Guillermo Herrera was born in Colombia in 1964 and his family owned three flower gardens in the country.
“My father was a cut flower pioneer in Colombia, along with seven other friends,” says Herrera.
As a young man, Guillermo traveled to the United States to attend college, where he met his wife, Marcia. After their marriage, the couple returned to Colombia to run the family business. Marcia was in charge of marketing and Guillermo oversaw the farm.
“It was good. It was an exciting job. It was stressful, but together we have accomplished many excellent projects,” said Marcia Herrera.
“We have about 350 employees, and after doing that for six years, we decided to set foot here in the Hartford area of the United States and sell directly from our farms to wholesalers,” he said. Guillermo says.
The couple founded Bella Rosa International, a flower importing company in 1996 and are now based in Bloomfield. They continued to buy products from farms they once owned in Colombia.
“We sold that farm, but we’re still very connected to the whole floral community there,” Guillermo said.
Guillermo said that as a new, minority-owned business in the area, it faced many challenges in its first few years.
“I had to visit salesmen and go to wholesalers and explain to people what we were doing. ‘ said Guillermo.
Over the last 20 years, the business has been able to flourish. Guillermo said he first sold to wholesalers and then to local supermarkets. But then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and like many businesses, the industry was hit hard.
“To the point where we were thinking of closing. At one point we had 35 employees, now we have just eight,” Guillermo says.
Guillermo says their doors remain open thanks to community support. Now the company is celebrating his 25th anniversary and looking to expand its operations.
The couple launched The Floral Club, where individuals or private businesses can sign up for membership to gain access to the company’s facilities, equipment, and resources, including transportation.
“So we have the necessary infrastructure to grow our flower business. We know the details and the design very well,” says Guillermo.
The company also offers design workshops. The concept is similar to the “Paint Night” event. You can sign up for lessons and create your own bouquet. A flower designer will be in charge of each session.
“Flowers make people happy. It’s one of the things I can do. I love the opportunity to come here and help with a class and teach people what someone else taught me,” says flower designer Debra Herr. said.
Guillermo says he also wants to give back to the community. Once a month, people can sign up for classes for charity, and the creations will be donated to local orphanages.
“I know I’ve been delivering to nursing homes this time of year, fall, winter, holidays, Christmas and Thanksgiving,” said flower designer Tammy Meyer.
“We continue to look for different ways to make the flower industry happy. and I really hope that this flower club will thrive and that these people will be able to continue with us,” said Guillermo Herrera.
Floral Club starts in October. All members are eligible for a 2 month free trial. Click here at the beginning of the month for more information.
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