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Mimosa creates floral artworks that invite people to feel.
Looped in by Jennifer Winter and Monika Mann
My name is Mimosa, and Strangelove is my creative floral practice where I invite people to feel.
Something that I struggle to explain is that I love exuberance and simplicity. I think with things that I create, I really try to invite people to just take a moment to experience it rather than to just passively consume it. I invite people to become still.
For a lot of the things I create it's really a meditative process for me and a way to express feelings. It’s incredibly cathartic. Sometimes I relate it to therapy. With everything that I create it usually starts with a feeling. When I’m creating something for myself it’s a way for me to get outside my head and just work with the things in front of me.
I lost my dad during the pandemic and it was the hardest thing of my life and I’m still struggling with it. And it was during the pandemic so I couldn’t really do much. It was hard to access therapy, access mental health care, so I looked towards flowers and I found it to be such a beautiful way to process grief. So my personal practice, when I do it for myself, is a way for me to get outside of those feelings and then look at it again.
With clients, usually I’ll get a prompt, a feeling, and then from there I’ll look towards what's inspiring them or me at that time. Every project is so different and that’s what I really love about it too. Sometimes it’s more collaborative, and I thrive off of that. I love asking more questions or usually just trying to get at what their feeling is, and then I’ll try to interpret it with flowers.
I started off as a student of neuroscience and psychology. I was going for the science route, I wanted to be a doctor. Life circumstances changed and shifted. I looked to graphic design and enrolled at OCAD and then I quickly found a part time job at a flower shop. It was such a eureka moment for me that I loved working with flowers. I was like, is this full circle now? My name’s Mimosa and mimosa is also a flower so I was like, Oh wow, maybe I’m supposed to be doing this!
I thought the goal was to be a flower shop but I quickly realized that’s not my preference or what I’m passionate about, it’s more creating art. I care more about work that is long-lasting. I love to help my clients understand that once a flower maybe doesn’t look as fresh and perky as it once did, in the aging and dying process it’s still so beautiful. It just takes on a different form. I think you also form a relationship with flowers. I think that’s hard to discard.
Honestly, everybody has creative powers. Whether you’re a mathematician and you’re creating symphonies with symbols and numbers or you’re a chef prepping vegetables and things, I think it’s so cool how we all have different things that we’re passionate about and that shows up in different ways. I think creativity is an innate thing that everyone has.
I grew up doing classical Indian dance. I did Bharatanatyam and Odissi which shows up in my floral work as well…there’s always some sort of dance element. And that’s literally informed by years of dancing and holding positions.
Public speaking. It doesn’t come naturally to me and I’m really nervous about it. I’ve always been in awe of people who are great orators. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the founding father of Bangladesh and one of the speeches he gave is even documented in Unesco as something that is so powerful and needs to be preserved and cared for. I watch that often and I get such chills.
The best advice I’ve ever received is pretty recent…it's that nerves are a good thing. My teacher Amanda Acorn, (she’s a dancer and an incredible movement artist and teacher) shared this with me. When you’re feeling nervous or anxious about something it’s also a reminder of joy and that you care about something, so nerves aren’t actually a bad thing.
Maybe a pill to take out jealousy. Just be kinder to everybody and stop comparing. Kindness. A kindness pill.
I think farmers. Specifically racialized farmers. They’re doing the most I think…such back breaking, bone breaking work that is not really recognized and yet we need them. They literally feed us. And I think about that a lot. Cheyenne of Sundance Harvest Farm is a local hero. I subscribe to her CSA's and love learning about the process of growing and caring for harvests.
Cheez Whiz. It’s gross. It’s slimy. I don’t understand it.
Nature. Nature grounds me. When I look to nature I feel incredibly small and also interconnected and that is such a powerful feeling and it helps me stay humble. It’s also a great teacher. It teaches us about ourselves - our insecurities also show up. I think taking care of nature is also such a beautiful process and relationship.
aka the Fashion Lawyer - Best Dressed Goddess on this Earth, who is brilliant in everything she does, all with a heart of solid gold! My mentor! My friend! My Didi! Anjli is a fierce advocate for justice and her passion for uplifting South Asian creatives is so inspiring! She does it all and is also effortlessly the chic-est person in any room.
aka the Fashion Lawyer - Best Dressed Goddess on this Earth, who is brilliant in everything she does, all with a heart of solid gold! My mentor! My friend! My Didi! Anjli is a fierce advocate for justice and her passion for uplifting South Asian creatives is so inspiring! She does it all and is also effortlessly the chic-est person in any room.
aka Dream Pop Rock Legend! She honestly has the voice of an angel and has been fronting bands since she was FIFTEEN and has now toured around all over the world. Her passion for her craft and love for her community and friends makes me adore her so much. World, watch out!
aka Dream Pop Rock Legend! She honestly has the voice of an angel and has been fronting bands since she was FIFTEEN and has now toured around all over the world. Her passion for her craft and love for her community and friends makes me adore her so much. World, watch out!
the Conversationalist - a connector, a disruptor, storyteller, style queen (and so much more). She uses The Liminal Movement to explore everything the in-between - a safe space - a place for conversation, community care, and JOY. Her eponymous jewelry line is another extension of how she weaves community and conversation into handmade incredible works of art. Endlessly nourished by Dee's care ❤️
the Conversationalist - a connector, a disruptor, storyteller, style queen (and so much more). She uses The Liminal Movement to explore everything the in-between - a safe space - a place for conversation, community care, and JOY. Her eponymous jewelry line is another extension of how she weaves community and conversation into handmade incredible works of art. Endlessly nourished by Dee's care ❤️
the Artist and Lover - Sevan has big feelings and uses them to create stunning visuals that make you want to both weep and melt into a puddle of love. Naturally, she is also one of the most giving and thoughtful people in this universe.
the Artist and Lover - Sevan has big feelings and uses them to create stunning visuals that make you want to both weep and melt into a puddle of love. Naturally, she is also one of the most giving and thoughtful people in this universe.