No matter how old you are, mother knows best
Photography by Lauren Allen
In July of 2024, Parker Paschall was tucked away in Seaside, Florida. He was there with his seven siblings, mom, dad, boyfriend and his brother’s wife. He had been working as a freelance florist. Weddings, events and decorated chaos was basically a full time job, so the vacation was a nice change of pace.
No floral responsibilities. No work talk.
“You’re opening up a store,” Paschall’s mother told him.
The thought was quickly dismissed.
“I don’t think that’s in my plan right now,” he shrugged off the idea.
“You are, you’re opening up a shop,” she stated plainly.
The back and forth continued but his mother’s resolve was unshakable. But he simply knew it wasn’t going to happen. It couldn’t. He didn’t have any money saved up, he had no plan and didn’t really know where to start.
He opened Parker Paschall Designs three months later on Oct. 1, offering floral arrangements for residential buildings, weddings, events, floral classes and seasonal installations.
Parker Paschall spent the first Saturday of the new year putting up the last remnants of Christmas items at his Hillside Village Shopping Center storefront. He’s setting up for Valentine’s Day, letting the whole store turn into an explosion of red and pink hues. This is what Paschall has always loved. The air of opportunity each new season brings. The next holiday, the next event, the next decorating class. The wheel keeps on spinning and the petals keep on falling.
As a child, he always found himself drawn to plants and flowers. When he began analyzing what he wanted to pursue, heading into the world of floral design seemed to be the perfect way to combine his love for events and holidays with his inherent connection to flowers and plants.
Photography by Lauren Allen
“I think it kind of all ties together. I love getting people together,” he says. “It just makes me happy being able to see all of these little things throughout the year that can bring people together.”
It would seem that finding and opening his storefront was yet another opportunity for Paschall to bring people together.
His father’s construction company knocked out almost all of the necessary remodeling the space needed in a week. His shop manager, Lori, taught him how to do floral arrangements as a child and is his mother’s best friend. His little brother Griffin also works in the shop. And of course, mom got the show on the road.
“Luckily, I have an incredible support system, even the people that work for me,” Paschall says. “I think I wouldn’t be even close to where I am today without all the people in my life, just because of how much people believe in me, even when sometimes I don’t.”
