I am 225: Molly McWhorter & Courtney duQuesnay

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Molly McWhorter and Courtney duQuesnay only met last year, but you might think they’ve been friends forever. As they sip beverages on a fall afternoon at Light House Coffee, they finish each other’s sentences.

It’s a synergy they’ve developed guiding pop-up workshops together for Bubbles + Blooms Botanical Bar. They teach attendees how to create floral centerpieces, crowns and wreaths.

McWhorter and duQuesnay met while working at a local advertising agency and realized they shared a love for flowers. Discussing simple home bouquets and more elaborate arrangements they’d dabbled in for weddings planted the seed for what would become a full-fledged flower workshop and event business. They launched Bubbles + Blooms in November 2017.

They typically host six to 25 people for classes running 90 minutes to two hours. They try to source in-season flowers from sustainable businesses and commit to using water-based arrangements rather than ones with floral foam, which is not biodegradable.

They have several regular guests whose familiar faces they often see at workshops. They fondly recall one grandmother, her daughter and the daughter’s baby who have been to several events. DuQuesnay made a tiny flower crown for the baby.

“It’s just sort of infectious,” McWhorter says, “because everyone feels so happy when you play with flowers.”

In the future, they hope to open a brick-and-mortar space. In fact, as she looks around the bustling Light House Coffee shop today, McWhorter imagines creating a similar setting.

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“I grew up in Baton Rouge, and I’ve never felt more connected to the community than I have through Bubbles + Blooms. We’ve partnered with a lot of restaurants and get to go to these really cool locations. I work from home, so it really does give me an outlet. I think it gives other people an outlet, too, to be social and do something creative.”

—Courtney duQuesnay

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NEXT WORKSHOP

Dec. 18: Holiday Flower Arrangement at The Royal Standard, 6-7:30 p.m. botanical-bar.com

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This article was originally published in the December 2018 issue of 225 Magazine.