Some journeys don’t follow a straight path. They unfold quietly, shaped by persistence, grief, and love. What we’ve built wasn’t born from ease or perfection but from moments of doubt, decisions made in silence, and the unshakable belief that we could create something lasting together. Atomic Flora is more than a business. It’s a reflection of everything Petra and I have endured and chosen. It’s our way of turning loss into beauty, pain into purpose, and presence into art. In this piece, we share our story not because it’s neat or easy, but because it’s real. This is how Atomic Flora came to be. This is where we are now.
Here is our journey...
To us, an inspiring journey isn’t a straight line or a tale of effortless triumph. It's a quiet strength. Strength to keep moving forward when everything feels utterly impossible. Every day is a choice to keep pushing, even when the weight of screaming thoughts makes the world feel too heavy. Through it all, with my wife, my best friend, my partner in life and business, Petra, side by side, we’ll get through it. We’ve weathered hardship and are ready to take on more. The small, seemingly insignificant decisions often hold the most weight. They can build up if you let them. They’re the moments where we stand together, unwavering, united in our determination and direction. Looking back at where we started and reveling where we are now, we feel pride. We’ve built something from grit, love, and an unshakeable belief in one another. We still have so far to go and that’s our continuing story, and it’s what makes it inspiring. For us.
It was all too easy leaving the comfort of New York City for the journey unknown. Lost, disoriented, and uncertain, we chose the West, leaving behind the safety of what we knew. We traded certainty for possibility; and in that leap, we found something far greater. The Pacific Northwest greeted us with open arms, offering its serene, raw beauty. It was here that we felt at home more than any place before. Petra had spent 40 years in New York, and I’d spent 8. Leaving was necessary for us. It was from this moment of transition that Atomic Flora would one day manifest.
The world as we knew it stopped in 2020. Both of us were successful in the food and beverage industry, working in Manhattan and living in Brooklyn, when the pandemic hit. I still remember, with painful naivety, telling my last guest, “It’s just a two-week break. The government just wants to take some sick time.” None of us knew the extent of what was coming. Now, as I reflect on it, the timing of writing this feels particularly poignant. The date being April 24th, marks five years to the day of my father's passing from complications due to COVID-19. That full-circle moment carries so much weight. It’s a reminder of why we do what we do, and how far we’ve come since. I’ve never told this story until now. I never wanted to. I didn’t want to garner sympathy while creating a brand.but how could I not tell this story? My father’s blood runs through the very foundation of our work. He is Atomic Flora.
I’ve never stopped wrestling with my guilt and may never. The guilt of not visiting my father the week before he passed, of not taking things seriously, of not ensuring he didn’t die alone, by himself, in an overrun Queens hospital with a D- rating. We had no idea NYC was going to be the epicenter for Covid deaths and the following catastrophe that hit the US. I had no way of knowing that the last time we spoke would be our final conversation. With my last words to my father being, “You need to get through this, and I’ll talk to you soon.” So many “nots.” I felt fragmented, hollow, lost. And when I look at where we are now, sometimes, I wonder how it was even possible to continue on with life itself.
In life, I never excelled in science or mathematics. But writing? Writing is my lease. I always knew how to express pain on paper. In person, it’s a jumbled mess. But on paper, I was never afraid to show emotion. But in the darkest moment, I found myself unable to write even an obituary for my dad. Who does that?
Atomic Flora was a dream conceived, like many others, during the pandemic. When Petra and I moved to Seattle, that dream continued to evolve. We nurtured Atomic Flora alongside our full-time jobs, building our floral artistry in the background while still deeply immersed in the heart of Seattle’s culinary scene. For the first two years, we bounced from opportunity to opportunity, grateful for every one. Each arrangement became an emotional portrait, personal and full of feeling for both us and them. The people closest to us could see it. This wasn’t just pretty flowers. There was art here. There was care. There was something real. Over and over again, we heard the same thing: "This should be a business." Slowly over time, we began working with dried flowers. We learned preservation techniques and experimented constantly, but we knew from the beginning that our work could not feel like Granny’s dried arrangements. We studied relentlessly, finding solace and inspiration in creative platforms like Domestika. We’d watch something and immediately start practicing, applying new techniques and adapting the genius ideas of others into something uniquely ours. We simply did what we had to do.
When it comes to creative problem-solving, we always return to the roots of what formed us. Before there was a name, a website, an LLC, or even Honeybook it was just the two of us and the people who loved us. Any time a friend or family member had a birthday, memorial, anniversary, or moment worth honoring, we were asked to create a floral collage. That’s how it all started.
Our turning point came with Atoma, the first restaurant to believe in us as professionals in our craft. At that point, I had been working for Johnny and Sarah Courtney’s award-winning restaurant for about three months. We both needed to have jobs because our passion hadn’t yet reached a point of financial sustainability. Sarah knew we had a fledgling dried floral business, and next thing you know, she was asking Petra and me to bring our floral designs to life for Atoma’s Fall Equinox Party. Suffice it to say, the event was a huge success, and just like that, Atoma became our first official client. Not only did they believe in us for the party, they contracted us to be their house floral designers for the indefinite future. Their trust and support gave us the confidence to take the leap, leave behind the security of full-time jobs, and pursue Atomic Flora wholeheartedly. We are beyond grateful to Atoma for being our first client. Their belief in us remains one of the greatest honors of this journey, and it is the spark that lit everything that has followed. Here’s to growth, to bold beginnings, and to a future that is still unfolding.
