Concept: The focus at Form Floral is on creating and selling items that elevate even the everyday experience. “I think everything you do on a daily basis should be filled with joy,” Maeva explains. “Maybe you need to wash dishes but you have this soap that smells incredible and can make the task something you actually look forward to. With our florals, we want to cause a stir and create visual impact. We think of ourselves as fine artists who are changing the face of floral design.”

History: Maeva went to college in Chicago, earned a degree in marketing, then moved back to Phoenix, where she landed a marketing position. “It didn’t take long for me to realize I hated it,” she recalls. “I’m not a desk person. But I learned that the company I was working for did their own flower arrangements for clients, so I asked if I could get involved in that aspect. It was so sweaty, messy and not glamorous, and I loved it immediately.” She stayed about a year longer, then left to start her own company in 2013. “It was a home-based business called Hoot & Holler, and we just did weddings and events,” she notes. “In 2018, we rebranded as Form Floral, a name we thought aligned better with what we wanted to be, and in 2021 we opened our brick-and-mortar retail space.”

Style options: Boho, Modern, Romantic and Unique are classifications that guide the look of creations Maeva and her team produce. “We don’t do tight balls of roses,” the main maker declares. “Our style options are looser, a little wilder.”

Inspiration: “I love to travel and always find inspiration from being in new places,” Maeva says. “Lately I’ve been craving rich, bold colors. There’s been too much beige for too long. It was fine, but we’re done.”

What’s in store: “I like to sell things that are functional and beautiful, from soaps to flowers,” Maeva enthuses. Choices include dried as well as fresh blooms—sold by the stem and always seasonal—along with “plants that are difficult to kill,” such as ferns, ZZ plant and pothos. “I love having flowers people have never seen before, like double tulips and the black bearded iris,” she adds. Dried flowers are also popular, with many varieties and a rainbow of colors on display at any given time, and often are combined with fresh flowers in bouquets and arrangements. “A lot of people can’t tell the difference,” she says with a grin.

Don’t miss: Along with plants, flowers and soaps, fun finds include a variety of such gift items as puzzles, greeting cards, candles, incense, select pantry items and an interesting assortment of containers.

Scope of services: “We do flowers, including daily deliveries, weddings and corporate events, and we will be incorporating funeral arrangements to the mix in the near future,” Maeva notes. Adding that they handle the florals for about 100 weddings a year throughout Arizona, she says outdoor weddings are especially popular. “We fell into that niche before the pandemic, which really served us well,” she adds.

Most memorable creation: “Right when the shutdown happened we had a cooler full of flowers. I took them home and did a huge installation along the stair railing on the second story of my condo,” Maeva relates. “It consisted primarily of white roses and East Texas lilacs, and it’s one of our most-liked posts on Instagram of all time.” Another creation they continue to receive comments on is an 8-foot circle arch in moody colors they did for a wedding in Sedona.

Why it’s good to be you: “My parents were both entrepreneurs, and I always wanted to work for myself in a creative capacity,” Maeva says. “I feel really lucky that I get to follow these creative whims and connect with creative people in the community. The more I do this, the more I have to pinch myself,” she adds. “Last year there were four of us; now there are nine. And I still have my hands all over everything. I love that I get to be hands-on with the things I love.”

What sets you apart: “I’m not classically trained, so we do things very differently,” Maeva points out. “Nothing is a preset design. We use the freshest flowers we can find and the most interesting materials for the season, and we work hard to maintain our creative edge. People keep opening the door for us to be creative. And that trust really means a lot to me.”