Finding Freedom (and Faith) in Flowers

By Liz Clearman

Forget the big box stores or chain florists for your Valentine’s (or Galentine’s) Day flowers — we’ve got a locally owned gem right here in Spring Branch. In 2020, resident Chelsea Wrobel (along with her husband, Kevin, who also has a full-time engineering career) took a leap of faith after many years of being a self-described “hobby florist” and opened up Freedom Floral, a business based on a dream. “After designing the florals for Cornerstone Family Ministries’ annual gala in February 2020, I began to trust myself more and prayerfully decided to take the leap of faith and start the business. Our name, Freedom Floral, is inspired by the biblical idea of the freedom that can only be found in Christ and the passage in Galatians 5:1 that states, ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.’ Free to dream, to pursue our God-given gifts and passions, and to do so with joy and confidence.”

Chelsea feels strongly that floral design is one of her Godgiven gifts, and it’s something that has long been a passion of hers. Freedom Floral is the culmination of that love for flowers, a natural proclivity toward floral design, and a go-get-‘em spirit fostered by her family. “I come from a family of entrepreneurs and have worked in small businesses and nonprofit settings since I was 16,” Chelsea said. Located on Long Point, the business is a full-service florist that specializes in garden-style floral arrangements for daily delivery, events, and weddings. With a team of six designers on staff plus a network of freelance designers, they’re well-equipped to handle even the largest-scale projects.

What sets Freedom Floral apart is their floral design style, which is distinct from other flower shops in Houston due to their team of incredibly talented and creative artists and designers. “You can expect that we’ll always be pushing the envelope when it comes to floral design, and our love and passion comes through in every arrangement we make,” Chelsea noted. The business has a unique model — in addition to being a traditional flower shop where you can stroll in and pick out beautiful arrangements individually, they’re also a full-scale boutique, stocking a number of ethically sourced local brands and products and continually expanding what’s on their shelves.

Speaking of local, Chelsea is a huge believer in investing back into her neighborhood. When it came to opening their brick-and-mortar store, there was no question that the Wrobels would stay in Spring Branch, where they also reside. The unique identity and community loyalty was also a selling point for Freedom Floral’s location. Chelsea has been impressed by the way the Branch rallies around local schools to build them up and is excited about the Spring Branch Management District’s vision to build up the area with retail, restaurants, trails, and family-oriented events. “We’re all one big team working together to make our corner of Houston everything we want it to be — and that is such a fun thing to be a part of,” she said.

This journey hasn’t always come up roses, though. Chelsea launched Freedom Floral two weeks before the entire city (and state, and nation, and world) shut down due to the global pandemic, so it goes without saying that they had to wrangle some major challenges right out of the gate. Instead of being able to welcome customers in person and interact face-to-face, they had to pivot before they even had a solid base. However, Chelsea saw that as a good thing in the end, pointing out that “in a lot of ways, we can attribute who we are today to those changes we implemented strictly to make the business flourish under sudden and extremely unique circumstances. I actually think that being so new made it easier for us to respond to the challenges of the pandemic. We’d sort of never known anything else!”

What she’s most proud of throughout all of the challenges sprinkled over the past three years is the team and community they’ve built at Freedom Floral. Chelsea, a mother of three, said that there was a running joke among the employees that the business was her fourth child, so when she actually found out that she and Kevin were expecting their actual fourth child within a few months after opening, everyone had a good laugh. “With our new addition on the way, it became clear that we needed to get the business to a point where it could function without me at the helm, at least for a time. And so that became the goal we were working toward. Today, with a six-month-old baby boy on my hip at all times, I’ve never been more confident that our team can handle whatever gets thrown our way. And I’m incredibly proud of how far we’ve come in such a short time.” Freedom Floral is located at 8209 Long Point Road. In addition to selling flowers, arrangements, design services, and boutique products, they also host floral design workshops in their design studio. Upcoming workshops will be held on February 18th and March 25th, and interested patrons can sign up at freedomfloral.com. You can follow them on Facebook at Freedom Floral HTX and on Instagram at @freedomfloraltx.