From Big City Entrepreneur to Small Town Mom: A Floral Designer's Unconventional Path to Motherhood and the Blooms That Followed
While a career path blossomed with every event, tablescape and wedding Natalie Bowen Brookshire's floral design business touched (just thumb through the pages of Vogue, Sunset Magazine, Bon Appétit, or Town and Country, NBD!), her route to motherhood was quite the opposite—a long, windy, but nevertheless beautiful road that would eventually lead her and her husband to the joyful beats their hearts were longing for—Friday and Hawk.
Natalie invited us into her midcentury-modern abode in Chico, CA for a warm and whimsical tour brimming with blooms, amazing artwork, vintage statements and two, adorable stars that stole the show.
Meet Golden Girl // Natalie Bowen Brookshire
Photography by: Katie Cook
Tell us about the crew that makes up your sweet family of 4?
My kids are Friday (6) and Hawk (5). They take the term “spirited children” to the next level! My husband, Seth, is an architect and builder who continues to work primarily in the City, though we just recently moved our lives to the small town of Chico, CA to raise our crew with more space, nature and a sweet community.
Natalie | Moon River Dress
Friday | 2nd Hand Gap
Hawk | Shirt, Boutique Sayulita
Though the story deserves much more than a small paragraph, could you share a bit about your path to motherhood?
I thought becoming a Mother would be easy. I was caught off guard when it was not what I expected. I spent 5 years going through infertility issues, 3 miscarriages and failed IVF. At a certain point I connected with the knowledge that my need to be a Mother was stronger then my need to be pregnant. My Father, Uncle and cousin were all adopted so I have seen families find each other this way.
Once we decided to start the process, it flowed. It was nine months from our first meeting to the day my daughter was born. We were so fortunate, as adoption is rarely this smooth.
We had an open adoption when Friday was eleven months old, and when her biological mom shared she was pregnant again, we were her first choice to raise the baby. A premature (7 weeks early!) labor rushed us to the airport and eventually the NICU, where we lived with our new baby boy in another state, waiting for him to breathe on his own. Two weeks after he was born, his biological mom decided she wanted to be a parent and we returned home broken hearted, without our Son. We grieved for the rest of the year and ten months later we got a call that she wanted us to adopt him. We jumped on a plane again and although what followed was complex and complicated, we got our happy ending. In 2020 we went to SF City Hall where they declared him our son and us a family of four.
We love your kiddo’s names! Is there a story behind them?
My daughter is Friday Viola and my son is Renzo Hawthorn “Hawk”. We threw names around for so long but once I threw out the name “Friday” it stuck. Seth and I took a trip to the San Juan Islands on a ferry to Orcas island. We had just left the dock in Friday Harbor and I said, “what about the name Friday? Everyone loves Friday.” It was also on that trip that we had become a match with Fridays biological mother, finally feeling like parenthood may finally become our path.
Because I am a florist I wanted to incorporate flowers and nature into their names. Viola is a flower and Hawthorn is a flowering tree. My husband is an architect and Renzo (after Renzo Piano) is my favorite architect.
What excites you about raising Friday and Hawk?
The fact that I even get to raise kids. I yearned to be a mother for so long, no matter how hard it can be, I am grateful daily.
We’re sure there are many years and tiresome hours behind your beautiful designs, but we can’t help but feel your knack for florals is in your blood. Is there a history of floral artists in the fam?
A life centered around flowers is in my blood. My Grandmother had a flower shop in the lobby of the Mark Hopkins and Fairmont on Nob Hill in SF in the 40’s. Following that, she opened her own flower shop in West Portal. My Mother had a forty-year career of being a landscape designer and my Aunt also did garden design in Berkeley.
You lived in San Francisco for years with an impressive clientele—what inspired the move to Chico, CA?
My husband and I knew we wanted to move and had been looking in Marin. In the Fall of 2020, we were visiting my Mother in my hometown of Chico and literally opened up Zillow on our now-home was the first on the list. We decided to tour the house and the second I saw the mature Dogwood and Magnolia trees I had a feeling, this may be our house. We had never thought about moving to Chico but 2020 was a year of rethinking everything and taking risks. When our offer was accepted we took 8 months to remodel it and move from San Francisco, where we had lived for almost 25 years. Now we are two years into the move and I am still adjusting. San Francisco had been my entire adult life and moving has brought up a lot of questions about who am I when I am not in the community I built for so many years.
Who would be your dream client to style?
Doing flowers for Martha Stewart (and have her love them!) would be my dream. She’s the OG!
Stepping up to motherhood is probably one of the most challenging and rewarding positions a woman can be in. Are there any influences from the past (your own mom, mentors, books, podcasts, etc, that have helped guide how you mother?)
My Mother was a great Mom. As a single mom and my only parent, she supported me in a way I am forever grateful for. Now I look to my Mom-friends, Dr Becky and Bryan Post. I go to therapy, my kids go to therapy and we are part of a support group for adoptive parents of transracial kids. Even with all of that, I still feel like I need more scaffolding.
Are there any rituals or traditions from your childhood that you carry on with your children?
