Get expert advice on flower care hacks, floral trends to watch, and choose bouquets that will impress at every event!

The Shops at Buffalo Run is home to a diverse mix of local retailers including Nabi Flowers, Diana Davila’s first business. Nabi Flowers is a unique flower boutique where Diana combines her passion for all things floral, while also celebrating her Korean heritage.

Nabi Flowers inspires an elevated, beautiful and aspirational shopping experience for selecting the perfect flower bouquet or new plant for yourself or a loved one. Read on for Diana’s expert advice on how to choose the right flowers for every occasion, trends to watch, and tips about caring for your flowers so they stay fresh longer.

Diana Creates Elevated Florals Inspired by Korean Heritage

Diana’s journey to opening Nabi Flowers is a perfect union of her academic background blended with her passion for all things floral. With a University of Calgary bachelor of commerce degree, majoring in operations and supply chain management, Diana was well-positioned to dovetail her creative mindset and entrepreneurial passion to ensure Nabi Flowers can be a flourishing local business for the community surrounding The Shops at Buffalo Run.

Growing up visiting her family in South Korea, Diana learned floral training in her aunt’s flower shop and felt pride in knowing she was making a small difference by adding beauty to someone’s day. Diana has always loved giving and receiving flowers, and opening her own flower boutique was a serendipitous evolution from working in her aunt’s store to now owning her own.

Buffalo Run: An Oasis for Small Businesses

Choosing to open her first business venture at The Shops at Buffalo Run was an easy decision for Diana. She explains, “Taza has opened up a really great opportunity for both large and smaller businesses here, and I really appreciate that they were really open minded when I inquired about a flower shop. They were very supportive of my small business, and even though this is my first store, they welcomed me and I am so happy to be part of the community here.”

Diana loves meeting her new clients and says “I like how everyone comes in for different reasons and it’s very rewarding to help someone as they share a thoughtful gesture with someone. It can be for a happy or a sad occasion, but I feel grateful to be a small part of bringing beauty and thoughtfulness to someone’s day.”

Running her own business means daily problem-solving and new learnings every week. Diana is proud that people who find her shop tell her how delighted they are to find a flower boutique that is locally owned and run.

Choose Fitting Florals For Every Occasion & Event

Nabi has flowers for every occasion – bouquets for every day, vase arrangements, and designer arrangements with added elements like branch florals. Diana loves working with clients to create beautiful floral compositions for different events including graduations, funerals/celebrations of life, baby showers, corporate events and weddings. The most unusual request Diana received was for a gothic flower bouquet for a bride that requested all black flowers to complete her vampire princess wedding theme for a small backyard wedding.

Diana says, “The beauty of floral design is that each client is unique, and as an art form, I love incorporating my own style and design into the florals I create. I also really strive to understand who my client is, or who they are buying for, when I design an arrangement.”

When helping a client who is shopping for someone else, Diana loves the thoughtfulness and care they put into finding the perfect arrangement. If the buyer is stumped on what to buy, she always shares ideas on how to create a beautiful arrangement with seasonal flowers.

Though it seems impossible to choose, Diana does have a favourite flower and says, “Camomile is such a versatile flower. It’s very dainty and adds a sweet touch to any arrangement. I love how it looks on its own or in a beautiful bouquet complementing a variety of other shapes and colours.”

For classic wedding florals, anniversaries or birthdays, she says roses are always a go-to, and with so many colours and variations, the options are truly endless. “Ranunculus is also very elegant and peonies are perfect right now for variation, texture and style,” she adds.

Diana also sells dried eucalyptus and bunches of lavender that are perfect for using in the shower as aromatherapy. She shares, “My personal favourite is to buy a bunch of fresh eucalyptus. You can enjoy it in your living room and then you can dry it by hanging it upside down in a dark cool place. Hang it in your shower, where the steam and heat will release the beneficial compounds and you can enjoy a relaxing, spa-like experience every day at home.”

These simple arrangements are the perfect gift for the busy, bustling people in your life. No additional care is required, and the aromatherapy can offer a welcome moment of relaxation.

Nabi Flowers offers a “Signature Nabi Bouquet” at every price point starting at $55.00 with a custom bouquet of seasonal fresh flowers and greenery. These are arranged with their signature wrapping style using Premium Korean Wrapping Paper. You can choose your own florals and wrapping colours to make the bouquet a perfect gift for your special someone!

Korean-Inspired Elements Create a Unique Style

Nabi Flowers exemplifies many elements of Diana’s Korean heritage. Entering the shop is a peaceful, serene ambience, uniquely incorporating hanok design which is rooted in Korea — with dark wood beams, a flood of natural light and Korean inspired art. Nabi means butterfly in Korean and Diana loves the interwoven elements of uniqueness, transformation and rebirth to embody the care and love she has poured into her flower shop. She also uses Korean premium wrapping paper for bouquets, folded in the same special way she was taught in her aunt’s shop in South Korea long ago.

Floral Trends That Are Going to Keep Growing

While roses are a timeless choice, there are some floral trends that are having their moment in the sun right now. Diana says flower arches and flower crowns are making their way back into the spotlight, and that Calgarians’ love of nature and wildflower-filled meadows has inspired her floral designs that incorporate ever-popular and classic roses with seasonal wildflowers.

Right now, she says cosmos wildflowers are in season and their bright punch of colour is so happy and cheerful.

As for up and coming trends, Diana says there is a welcome move to more sustainable practices for the floral industry, including removing flower foam and a focus on environmentally friendly packaging and transport methods. Flowers are shipped from all over South America, and she loves incorporating daisies and peonies from British Columbia at this time of year, keeping her product as local as possible.

Expert Tips from Nabi Flowers to Keep Your Florals Fresh

Diana shares her top tips for ensuring your flowers last as long as possible, “Definitely make sure to keep your flowers in a cool area, away from direct sunlight. Change the water every three days and you can also trim an inch off the stems at an angle as it helps the flowers absorb more water.”

She also adds that a common mistake people make is to overfill the vase with water, and recommends that just three inches of stem are covered in water, otherwise too much water can expedite their demise.

For more inspiration, visit Nabi Flowers for all your gifting, holidays, event arrangements or simply to treat yourself to some fresh florals for your home. Explore more at The Shops at Buffalo Run and make sure to join our online community and follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on new retailers opening at Taza.

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