In a city with dozens of small, local businesses, entrepreneurs like Monica Martinez of Blossom Bar and Crystal Lee of the handmade jewelry shop, Daizy Baby, success is about more than profits. It’s the joy of sharing their craft, meeting new people and doing what they love every day.
Blossom Bar
Reaching its first anniversary in March, Martinez owner of the Blossom Bar pop-up shop, said her business began in an organic way.
After struggling to find a flower bar service in El Paso for her friend’s bridal party, Martinez decided to create one herself, starting with just a couple of metal buckets, a table and cloth.
“She wanted it to be floral themed, like love is in bloom, something like that. So, we were looking at trends and ideas to do, and she wanted a flower bar,” Martinez said. “It’s like a party favor, and your guest leaves with a bouquet that they get to make and pick themselves.”
Learning everything she’d need to make her friend’s party a unique experience; Martinez went down a rabbit hole searching for how to set up a ‘flower bar’ experience.
Photo courtesy of Monica Martinez.
“We wanted it to feel like a luxurious, actual experience. So, we started researching to see what we could do, and we decided to do a wood cart.
We got it built in Juarez, we let him know [about] our designs, and he measured it for the buckets we used. And then I did a lot of [shopping from] Amazon and Hobby Lobby.” Martinez said.
Martinez found herself drawn to chatting with the guests, arranging flowers and watching people light up as they built their own bouquets.
Turning a fun DIY project into the spark Martinez needed to build her own unique business.
“From that first event, I fell in love, like, I felt the spark or the connection,” Martinez said. “My husband is the one who actually pushed me. He was like, hey, ‘you said there‘s no one really doing it here. Why don‘t you start it?’”
With the support of her husband and close friends who helped her build the cart and assist at events, what started as a creative side hustle blossomed into a thriving small business that she hopes will one day turn into a full-time job.
Martinez said that along with the growth came new challenges, like balancing Blossom Bar with her full-time job, marriage and motherhood.
“I think my biggest struggle right now is juggling all of the aspects of my life and still running a business,” Martinez said. “I want to keep my glass full in every relationship that I have. But it is super challenging to try and balance everything.”
As a new business owner, she also had to navigate unfamiliar territory. Martinez spent hours researching flower care, maintenance and marketing strategies, unsure at first what the El Paso community would expect from such a new business. Though the local floral industry proved more competitive than she initially imagined, she says the connections she builds with customers continue to make the long days’ worth it.
Daizy Baby
Seen at dozens of market events across El Paso, the seed for Lee’s hand crafted, floral themed jewelry shop, Daizy Baby, was planted during the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Quarantine gave her the time to focus and explore her passion for creating jewelry.
“I just wanted to do something different. Before, in the beginning, just for fun, I would make, like, clay charms and different things like that,” Lee said. “And I was thinking about, well, what can I do to make myself different and stand out, but also something that everyone would love?”
The answer to that would come from nature. Pressing flowers, many of which came from her mother’s plants or her friend‘s flower farm, into necklaces and earrings. Lee even turns other natural materials like wild strawberries into works of art.
Photo courtesy of Crystal Lee.
“Preserving the flowers into jewelry was something different, and it‘s really great, because you get to actually find the different meanings from the flowers. Then for them, it creates a story, and they really connect with it. So, for me, I really just loved creating something that people would connect with,” Lee said.
For Lee, her family were some of her first supporters toward her endeavor to bring something new to the people of El Paso. Her mother, who is an entrepreneur herself, having run her own business acted as a mentor, attending all her markets and helping where she can.
Then, in 2023, Daizy Baby officially transformed from a side gig beside her work at her family’s restaurant to her full-time job.
“I’ve been very blessed and lucky with a lot of people supporting me and wearing my jewelry and telling me that, ‘Oh my gosh, they received so many compliments’ that it‘s a staple, and they‘re building their collection, and overall for me, and I‘m really glad that people like and love my little creations,” Lee said.
Putting everything she earned right back into her business, Lee added that some of her biggest challenges came from handling nearly every aspect of the business herself. From production and photography to marketing and website management.
“There is a lot of craftsmanship that goes into [running a] small businesses,” Lee said. “People like to think of costly versus expensive. Costly is the price that it is because people have taken the time to hone in on their craftsmanship, the quality, the workmanship they put towards that.”
Much like Martinez, Lee measures success in more than profit. It’s the way people are excited by her products and getting the chance to build her career out of something she loves.
“Don’t be afraid to fail,” Lee said. “I think you have to be okay with the chance that it might happen. But take calculated risks. Do a lot of research. If it doesn’t work out, pivot, go into something else.”
While both women found success in turning their passions into businesses, they acknowledge the risks that come with entrepreneurship. They encourage other women to not to be afraid to fail and take calculated risks.
Jewel Ocampo is a staff reporter and may be reached at Jnocampo