My Mother always baked my cake and let me decorate it with flowers. We have carried that tradition on and my children decorate the cake that my Mom bakes with flowers from her garden.
We have also taken on one of Seth’s childhood traditions - the birthday chair. On the morning of your birthday, your chair at the breakfast table is decorated and adorned with small little gifts and cards. It starts the morning off in a joyful way.
The newest addition to our traditions is having a tea party or a meal under the table. This started during covid to pass the time in a fun way and the ritual continues.
What are the most fun and most challenging parts of being a mom?
Fun: Wanting to take my kids on endless adventures. Challenging: The reality of taking them on adventures.
What is your philosophy when it comes to your personal style and interior style?
My style philosophy is similar to my floral arranging style. Feminine, textural, purposeful, tidy but not traditional, seasonally inspired, slightly earthy yet not neutral, natural and never boring.
Mom Wardrobe: What pieces or brands make you feel your best while you do everything you can to make your kids feel their best?
In winter I love a nice coat to throw over anything so I feel put together. Last season it was a navy vintage overcoat. During summer it’s all about the sunglasses. Karen Walker and Neon Hope are my go-tos.
What does your wellness and beauty routine look like?
Wellness is a way of life for me. I was raised to understand that what you eat affects how you feel and as a result I spend a lot of time cooking healthy meals for my family. I also exercise 5-6 days a week which is a necessity for my ADHD.
I LOVE skincare. I’m a fan of my Skin Ceuticals sunscreen and anything by the Kristina Holey/Marie Veronique line. I need color on my face and this stick by Ilia looks good on everyone. Now that I live in a warmer climate I am a huge fan of self tanners and St Tropez is the best I have found.
Do you ever take your kids to work with you? If so, how is that experience?
When my daughter was a baby I brought her everywhere with me. She visited the SF Flower Mart for the first time at three weeks old. When I was still doing weddings, I found a way to bring her to my events, including one in Montana when she was six months old. I remember she crawled for the first time amongst all the flower boxes.
I had a vision of my children playing at my feet while I arranged flowers, but the reality is that my children's temperaments don’t match that dream. Their need for constant interaction and engagement has made it much harder to have them with me while I work, however Friday accompanies me to the Flower Market whenever we are in SF. She knows everyone there and it is a sweet connection.
What are some of your favorite outings with Friday and Hawk? Where are you going and what are you typically stashing in your snack bag?
I love an outing! (refer to hardest and best part of being a mother) In Chico we love to visit the goats that graze in the park once a year, search for tadpoles in the creek that runs though town (and our back yard) and go to local farms to pick fruit.
When we lived in SF we went to the beach multiple times a week as we lived so close. It was our playground. Despite hating the sand, I kept a beach bag in the trunk of the car so we could do it at any time. We also lived two blocks from the Presidio which was the backdrop to many fantastic adventures.
Our snack bag usually holds healthier snacks since I find it’s easier for my kids to eat nourishing food when they are really hungry. (Don’t get me wrong, french fries are a family favorite!). My daughter is on a roasted almond kick and no matter the season we have apples and carrots around.
What is your favorite space in the house to hang together?
Our backyard is the best hang spot for us. Chico Creek runs through our backyard and we often find ourselves down by the water exploring. Being in nature is good for all of us.
How do you reset, when the days feel reeeeeeallllly long and you’ve reached your mom limit?
Gardening is my evening cure-all. After the kids go to bed I love to go out to my garden and spend time re-centering. It is the best medicine. Sometimes I listen to a podcast, sometimes I do it in silence and use it as moving meditation and often I have a big cry. I have recently found myself there until it’s too dark and I’m seconds away from just putting a head lamp on and keep going.
Is there a memory with your family that instantly makes you smile?
The moment we flew home from Michigan with Hawk, our family—my sister, brother in law and nephews—met us at the airport with balloons and a bouquet of one of my favorite flowers, daphnes. Our first attempt to adopt him at birth fell through so he did not enter our life until he was almost a year old and our journey did not end there. Something about that homecoming to SFO is forever etched in my mind.
To be a good mother is to...
Learn as much as I can, get it wrong, and still do it. Repeat, repeat, repeat. At the end of the day, it’s listening to them and knowing them.
If you are having a day to yourself you are...
Doing it all!
Go-to places to shop for yourself and your kids...
Kids: Lula Land, Little Occasion, Zara and I am excited for NooMoon to open in SF that is all second hand curated kids clothes.
Mama: Zara, Freda Salvador, Ulla johnson, Doen , Estate Jewelry Mama, and I've recently gotten into vintage again- Bootleg in Chico, Etsy
Something you want your kids to know that you wish you knew when you were little…
Being weird is actually cool.
5 favorite pieces in your home…
My artwork by Ama Posy. I have two of her pieces and love them.
I am currently burning, and obsessed with, the Flamingo Estate’s candle line. Scent is a luxury I cannot live without.
My Boost LED mask. The 10-minutes a day I use is my most peaceful time of the day.
All my favorite kids' things come from Mapamundi. From their book collection to the cutest Rice brand cups, every single thing they sell is well designed kids things.
SHOP NATALIE
