There’s a lot of beauty sprinkled throughout Gabriela Salazar’s Instagram feed: colorful Dahlia, pretty poppies and, occasionally, Gabriela herself wandering through her cut-flower garden in the small hillside town of Valle de Bravo, Mexico, which is about 100 miles southwest of Mexico City.
It is there, in that picturesque town on the shore of Lake Avándaro, that Gabriela works her floral magic. From the garden, which she planted only a few years ago, she sources flowers for her La Musa de las Flores floral studio and its weddings, events and design classes.
It’s also where much of her Instagram inspiration comes from. Gabriela, whose floral design clients include Hermès, Mont Blanc and Yves Saint Laurent, shares images of her creations on the site as a way to preserve and disperse what is otherwise an ephemeral beauty with thousands of people around the world.
“Five years ago, I was starting to do floral design, and Instagram seemed to be a great platform to not only share my journey but also to get to know the floral community,” she says. “As florists, we work with perishables, so it is through photography that we share our work with the world. I think that’s great about Instagram.”
who Gabriela Salazar, of La Musa de las Flores, a floral studio in Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
why we like it The only thing more visually stunning than Gabriela’s photos on her Instagram feed are the flowers themselves: natural, colorful, artistic and, quite simply, enchanting.
consistency counts One might think a strategy would be helpful in garnering a following of more than 131,000 Instagrammers, but not for Gabriela. “The only strategy, if I can call it that, is that I like to be consistent with my posts. I think people like honest posts and to get to know you as person – sometimes happy, full of energy and creativity but also vulnerable and doubting your creative process.”
how it’s helped“ Instagram is a great tool to expand your boundaries. It is great to know that I have made my way to teach in Korea or China through Instagram. Also, I receive messages from people wanting to change careers, asking about floral design or growing their own gardens, and I love to be able to inspire them to make changes in their lives.”
power posts For Gabriela, the posts with the most are those that showcase her most beautiful flowers – and she’s very deliberate in choosing just which flowers to highlight. “People love to see beautiful flowers. A special flower in the garden gets more likes than anything else. That makes me happy because I believe we all get to admire nature, and maybe that way I can also inspire people be more conscious about respecting nature and not taking for granted what is given to us.”
added bonus Beyond connecting with other florists and sharing her creations, Gabriela has also found a nice personal benefit of using Instagram. “Instagram is a great tool, and it’s also a way of keeping a creative journal for yourself.”
see for yourself @lamusadelasflores
