In today’s world sometimes it is hard to find something enduring that draws you in, and makes you marvel at why it is there in the first place. The Kudzu plant is like that, hearty, fast-growing, and with roots that go back decades. Susan Jennings’ history as a floral designer also has a firm foundation. Her shop Kudzu Creative Designs is a testimony to how the designer inside her soul touches those she comes into contact with.
Susan’s path to becoming a floral designer began in college at a local flower shop as a delivery girl. Born and reared in Carroll County, she knew every back road, and was teased constantly about that fact. Soon her talent for arranging floral designs became apparent to her employers. “They saw I had a talent for floral designs and started training me,” Susan explained. From there her future was established even if she wasn’t certain yet. Not having chosen a major in college, Susan went on to say, “I quit college because I loved my job so much. I wanted to work full time; I should have, in retrospect, taken business, something I learned along the way. She not only continued to train but to excel at floral design. She was the President of District 9 of the Georgia Florists Association, won local designer of the year several times as well as placed 3rd in her first Georgia Florist Association designer of the year competition.
When mentioning that floral designing seemed to be a part of her, Susan related that her mom used to cater and decorate for weddings, so she had a close-up view of the different factors that make up design. Although Susan decided to go with floral design only, she has been inspirational in creating designs for oodles of happy couples on their wedding day. Weddings are her bread and butter when it comes to her business, and she says the satisfaction of seeing the brides hold their bouquets with a tear in their eyes makes all the cold water and thorns involved worthwhile.
With a design studio on premises, Susan can create to her heart’s content. Besides weddings, she does a lot of senior proms, and those girls are potential brides of the future. Kudzu Creative Designs also does birthdays, anniversaries, and funerals. She also sells plants for various occasions. You will find not only flowers and plants in the shop but also gift items and goods made by local artists. Susan’s team of helpers number five when she pulls in her husband to help. She is not hesitant about working whenever it is necessary to make certain those who need an arrangement are able to get what they require. Sometimes, that involves working on a Sunday.
Even though floral arranging can’t be compared to rocket science, not everyone can do it right. According to Susan, “There’s more to putting flowers together than you think. I mean, you’ve got to know which type of flowers are going to work best on certain installations. This comes from experience, trial and error, over the years.” Kudzu Creative Designs uses a lot of local flowers when they can, such as locally grown dahlias, tulips, and daffodils. Most of which are actually from a local vendor Susan utilizes called The Little Flower Gardens.
When it comes to roses, she does try to use some garden roses, but also has to rely on roses from other avenues. Going back to other local vendors involved with Kudzu Creative Designs, we found a show-worthy list of businesses and products: a best seller would be Nay Nay’s from Bremen, and, yes, they do sell pickles; The Charmer Bee’s beeswax candles; crocheted items from the Purple Door Studio; and jewelry from silverware made by The Crafter’s Daughter. Other vendors’ products include Amish Farms Soap, Elizabeth Acres’ felted wool products, local authors Judy Nichols’ The Pig in the Punch Bowl book and Dr. Bobby Gaines’ Blossom Possum Learns to Save, My Elderberry Fairy products, Waymaker Farms tallow body products, and Papa’s Sweets and Treats freeze-dried candy.
Susan had combined knowledge from working at different shops before she opened Kudzu Creative Designs. She has been in Bowdon, Georgia, since October of 2022 but just recently relocated to West College Street. She loves seeing the results of the weddings she’s been a part of, from making bouquets or selling plants and other items needed. Her joy comes from helping others on special occasions, in times of sadness, and whenever someone needs something to brighten up their day. She loves giving back to the community by giving flowers to different school employees, local organizations, and nursing homes.
In closing Susan would like everyone to know, “I’m blessed to be able to make a living being creative, and be a small part of people’s lives. It brings me great joy to make others happy or bring comfort during a sad time in their life.”
Celebrate with Susan and downtown Bowdon on welcoming her shop to 117 West College Street on Saturday, May 18 from 9:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. There will be tons of giveaways and fun!
Kudzu Creative Designs is located at 117 West College Street, Unit A, Bowdon, Georgia 30108. The phone number is 678-378-5124, and the website is https://www.kudzucreativedesigns.com/
