RW Profile: Christy Doramus

Queen of Much More than Flowers

From crafting crowns to becoming queen of the flowers, transitions, unsolicited advice, and so much more!

Christy Doramus is a mother, creative consultant, and flower crown extraordinaire. Carving her own path by turning her hobby into an international success. She has an extensive career in public relations, aiding her client Drew Barrymore in her launch of Flower Beauty. Christy now resides in New York City, on the weekends spending time in her garden in Bridgehampton (aka her happy place).

With lots of advice for young entrepreneurs through her creative background and her aptitude for gardening and interior design, she shows us how hard work can pay off. Christy demonstrates how following your passions and trusting your intuitions will always lead you to success.

Growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Christy always dreamed of living in New York City. As a first step, Christy went to college in San Fransico eventually interning in New York at Glamour Magazine. Feeling compelled, she stayed in the city, loving its electric charm most of us east coasters and native new yorkers are so familiar with. Graduating in 2009, during the worst of the recession proved to be difficult. Hopping from magazine to magazine really emphasized how hard it was to find a job in the industry.

CD: “They said to me ‘look we don’t even know if we’ll have a job tomorrow, you might want to consider a new career.“

This shift leads her to find her career in public relations, where she worked at Alison Brod Public Relations taking on well-known beauty and fashion brands as clients. After a bit, Christy began to get that creativity bug. The familiar itch we all have to expand our potential, little did she know what would happen next… She was able to help out her clients and bosses by tossing her hat in the ring for some new opportunities at work. Creating flower arrangements for clients, planning parties, and event designing benefitted both Christy creatively and the client who in the process, was saving money.

Enter: The flower crowns.

Christy was working with a french client who requested new trendy floral headpieces. The client had no luck and was striking out with local florists to get the job done.

Enter: Christy.

Creating a smash hit, her crowns took off. Christy suddenly found herself crafting 300 crowns for Old Navy, getting calls from Victoria’s Secret to make crowns for an employee event and so much more. It got to a point where she was waking up at 4am to go to the New York City Flower Market and started crafting under her desk at her day job.

CD: “I just answered the calls when they came. I was basically the Flower Crown Clown.”

Christy created an Instagram page that massed thousands of followers and even published a how-to book in 2015 (one she says would be much different if she wrote it today).

“Sometimes just listen to what your instincts are telling you, if you’re really passionate about something, things might go your way.” – Christy Doramus

@ChristysGarden 101:

• Veggie Garden or Flower Garden? I have both, but have to go with flowers!
• Must-Have Flower for a Garden: Roses!
• Favorite Flower: Juliette Garden Rose.
• Christy’s Gardening Tip: Perfection does not exist and also have lots of patience, it does not come together overnight!
• Favorite Place to Thrift Out East: Estate Sales and Collette.
• Favorite Place to Thrift in NYC: Vintage Thrift NYC on 23rd and 3rd.
• Christy’s Thrifting Tip: Bring cash! It’s easier to negotiate. Bring post-its with your information on them and put one on an item you want. It can be really overwhelming for the people working sometimes! It allows you to keep shopping without being worried someone will swipe it!
• Career Advice: No matter what job you’re in be nice to your interns because they might be the person who hires you one day!

Christy and I got to chat about the digital world, the real world, and everything in between.

GG: What is your opinion on the idea of turning your passion into your career?

CD: Too much of anything is exhausting, too much of anything will burn you out. Making flower crowns wasn’t necessarily my passion but it was a hobby for sure and something I enjoyed. I felt burnt out when it started to consume all my personal time on my weekends, stopping me from hanging out with my husband. Being double, triple, booked every weekend, and leaving my friend’s wedding early for an event is really when I realized: it can be fun, but this is work.

GG: Tell me about your views towards social media- post using it for work.

CD: The pandemic was so awful for many reasons, but the positive for me was that it was the pause I really needed. It forced me to focus on the things that matter. I just recently changed my Instagram to just my name. So now it’s @Christysgarden, funny because the one hour I spend in my garden a day is the hour I am not on my phone. My garden is always something I’ve been passionate about but just never had the time. Now that I’ve slowed down a bit, I don’t even take my phone into my garden, it’s my quiet time.

GG: Seeing you on @Homeworthy was so incredible. How does your interior style reflect your personal style?

CD: I like to walk in and be greeted with happiness. I’m a stickler for always making my bed in the morning, even when I lived in the smallest space, I just knew that this is my 400-square feet of joy. I don’t think you need to have a big home to have that mindset. My poor dad growing up probably repainted my room every year! I also don’t like spending a lot of money doing it, I get the most joy when I can find a thrifted item or an estate sale find. That makes me so much happier than buying restoration hardware $5,000 couch.

Putting her crowns down for a bit, Christy went on to launch Drew Barrymore’s makeup line Flower Beauty. Working on events for Drew and helping her run her personal Twitter and Instagram accounts.

“I really am the queen of a transition.”

While the whole world shifted during the pandemic when the events really slowed down, Christy started doing virtual events for her clients. Still using her creative powers to create DIY at-home ice cream parties, shipping hundreds of boxes of dry ice and supplies across the country! Working tirelessly and consistently for many years, nonstop, Christy finally was able to take time to slow down after becoming pregnant and having her son.

“I was always saying yes, yes, yes to everything and then when I had the baby I was like oh wow! I want to present because I’ll never get this time back with him. When people asked me what I’m doing I started to say ‘I’m just being a mom!“

A Renaissance Woman is a woman of many talents, and Christy embodies this identity so wholely. Be fearless in your pursuits, stay true to yourself and you will be rewarded.

Be sure to follow Christy on Instagram! @ChristysGarden