From that point forward, we fully immersed ourselves in our art. With the encouragement of our friends, family, and clients, we finished running our business out of our home. We moved our business out from the cozy confines of our small apartment to a new space in the heart of Fremont, just a stone’s throw from our home. This studio has transformed into a vibrant, ever-evolving sanctuary where creativity is continuously pushed to its limits and reimagined. With the unwavering support of our friends and family, we recently celebrated a significant milestone, our Grand Opening and Open Studio this past February. This event wasn't just a celebration of how far we’ve come; it’s an invitation to share the essence of our journey, to open our world to the public, and to honor the growth, passion, and vision that have shaped Atomic Flora.
Out of death, life emerged. And that, in essence, is the blood in Atomic Flora’s heart. We believe that beauty doesn’t fade; it transforms. We work with dried flora, preserved botanicals, and high-quality silk elements to honor the life cycle of plants, giving them a second life as sculptural art. Instead of discarding what’s no longer fresh, we see elegance and meaning in what endures. Our arrangements celebrate impermanence while creating something permanent. Our work is space for reflection, a reason to slow down, and an invitation to find beauty in what was once overlooked. Through this philosophy, we turn stillness into story, decay into design. We offer an alternative to the fleeting beauty of fresh flowers. Our dried and preserved botanicals don’t wilt, fade, or beg to be tossed. They live in a space, low maintenance, sustainably made, and designed with purpose, becoming part of its story rather than just passing through it. This isn't just about life. It’s beauty that faces death and stays. Rooted in the belief that florals can be permanent and still deeply expressive, Atomic Flora bridges the gap between floral design and interior art. In this journey, we’ve found not only beauty in the impermanent but a commitment to sustainability and presence. Our work is built to last and made to belong.
This origin story has been hard. It’s been full of loss, mistakes, and pain. But through it all, there’s been a light, a glimmer of hope that has guided us. And now, what we’ve built isn’t just a business; it’s a testament to resilience, love, and the power of transformation and manifestation.
Furthermore, we are proud to partner with businesses that align with our core values of equality, professionalism, and community outreach. Two such partners are Lucy’s Bottle Shop and Baskette, which exemplify these principles. Lucy’s Bottle Shop, founded by Alyssa Lisle, is a woman-owned business that celebrates underrepresented voices in the wine industry. Their commitment to amplifying BIPOC artisans, women-owned wineries, and small-batch makers reflects our own values of inclusivity and support for marginalized communities. Similarly, Baskette, located in Fremont, is a bakery known for its exceptional quality and community engagement. Their dedication to both professionalism and local outreach mirrors our own mission to build a thriving, community-oriented business.
These partnerships are a reflection of a shared vision: to build a more inclusive, supportive, and creatively vibrant world. Through these collaborations, we continue to expand our reach and deepen our commitment to creating beauty that endures. This journey has been shaped by passion, resilience, and an unwavering belief in the power of art to transform spaces and lives. Atomic Flora is not just a business. It is a movement rooted in connection, intention, and care. Our work is about more than floral design. It is about crafting lasting beauty, forging meaningful relationships, and contributing to the spirit of the communities we serve. This dedication to transformation in both our creative practice and the bonds we build is what makes Atomic Flora stand out. It is also what keeps us moving forward with purpose.
We invested in ourselves. We bought an incredible printer. We picked up power tools to streamline our craft. We stocked up on materials and started buying wholesale. And we did all of it out of our 750-square-foot apartment in Fremont, Seattle. Every spare moment, every spare corner, was dedicated to building Atomic Flora.
We studied the art of building a business from the ground up. We read books, did our research, and began to visualize the future we wanted to create. Slowly, we started forming relationships with local businesses. Many of those early connections have become our most treasured and loyal clients. Even now, Atomic Flora isn’t making enough to sustain us on its own. So we keep working in the industry that shaped us. Petra continues to bring her warmth and care to the best Thai restaurant in our neighborhood, Kin Len. I’m still at Atoma, one of the most thoughtfully recognized restaurants in Seattle, located in the heart of Wallingford and recently nominated by the James Beard Foundation as Best New Restaurant in the United States.
We are still building, still dreaming.
We bring something deeply personal and unmistakably original to the dried floral world, blending high-level food and beverage experience with botanical art in a way that feels alive, intentional, and rooted in storytelling. We don’t just place flowers in spaces. We build emotion into rooms. Our work sits at the intersection of impermanence and permanence, beauty and decay, instinct and technique. We collaborate with some of the most respected hospitality spaces in Seattle, not by chance, but through trust. These are relationships built on consistency, creative intuition, and the kind of professionalism that comes from decades of working in and with restaurants. What makes us unique is not just the work. It is the approach. We apply our service industry minds to our art, offering the reliability, responsiveness, and thoughtfulness that hospitality professionals need. We translate that into stunning, conceptual floral installations that evolve with the seasons and the space.
Atomic Flora represents resilience, reinvention, and quiet excellence. We meet the criteria because we have taken risks, believed in each other, and turned grief, grit, and love into a growing, sustainable, and respected creative local business.