In conversation with Lucia Milan

In Conversation with Lucia Milan
Floral Designer, Educator & Author of Tropical Nouveau | Brazil
1. Looking back, how did your journey into floral design and events truly begin? Were there early experiences—perhaps outside the industry—that quietly shaped the way you see beauty, nature, and celebration today?
Looking back, my floral journey began through my mother, who is a country woman and a florist, who moved to the big city. So she already carried that gentle perspective on nature and the importance of flowers, and she passed that on to me. At the time, it was something intrinsic, but I wasn’t truly aware of it, I only came to understand it much later.
Outside the industry, my first jobs after graduating in Advertising were at some very prominent fashion magazines of the 1980s. There, I had the opportunity to work with wonderful fashion photographers—both Brazilian and international—as well as fashion and culture editors. That experience was truly a turning point, a real watershed moment in the way I see beauty and nature today.
2. A long career is built through moments of both joy and challenge. What were some of the obstacles you faced early on, and how did they help form your values, resilience, and creative identity?
A long career is built through moments of both joy and challenge. In the beginning, one of the greatest obstacles I faced was establishing myself in a market that was not yet as structured or professionalized as it is today. There were many uncertainties, and I often had to trust my intuition and sensitivity more than anything else.
Another challenge was earning recognition for floral design as an art form, rather than something merely decorative. It required persistence, dedication, and a deep belief in my own vision.
These obstacles helped shape my values—especially humility, discipline, and respect for nature and for people. They strengthened my resilience and clarified my creative identity. Over time, I learned that challenges are essential; they refine your voice, deepen your perspective, and ultimately make your work more authentic.
3. Your work feels unmistakably yours—bucolic, refined, and deeply personal. How did you learn to trust your own creative language and build a brand that reflects who you are, rather than following trends?
I think that my name has become something people immediately associate with my work. Everyone who scrolls through my Instagram feed says the same thing: “When I see the photo, I immediately know it’s yours.” This is mainly due to how I mix flowers. At a time when no one was really mixing different varieties—and even today, when it’s done artistically, it requires study and intention—that has always been something very personal to me.
Later came the elements of still life, which I fell in love with when I started traveling to Holland and began to see the connection between the era of great tropical discoveries and Brazilian history. I started incorporating things I would find on the ground. One of them is the embaúba leaf, a dried leaf that became one of my trademarks, because I love mixing it even with romantic elements.
I never felt the need to follow trends. I never closely followed many florists, because I believe we all share the same market—the same places where flowers are purchased—although I deeply admire many of them. I think, ultimately, it was a strong desire to seek and develop my own creative language
4. Your name has become your signature. What does Lucia Milan represent today—not just as a brand, but as a woman, a creator, and a voice within the industry?
I believe my name is truly a representation of who I am as a person. My brand reflects that, and it also reflects the transformation and maturity from being a woman to becoming a woman artist — someone who creates.
I think my voice within the industry emerged from my desire not to keep things on a common level, as is often expected. I constantly question things. I always want to learn about aspects that go beyond my own field, especially sustainability.
As a mother and as a woman, I have learned a great deal, particularly because there were no schools for florists, no business programs specifically for florists — none of that existed. So over these 30 years, I gained extensive hands-on experience to find answers on my own: how to properly load a truck for an event, how to prepare a client proposal that is clear, well-structured, and professional.
All of this reflects a journey that has developed me both as a person and as a professional — inseparably.
5. The floral and events world has evolved, with more women stepping into leadership and authorship. From your perspective, what has changed the most over the years, and what guidance would you offer to women starting their creative journeys now?
From my perspective, what has changed over the years is more women working as event decorators, as well as independent florists who create small-scale projects on their own. This model did not exist here in Brazil before. We only had florists who worked on large events, such as churches and big receptions, and they were usually men.
Today, we have women with backgrounds in architecture or landscape design entering the field. However, the advice I would offer is that, even with professionalism in scenography and in understanding spaces, it is also essential to have knowledge of floral art and its history. This is important so that, if a woman is managing a team of florists, she knows how to teach, how to guide, and how to give clear direction.
Over the years, I have always taken part in every event and in every stage of its creation as a florist, working side by side with my team. I believe this has built a great deal of respect for what I say and for the standards I uphold — including when I need to insist that arrangements be executed in a consistent and cohesive way.
6. Alongside designing, teaching has become an important part of your path. What does it mean to you to share knowledge, mentor others, and open your process to the next generation of floral designers?
So, here we go. Besides drawing, really, teaching has been a very important part of my work. It's something that closes a cycle where, I think, when we have 30 years of practice, we can...
We need to share our knowledge with other people. And this has a lot to do with this philosophy of sustainability. It's very important to open my process to other generations, because I think a lot of the technical knowledge has been simplified. And also because I think there is a movement of artisans coming, where the manual process must become quite important. So, we must recover old techniques and implement them again in the market as a way of looking to the future as well.

