Flourishing through flower therapy

Brooks Floral & Co. workshops provide space to connect and process grief

BY ELICIA HESSELGRAVE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

“We laugh, cry and share memories knowing it’s OK to not be OK.” ese are the words of Kaitlin Christenson Austin, a Denverite who started her small oral design business to honor her older brother. Her story is one of healing through owers.

Austin started Brooks Floral & Co. in September 2021, roughly three months after her older brother, Brooks Christenson, died unexpectedly at age 36 when COVID-19 rapidly turned into pneumonia.

“I feel so connected to him through this and I know he is so proud,” Austin said.

Austin grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in a close-knit family of four children. Brooks was the oldest, followed by siblings Jon, Kaitlin and MarieClaire.

Brooks and Kaitlin were connected on a deep level, said their father, Bob Christenson of Sioux Falls.

“Of all the kids, they were the two most bonded by the spirituality of the human condition, and I think (Kaitlin) is expressing that in what she’s doing with owers,” Bob Christenson said.

He added that their bond continues to grow — even now that Brooks is gone.

“ ey had a good relationship,” Bob Christenson said. “ ey still do, because she’s doing these things that involve him.”