A wide variety of events and celebrations take place in the Valley and many of them share something in common: flowers. Whether it’s a wedding in Redstone or a dinner in Aspen, lots of those flowers come from a local flower shop, Sunfresh Flowers, run by Laura Lucero.
Lucero grew up in Fort Collins but moved to the Valley in 1994 after spending some time in Washington, Oklahoma and Texas. She said the decision to move back to Colorado was simple.
Once settled, Lucero took a job at Planted Earth, a nursery that used to operate off of Highway 82 outside of Carbondale. There, she worked on floral arrangements and was later offered the opportunity to take over a local account, Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS), when she decided to launch Sunfresh Flowers.
Operating first from a small studio behind her home in Carbondale, Lucero began designing floral arrangements for weddings, special events and local customers. “We did a lot of weddings up in Redstone, Carbondale, Glenwood,” said Lucero.
Unlike bigger commercial florists who rely a lot on imported flowers, Lucero grows all of her own flowers. She also includes foraged materials like grasses and sage to mirror the feeling of the outdoors.
Among her partnerships has been the annual tradition of crafting custom floral crowns, boutonnieres and bouquets for CRMS graduates. Each spring, Lucero meets with the students ahead of time to ask their color and flower preferences before designing the pieces the night before graduation. “Flowers are perishable,” she said, “so I have to do them the night before, into the wee hours.”
On average, she created around 20 crowns and 20 bouquets for the ceremony. “It’s really cool to connect with each graduate,” said Lucero. “That’s what I love, connecting with the person I’m making something for. I think about them, and I let the colors and the design come to me.”
After assembling the flower arrangements for CRMS for nearly 30 years, Lucero is no longer continuing the account due to moving her business in a different direction.
While weddings and events, like the CRMS graduation, have made up the bulk of her work during busy summer seasons, Lucero has begun exploring new avenues. Most recently, she started supplying edible flowers to chefs, bakers and mixologists.
Her edible flowers can be found garnishing dishes and cocktails at places like Aspen Meadows and Aspen Public House, and through a growing partnership in Grand Junction with a pair of microgreen farmers.
The process of growing edible flowers, she explained, is more meticulous. “You have to baby them,” said Lucero. “You have to make sure they’re not getting bugs. That’s why I keep a fan running constantly in the greenhouse.” Harvested the morning of delivery, the flowers are packaged in clamshells to preserve freshness.
Another part of her business model includes a collaboration with Heirlooms Resale, a consignment store in Basalt. There, Lucero sells fresh bouquets available for design and purchase via a QR code. The idea grew out of a longstanding relationship with a friend and former client who now works at the store. “I’m always thinking of different ideas,” she said.
In the winter months, Lucero slows down with flowers to teach skiing and offers seasonal decorating services such as greenery and garlands to a handful of clients. She sources holiday greens through foraging trips with her husband and supplements arrangements with purchased eucalyptus and preserved flowers. “There’s plenty of greenery around here,” Lucero said. “It’s fresher, and you’re not spending so much money.”
Over the years, Lucero has seen the Valley change. Its rural and easygoing character, she says, has gradually turned into more refined tastes and higher expectations. Still, she’s committed to staying true to the creative image that started Sunfresh Flowers in the beginning.
“I’ve always stuck to the part of this that I love,” she said. “The connection and letting nature do its thing.”