While Sarah Evans may have begun her career in television production, the self-proclaimed “fleurtographer” has come a long way since then.
Born and raised in Brantford, Evans went to school in Toronto to pursue a film degree at York University, and it was there where she took photography classes during her studies and learned to shoot on film.
“At one point I was working at a music studio and some actors would come up and ask me to do their headshots and of course I said yes,” she said. “It ended up growing from there and I eventually ended up going to events and taking photos so it was kind of a natural progression, and I realized I really liked it.”
After working in television for seven years, Evans found herself naturally heading towards a career in photography.
“I did film production and I worked in television for about seven years, and then photography naturally came out of that,” she said. “I had this cushy production job in television, and I honestly ended up hating it to the point where people could see that. So, eventually I left, and I started my photography business around 2010 and then that kind of followed me to Ottawa when I moved there with my spouse.”
Nearly 14 years later, Evans said that she loves to do a variety of different photography.
“In my soul, what I love to do the most is experimental things but that doesn’t always pay the bills, but I do love doing portraiture.I love taking pictures of people, and I really like to do candid and relaxed family photos in the home. I got to do that recently and it brought me a lot of joy,” she explained. “I also work quite a few events and I’ve done a few projects with Big Cityyy Arts as well. But overall, I want to do more creative shoots. The last creative shoot I did was in the Dog Eared Café in Paris and I made a bunch of women into their male alter egos and we fabricated the stories around these men and what they do”
Not only does Evans work as a photographer, but she also owns her own floral business called Belle Florals, and wants to continue combining her two loves.
After having her daughter in 2015, she took some time off from photography and after being at home for a while, she was looking for something new to do.
“After I had my daughter, I didn’t know if I was ready to go back to taking photos quite yet because I had a little baby, but I was bored out of mind,” she laughed. “A friend of mine had a flower shop and I had asked her if I could just come in to sweep the floors and help process flowers and she agreed. Eventually she asked me if I wanted to make some bouquets with her and I continued to just keep learning from her and she continued teaching me. She’s the most incredible designer and I’m so lucky to have gotten those hands-on experiences.”
In August of 2020, when she was six months pregnant with her second baby, Evans and her family decided to move back to her hometown. With the uncertainty of the on-going pandemic, she was unsure if she would ever return to photography.
“When the world shut down, I was thinking ‘well at this rate, I’ll probably never be taking photos again because all my clients are in Ottawa,’ and that’s when I started the flower business,” she said. “That September, I opened up Belle Florals and I had my son in November. I took two weeks off and was back in by Christmas.”
While she continued to work on her floral business, something happened that she wasn’t expecting. Friends in town started reaching out and asking her to take photos and her business began to build up again.
“You know, it’s a reassuring thing when people tell you they want to work with you for what you do and what you produce and not just because they need someone,” she said. “It’s a special thing when people say ‘I like what you do and I want you to work with me.’”
Evans said that getting to mix her art forms lets her embrace her creative side and tap into her imagination.
“As a kid I was very artsy and crafty,” she said. “I feel like the influences have always been there and I get to use my imagination in my adult brain in a different way.”
When it comes to her creative process with photography, Evans says it’s all about going with the flow.
“A lot of the time I’ll have a vague idea of what I want to do, but I find that a lot of the time an idea totally changes. I usually go into shoots with a rough plan and then I go from there,” she said. “I do that because I find that you will think you have an amazing idea and get fixated on it, but when you get there it just doesn’t work and it’s devastating. I really try to leave that little bit of room in case things hit the fan and we can regroup.”
Her approach to designing florals is similar in a way.
“It’s very much like how I approach anything which is very spur of the moment,” she said. “There’s always a vague idea, but generally you’re working with nature and so you kind of have to work with what you have. Sometimes you will have a flower that won’t go where you want it to and it’s frustrating, so you really have to be open to going with the flow.”
While Evans has done a large portion of her floral business online, she most recently acquired a vendor spot in the Brantford Market selling her florals.
“I did a flower delivery to a woman here at the market and she told me that they needed a florist because they didn’t have one,” she said. “…At one point I finally asked what the cost was to run the booth and it was reasonable so thought I should give it a go.”
Since joining the market, Evans has had several customers who make it a point to purchase a bouquet every weekend.
She said that while there are many regulars who visit the market every weekend and others who only visit every so often, she would love to see more people stop in to see what’s available.
“There’s so many awesome vendors here now and it changes every so often, I wish more people would come in to see what we all have to offer,” said Evans.
She noted that while it can be stressful to be a small business owner, she wouldn’t trade it for a nine to five job.
“I feel very fortunate because not a lot of people are able to do the things that they love, but it can also be extremely stressful. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m making millions of dollars, and it’s a lot of work and sometimes I do wonder how I would feel if I went back to that structure,” she said. “But deep down I have done that, those were rough days and it was brutal. So as much as I sometimes lament about being a small business owner and the struggles, I don’t know if I could do anything else. Being a small business has always been ingrained in me, my mom was a small business owner and my brother is a small business owner, so it’s a part of us and I think it’s worth it to be able to get to do something that at least brings joy.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
