“When I approach my design, I look beyond the flowers. Sometimes it’s not even about the flowers at all.”
I started Afield with the mission to highlight all the beautiful things and interesting people that I encounter as I discover my new town and its surroundings. Thus, it was only natural that for my inaugural interview I would talk with Valerie Braverman of Brave Floral in Maplewood. I discovered Brave soon after my arrival to New Jersey, and found myself wandering into her store on a weekly basis, either buying plants and flowers for my new home, looking for gifts, or simply stopping in to soak up the loveliness of the shop itself.
Valerie is a super talented floral designer and business woman, wife, mother and proud New Jerseyan. And what I was most struck by over the course of our conversation, was her astounding amount of energy and self described “go-go-go mentality”, coupled with a calmness and grace that makes it all look pretty effortless.
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Name: Valerie Rojas Braverman
Place of birth: Edison, New Jersey
Places lived: Delaware, Hell’s Kitchen, Hoboken, Philadelphia
Current city: Mountainside, New Jersey
Occupation: Owner and creative director, Brave Floral
Afield: Can you tell us a little bit about your background
Valerie Braverman: I am a mom of a one-year-old boy, a wife, a youngest sister and the daughter of Colombian and Filipino immigrants, and a very proud native New Jerseyan. From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a business owner. In the second grade, I got in trouble for selling “flower pens'' that I made with silk blooms, stem tape and Bic ballpoints. Later, my mom set up a table for me at the school craft fairs so I could legitimately sell my wares.
A: What drew you to a career in florals?
VB: In the mid 2000s, I discovered Sarah Ryhanen of Saipua. She was early in her career at that point, though seemingly established. Her aesthetic, which came to be known as Brooklyn-style, just felt so new and nostalgic at the same time. It reminded me of gardening with my mom as a young child and I wanted to channel that warmth, bottle up that optimism. So in 2009, I took the plunge and started studying at Brooklyn Botanic Garden in my off-time. I studied in the evenings and weekends for five years before getting serious and pursuing a design certificate at New York Botanical Gardens, then interning with Putnam & Putnam, and finally beginning my own freelance design career in 2015.
A: How would you describe your aesthetic?
VB: For the most part, intentional. From the materials, to the form, to the color pairings…
When I approach my design, I look beyond the flowers. Sometimes it’s not even about the flowers at all. One of my favorite things to do is design with restraints, a sense of minimalism and always editing as I go along.
A: Where do you go for inspiration?
VB: I look to all media, but mainly books. Especially cookbooks, used design books and seed catalogs. Oh, and my collection of 1990s Martha Stewart Living magazines. I’m also inspired by my food experiences, travel and florals in film.
A: Where do you source your flowers?
VB: We source 95% locally from farms in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Local is best for lots of very legitimate environmental purposes, but I very much believe in supporting my local economy and the community closest to us. We all do better when we all do better. Of course, there are certain times of year when we open up our buying radius to a global level. We are in New Jersey, and I do run a flower shop, so people do want flowers. As much as I would like to do 100% local, I just can’t sell only evergreens in the month of December.
A: What are some of your favorite flowers or plants to work with?
VB: It changes seasonally for me. There’s such magic in the change over from one season to another. Those first tulips, the first field flowers, dahlias, evergreens… I feel a little fire in me when we get those first cuts. It’s what makes this job so exciting. I’m surrounded by beauty on an everyday basis.
A: What are some of your favorite floral design trends at the moment?
VB: I’m into tighter, classic styles right now. We’ve always been about working organically, with arrangements that are loose and airy. But recently I’ve had the desire to revert, to find innovative ways to bring more traditional design back. In fact, we plan on launching seasonal capsule collections inspired by this idea…funkier arrangements and interesting vessels using materials we’re drawn to at that specific moment in time.
A: Who are some of your favorite floral designers?
VB: I love Lewis Miller and Jeff Leatham for their innovative takes on traditional design. Visually they are both very inspiring, though I can’t get behind their use of floral foam. And from a sustainability and technical standpoint…Emily Thompson. Her ability to source materials and her large scale installations, without the use of foam, is just phenomenal.
Afield Guide
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Afield Guide –
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Sarah Ryhanen/Jeff Leatham/Dr. Cooper—all for different reasons
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Tulip
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Sansavaria
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Burning wood
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NY Mag
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Edward Hopper
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Jardin de Buis. I had a chance to visit with my mom and sister. I strive to have even a sliver of this at my home one day.
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The High Line - I was working in NY when this space opened and I have many fond memories of visiting on lunch hours and in the evening. It changed me.
A: What are some popular flower choices here in Maplewood?
VB: Lots of peony and anemone lovers here in Maplewood. We have regulars that come in for the “weird stuff” and we highly encourage that type of ask!
A: Can you tell us a little bit about the redesign of the shop?
VB: There were a few images that drove the thought process behind the shop: interior arches; a mix of demanding colors and muted tones; bold wallpaper with classic accents. I wanted an intentional mix of high and low, bold and soft, structural and organic. I partnered with Hollie Velten-Lattrell to hone in on those ideas and lend her expertise in planning out the space and having it all make sense within the canvas that I already had. She helped me manage my timeline, and brought in reinforcements like Virden Home who handled the more specialty build outs. It was important for me to maintain the integrity of two spaces. I very intentionally wanted a clear production and studio area where my creatives and I could tuck away to ideate and experiment. Hollie’s forte was in creating a look and feel that supported this 2022 version of Brave, from both a design and utility perspective.
A: So what’s next for Brave?
VB: While it’s fun to think about having a fleet of delivery vans or another location, a true goal of mine is to be able to invest more in my employees. I’d like to be able to offer medical benefits, 401k, paid time off, maternity leave and enrichment opportunities to my full-timers. I can’t argue that it is hard to do this as a small business - but I don’t think it’s impossible.
Valerie Braverman is the owner and creative director of Brave Floral in Maplewood, New Jersey.
