Designer Spotlight: Design, passion and garden roses combine to create the ultimate partnership with Galina Serebriakova

The photography of flowers always came naturally for Galina Serebriakova. Until a friend drew her attention to her natural eye for capturing the structure of flowers and their unwavering beauty, Galina hadn't considered any career other than her role as a coffee specialist with a large company. With the help of her friend's pointed revelation and a nagging feeling of unfulfillment in her coffee industry role, she tried her hand at floral design and, over time, became an influential designer and the owner of GALA, based in Bogotá, Colombia.

A native of Russia, Galina pursued floral design courses in Moscow at the most esteemed floral school in the capital. Through the course, she knew she was meant for the floral world. "I took the course, and I loved it so much," she says. "Everything about it. The flowers were spectacular, the color palettes, the teachers … I enjoyed every moment."

While continuing her education, she maintained her role at Una Coffee World and, in the meantime, honed her skills at a floral shop conveniently located at the front of the coffee shop where she worked. She immersed herself in the floral world and performed tasks that helped her become familiar with varieties and their traits.

In 2020, Galina moved to Bogotá and began her floral venture, realizing she was ready to focus on her passion for flowers and leave her coffee career behind. It was not a difficult choice. “I love everything about flowers," she says. "How they look, the aroma, the color, the joy flowers give people, the beauty they bring to the world. The fact that, with my work, I make people happy - that's what attracts me most of all to flowers."

From the beginning, Galina has worked with Alexandra Farms to source her flowers. At the time she launched her business, Alexandra Farms was the only local farm selling small quantities of garden roses to local florists, she says. From her initial launch six years ago to today, Galina has included Alexandra Farms garden roses in nearly all her designs. "The designs shine when roses from Alexandra Farms are in them," she says.

Galina has formed a very unique and important relationship with Alexandra Farms - an admiration and inspiration between both company and designer. There is a shared passion for the work: creating beautiful garden roses for the world and creating designs that showcase each stem's unique varieties in original representations. Guided by romance and love, Galina finds that Alexandra Farms' garden roses are the choice varieties for showcasing her aesthetic.

"When you work with such types of flowers, which are very special and extremely beautiful, you have a mission not to shade their beauty but to make them shine," she says. "This responsibility and the passion of the Alexandra Farms workers always inspire me."

The respect and appreciation for this partnership are mutual. "Working with Galina is always a joy," says Teresa Schafer, Alexandra Farms marketing manager. "She has an eye for color, texture and shape, and she understands our garden roses in a way that feels almost intuitive."

Her partnership with Holly and Alexandra Farms President Jose (Joey) R. Azout is special and particularly influential in terms of design and passion. "There are people of great knowledge, experience and love of flowers," she says. "I'm always inspired by Joey's energy, his passion for roses. Holly was one of the first floral designers I started to follow. I always admired her work.”

And the role models that Galina looks to for inspiration and knowledge recognize her talents as an asset to the industry. "It has been a pleasure to work by Galina's side," says Holly Heider Chapple. "She is a confident and beautiful designer with a lovely attitude and endless passion."

Galina's self-described perfectionism and flexibility have helped guide her to the success she has achieved today. It's those traits and passion that will help continue to grow her business, hopefully leading to the opening of a floral studio in Colombia with one sole focus: providing unique, high-quality floral bouquets for the residents of Bogotá. It would be a benefit to combine her knowledge of coffee and flowers, she says, and to create a specialty coffee shop that offers both. An additional layer to her business plan would be to offer floral courses and workshops in Colombia.

While changes are coming to her business soon, Galina will continue to develop her studio and expand her collections for customers. In the meantime, she continues to provide her expertise for events and custom projects. Alexandra Farms is proud to have a strong partnership with Galina, and we look forward to continued collaboration with our garden roses and her infinite design talents.