‘A Great Option For Bringing People Together’: City Blossoms On Pivoting To Virtual Floral Design Classes During COVID

If you’re in search of winter lockdown activities besides obsessively watching and rewatching the Princess Diana episodes of “The Crown” (not that there’s anything wrong with that!), perhaps it’s time you tried your hand at some floral design?

The mother-daughter duo behind City Blossoms has gotten creative in quarantine, opening up their offerings to include virtual floral design classes that have become an instant hit.“All of our weddings and events have been rescheduled, we’ve lost pretty much all our corporate business,” co-owner Karina Granin said. “We’re trying to adapt.”

Early on in the pandemic, Granin offered a virtual floral design class on Instagram, with kits available for delivery ahead of time so viewers could follow along at home.

“We started when everyone was really just not going anywhere, and people loved it,” she said. “It was a great option for bringing people together, doing a fun activity in a safe way, virtually. We’ve done classes in person before, but this has really been a growth part of our business during COVID.”

Classes, conducted via their Instagram Live, walk participants through a step-by-step process of creating several floral design arrangements. Kits usually cost around $65, and include a vase, knife, greens, flowers and everything else needed to participate.“I go through the background on the different flowers, where they’re from, how to take care of them, different tricks of the trade,” Granin said.

It’s a clever pivot for a Downtown business started 30 years ago by Granin’s mother, Inna Lipovsky. Granin has worked beside Lipvosky as a co-owner for the past 15 years.

You can keep an eye on City Blossoms’ website or Instagram page for announcements about future virtual classes. 

photo: @cityblossomsnyc