7. Your book Tropical Nouveau feels like an extension of your inner world. What inspired you to translate your work and philosophy into a book, and why did this feel like the right moment to do so?
This book is a truly extension of my inner world, it is this conversation between my persona and my floral creative world. This been always an inspiration, a strong desire of mine of creating a book. I used to write on blogs, and I have always been very close to books and writing, something I always loved. In fact, I had already tried previously, through Brazilian rules, to create a book. Now felt like the right time, when I found someone who could help me with logistics of the project. And in one year, we managed to create this book. And it was a very fulfilling moment for me, a moment when I think I can take a little more of Brazil to other places with me.

8. Can you take us inside your creative process—from the first conversation with a client to the final installation—and share how this process differs when creating a book, teaching a class, or designing a live event?
My creative process is very, very natural. So, whether it is for a client, for a book, or for a class, I always draw inspiration from a single idea, a central theme, which will guide the floral creation. When it is for a client, usually this comes through the client's desire, what is passed on to me, and a way that I have to translate into arrangements. But, one way or another, it is a creation that is a bit more guided, more focused on the other person. When it is to give a class, the inspiration comes through my own language and even through my gestures, as I have noticed. So, I really try for the person to read, through my gestures and through what I say, the movements I make and the way I build an arrangement. And events are the same; we draw inspiration from this line of thinking, for me, which is very constructive, through flowers, and how to hydrate these flowers, and how I will present them in the best way.

9. Sustainability has become an essential conversation in floral design. How do sustainable techniques and conscious choices influence the way you create today, and how do you pass these values on through your teaching?
Sustainability, for me, is also a central pillar of my work. It has always been a growing concern, since when I used to do very large events, and the waste—plastic waste, residues, and especially floral foam—was absolutely absurd. So, this had a gradual transformation for me. Today, truly, these sustainable techniques and conscious choices are inherent in our study, in every action we take—whether it is carbon offsetting at an event when we drove, separating plastics, or talking to small producers. So, it is a very important part of the work; it is a very important part of the educational work and also, I would say, philanthropic, because we really like to spread this message, often in lectures and pro-bono events. So, this is also a way to expand knowledge, through this teaching and through the donation of this information, and everything I have learned, to those who are arriving and to those who also want to transform their own universe.



10. Looking at Tropical Nouveau today, what do you feel the book reveals about you—not only as a floral designer, but as an observer of nature, a storyteller, and a woman rooted in her environment?
I think that the book, for those who read between the lines, reveals a person who is completely passionate about nature—not just as a florist, but as a person who had the chance to have a place in the mountains. And now, I am starting a garden of organic flowers as well. And with each thing that sprouts, each problem I solve with the soil, each impatience I feel, I simply feel a love that transcends. And I think that this always deserved a story to be told. So, I am very discreet even on my Instagram, but every day in my stories, or even in the arrangements that appear in the feed, they are all photographed by me, mostly. I love photography, so it also has a lot to do with telling the story in these lines between the arrangements. So, the book says a lot about that—about the courage to believe that what I do is important, that what I do is elegant, and that what I do can make quite a difference in the world. Because we are using something that is completely Brazilian, but it is rooted in the cultures both of Europe and of Brazil, and it is something that truly transcends. So, for me, it is very important to find myself in this style, to find myself in this romanticism, and to base all of this on the stories of Brazilian botanists, architects, and landscapers—people who passed through Brazil, or people who told the story of our country, many times.

