Goddess Arrangements & Snack Bouquets
Featured bouquet: Halo-Halo. Photography Khariza Rae.
Sister-owned Diosa Blooms reps their Filipino roots through floral art.
Text Dyanna Villaluna Volek
Photography Khariza Rae
For the sister-creatrixes of Filipinx-owned florist/plant shop Diosa Blooms, resilience has been at the core of their business long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Beginning as a side hustle for sisters Krisha Militante and Jasmin Beltran (and later joined by their other sisters Kaylene and Katie Militante) in 2018, the business blossomed from wrapping bouquets out of car trunks into a full-time enterprise - despite the reservations of other family members.
“They wanted us to succeed and do well, but they were definitely fearful and doubtful,” says Krisha. “They were scared for our security, and we had to prove to them that we were serious.”
Kaylene, Krisha, and Katie Militante in Chinatown, San Francisco. Photo courtesy of Diosa Blooms.
The sisters soldiered through, adapting to the business side of things and the opening of a small storefront in San Francisco’s Mission District. Customers were thrilled by the quality of Diosa Bloom’s floral arrangements and welcoming atmosphere. Eventually, they would calm their family’s misgivings with a move to a larger location in the same neighborhood. Although it happened in July 2020 - right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic - demand for all things flora was steadily increasing, as people stuck at home filled the social and self-care void with plants.
“We have been operating fully in-store during the pandemic,” says Kaylene. “It has felt more spoon-fed than resilient. We’re figuring out what is normal for us.”
With recovery and re-opening slowly unfurling in the Bay, the new normal for Diosa Blooms will likely include more opportunities for creative exploration as one of their larger accounts closes, giving them time to focus on passion projects.
“We’re hoping to start our own floral studio and set up online floral classes,” said Kaylene. “We want to connect back to our Filipino roots. It’s a big thing for us to connect our flowers back to who we are. We want to continue our creativity within our floral work and make someone laugh.”
Featured bouquet: Shrimp Chips. Photography Khariza Rae.
Featured bouquet: Hot Cheetos. Photography Khariza Rae.
One such floral work that has sparked joy has been creating bouquets that resemble popular Filipino snacks such as halo-halo and dried mango. The idea flowered when Kaylene was creating a bouquet for a customer while eating Shrimp Chips, and she noticed how the long fry-like chip resembled the spadix of the vibrant pink anthurium.
In the face of change and in an industry that is predominantly white, Diosa Blooms remains both committed to welcoming all and to celebrating the inner Diosa (Di(y)osa means goddess in both Tagalog and Spanish) within each of their customers, regardless of their gender. Their gorgeous “Goddess Arrangements” named after pre-colonial Tagalog goddesses are bright offerings of reverence to the divine.
Featured bouquet: Dried Mangoes. Photography Khariza Rae.
“Anyone can be a diosa,” says Kaylene. “We want anyone to feel that they can come to the store and feel they are welcome and celebrated for being who they are.”
This also means being culturally aware of the community that they are in and creating a space that would be welcoming to their neighbors first. Part of their philosophy includes reasonable pricing (at a price point their nanay wouldn’t scoff at) and donations to non-profit organizations.
“Knowing our main product is flowers, we want to give an offering that makes someone happy,” said Krisha. “We’re in it for the happiness of our community.”
Kaylene, Krisha, and Katie Militante in Chinatown, San Francisco. Photo courtesy of Diosa Blooms.
When asked what they would offer if someone requested a bouquet that represented resilience, the sisters responded that they would create a bouquet that demonstrated how Filipinx Americans have stayed resilient through these times.
“It would be a bouquet of tropical flowers that is super representative of our culture, friends and family,” said Kaylene, calling to mind plants like Bulaklak ng Paraiso (Flower of Paradise), Bird of Paradise, Banana Flowers, and Monstera leaves.
“We’re inspired to go even harder for our community of Filipinos,” said Krisha. “We want to bring more work that represents our Filipino side and our mother home.”
