, and then decide how best to highlight its natural beauty in an arrangement. The process has such soul behind it.”

At the same time that Semia began designing with her own blooms, local growers started approaching her with their product, which she enthusiastically purchased. She started seeking out any and all possible ways to get her hands on more local product. “I was going to the Boston flower market once or twice a week,” Semia recalls, “and I was trying to align it with days that I knew there would be a local drop-off at the market. For me, being very visual and tactile, I always got the most fulfillment when I could go to market and touch and see the local offerings.”

There was nowhere in Rhode Island providing that tactile experience; with the interest in local product soaring, Semia felt the time was right to open a market that would allow designers to shop for local flowers in a local setting, while also providing farmers with increased visibility and reach. Thus, The Floral Reserve was born. It is housed in the same Steel Yard building as her studio, in a bright space with high ceilings, exposed brick and large windows, perfect for showcasing the bountiful buckets of vibrant blooms.

“I will never give up the design aspect of my business because I love it so much,” Semia says. “But I am equally passionate when it comes to the vision I hold for The Floral Reserve. I want to be a resource for designers, farmers, artists and the greater community.” On Fridays, The Floral Reserve offers open hours for the community to come and shop (by that time, designers have what they need for their weekend weddings and events).

The Floral Reserve also plays host to pop-up markets, featuring goods from local artists, farmers and shopkeepers. Semia also hosts floral designers as part of her educational offerings, including wreath-making workshops and presentations on the business and marketing side of floral design. “It’s funny, if you stop and think about it,” Semia jokes. “We [the designers] are each other’s competition, we are bidding on the same events, but there is such an air of collaboration and community.”

The collaborative spirit begins with the energy Semia brings to The Floral Reserve. She considers it a privilege getting to know young and up-and-coming designers, and she is more than happy to help in any way she can: offering guidance on how to order flowers, what to charge and the best product to use. In turn, Semia finds herself inspired by everyone who walks through the market’s door.

“Whether it is a farmer or a fellow designer, I delight in each interaction. I find this work to be incredibly rewarding.”

The Floral Reserve: Unit 102 Flowers By Semia: Unit 105 1 Sims Ave., Providence, RI 401.383.7299; TheFloralReserve.com 401.232.5353; FlowersBySemia.com Open to the public on Fridays.