11. As a child, what did you dream of becoming? And if you were to reinvent yourself today, is there another creative or educational path that still calls to you?
As a child, I think I always loved archaeology and animals, so I imagined I wanted to be an archaeologist or someone who worked with the crew of Jacques Cousteau—something we used to see on TV. Later, I dreamed of being a fashion editor. I didn’t want to be a seamstress or a designer, but I loved, loved fashion—I love history, I love the history of fashion, I love understanding the reasons behind things. So, I always really enjoyed having that learning before becoming a florist. It is something I still follow today—including the great florists who follow major fashion brands—and I find this branding very interesting as well. So, those were things I wanted to be. I never thought I would be a florist and that I would have this such a latent artistic vocation. And if I weren’t a florist, maybe another creative path—now I really want to improve my photography skills. It is something I have been dreaming of for years, so this year I will dedicate myself more to that. So, maybe a photographer or a botanist. I am very happy being who I am.

12. Was there a defining project—or perhaps the decision to teach or publish Tropical Nouveau—that marked a turning point and signaled a new chapter in your career?
I think the major turning point in my career was when I decided no longer be my mother’s business partner. We were together for 16 years in this floral industry, doing many events. And when we were at the peak, I started having many questions about my life, about the quality of life, and the creative quality I was having within this industry. And it was when I really decided to change direction. I decided to draw inspiration from the floristry models I had seen in the United States, which were much smaller physical spaces than what we were used to here in Brazil—big warehouses, large halls. And I saw that things could work in a simpler, more structured way, but not with less quality. And I think that this, along with the book, was a turning point in my life. I think I would not have published the book if I had not, in a certain way, turned my back on the industry, in the sense of doing the same events in the same way, and not trying new, more sustainable, happier, more collaborative ways of working in the market.



13. Running a studio requires both sensitivity and structure. How do you protect your creativity while managing the practical demands of a business? How do you find the perfect team?
This is a very difficult question, but I think, over time, I managed to keep my structure really lean, with people I trust a lot. And I think a big achievement is when a florist or an artist does not have to discuss finances with their clients, or in front of the clients. The budgets are more planned to be sent by email, and this conversation is much more protected for the creative work. So, in this case, I have Neusa, who is my right-hand person, and who has worked with me for many years, and she acts as this wall that allows me not to have to monetize my creation too much or to have to assert myself as a person with financial authority in front of them. And also Alexandre, who is my right-hand man—both of them have been with me for many years. He drives for me, helps me with purchases, and everything. Even today, I still do that—I joke that I am that boss who goes to the market at dawn to buy fresh fish. And then I rely a lot on freelance florists, which is the big issue of the whole market, and I have a few that I trust. So, we have a team of assistants and freelance florists who work with other people, but when they come to me, they already know my way. They already know what I do together, and they already know that we will be creating something new, maybe something they haven’t done before. So, there are few in the market that I manage to have with me. So, I have really minimized the size of the pieces lately. I only do them up to the size that I can control, delegating and managing in a balanced way for everyone.

14. Trends come and go, but values endure. Which movements in floral and event design excite you today, and which ones do you believe will shape the future of the industry in a more meaningful way?
I think what excites me a lot, always, beyond any trend, is the way of making arrangements—these ways, that there are always new, sustainable methods. I am very interested in structures, in the principles of arrangement design based on art and photography techniques. So, I believe that this, above all, shapes a professional and an industry—knowledge and culture. And beyond that, in the future, I think it is sustainability. We talk about sustainability, we talk about essential elements, about saying that sometimes a few wonderful arrangements are much more elegant than a lot of abundance of things that are wasted needlessly. A good, beautiful arrangement at the entrance of a party is much more impactful than a bunch of aerial displays and Instagrammable spots. So, the way it is done can be much more elegant and much more sustainable, much more aligned with humanity, with the way we live—where it is allowed to use beauty and live from beauty, but that it also contributes to social changes and changes in gestures as well—gestures and attitudes. So, I really believe that a philosophy of sustainability, of valuing materials, is the future.

15. Your work often feels emotionally aligned with both the couple and the space. How do you connect with your clients and translate their stories into a visual, sensory experience?
I think there needs to be a deep understanding of what are the couple’s expectations. And I think this is always very aligned with—here in Brazil, we use event decorators, right? So, the florist often works for the couple, not in the space itself, but the person who plans the space is the event decorator. So, over the years, I have had some incredible partners, and it is really interesting for us to work on the volumetry of the space with arrangements and with other elements. Because one thing I strongly believe is that florists do not save a space; they collaborate with others. They determine the atmosphere, the elegance; they set the tone of the place, but not necessarily solving the space by themselves. So, I mean lighting, furniture—this is always very aligned with the event decorator. We always have a mood board; we always have a floor plan. This here in São Paulo is taken very seriously, and before that, there are several interviews with the couples to really get it right so that it has the touch they expect and that it tells the story of the couple, in fact. So, it really is a storytelling of someone else’s love story, and it is very rewarding to be able to do that.

16. Every long journey brings difficult lessons. What has been one of the most challenging moments of your career, and how did it transform the way you define success or fulfillment?
I think that, really, every career has difficult lessons. For me, I think the hardest lesson was learning that everything we desire, once it happens, can be difficult to sustain. For example, having a career and doing many weekly events, working more than 12 hours a day, doing events for 100, 500 people all year long, raising three children—that was really a desire that, when I reached the peak of success, I realized maybe it wasn’t success for me. Today, I can say that success for me is having time for myself, having time to cultivate my organic flowers, to have new projects, and to pass on all the knowledge I have to people who are interested. So, it is accepting jobs, accepting clients who identify with my brand, doing the best I can, but at the same time, having time so that this creativity truly becomes a form of life expression for me.

17. Large-scale events come with intense pressure. Over the years, how have you learned to navigate stress and responsibility while staying present, intuitive, and connected to your purpose?
Large-scale events are really a source of lots of pressure, especially emotional. Over the years, I remember how often I couldn't sleep prior to an event, going over all details in my head, trying to organize it in the best way I could, so that everything comes out flawless. But with experience you realize that there is time for everything, including for worry. At the moment the event is happening, I think you must keep very calm and very detached from what's happening around you, so that you can focus on the team’s priorities and the floral arrangements. It was something I developed over the years - a kind of shielding from what’s happening around me. even asking the florists to do the same. I mean, family members walking around in the middle of the event, people giving their opinions, things happening that require us to really stay calm and keep a positive energy. That works very well.

18. Looking ahead, how do you envision the future of weddings and events—especially as sustainability, artistry, and authenticity become increasingly important?
In the future, I think that events, they will be in a much more sustainable way. They will be much more important. People will be much more aware of the materials they use and the elements they will reuse, especially flowers. I hope that guests can take more flowers, that they can have more papers to wrap the flowers in at the end of the parties. I think the arrangements should be fewer arrangements, but very well executed, very rich, very organic. And I think this also transforms these arrangements in a much more individualized way, also by the natural and incomparable form of nature. So, I hope that in the future, everything is more focused in this direction.

19. Finally, do you see your work as a reflection of Latin American creativity? How do your cultural roots influence your designs and teachings, particularly when working on destination weddings?
My work is very much a reflection of Latin America because it is my roots. Due to my country, I am passionate about Brazilian nature, Brazilian culture, and also the vast extension of Latin American favorite friends whom I have the honor of meeting, working with. These are people who have a colorful, imaginative culture, full of textures. So, I think this influence will always walk with me, it will grow even more, it will always influence my drawings, my design pieces. I will always want to value the elements of each location, of each place, to have less environmental impact, to use what is there for me. So, this makes my work be respected in Latin America and it also connects, it dialogues with the inhabitants, so that Latin America, as a cultural heritage, has to...