Master in Florals
Inspired by the saying, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,” Chris Norwood and Christina Day-Essary started Norwood-Day Floral Co. in Little Rock in their garages in August 2024 and have already grown the business to master status.
“Sometimes in life you have to make choices and changes to find your joy in what you do,” Day-Essary said. “We started this business because we wanted to find our joy again.”
Norwood began working at a florist in McCrory when he was 14 and has since become an authority in the industry. He has been honored as a fellow and for his distinguished service to the industry by the American Institute of Floral Designers, for which he is past president. He is a member of the Society of American Florists’ American Academy of Floriculture and serves on the society’s national board. In addition, he serves on the board of the Arkansas Florists Association.
Day-Essary joined the floral industry immediately after earning a degree in hospitality management with an emphasis on event planning from the University of Mississippi in 2018 and earned the American Florist Association’s Bill Plummer Distinguished Service Award last year. She is secretary of the Arkansas Florists Association.
“It takes a lot of practice, training and work,” Day-Essary said. “Chris started when he was 14 and is still learning.”
The two have known each other more than 20 years, and Day-Essary served as Norwood’s assistant before the two went into business together. Now functioning as yin and yang, Norwood handles the design aspects of the business, while Day-Essary manages the operational side.
“We love working one on one with customers and seeing the joy that flowers bring to each and every person,” Day-Essary said. “We say we bring people into the world and, sadly, out of the world, so we get to walk through life with our customers.”
With the support of the local community, Norwood-Day opened a storefront in February. The full-service florist offers flowers and curated gifts at its shop, in addition to floral design for special events.
“On weekends when we have special events, we have a great group of part-time employees,” Day-Essary said. “We call our crew ‘Team Blue,’ and we are grateful for all of them.”
The business supports a number of local nonprofits and participates in Petal It Forward, a national goodwill initiative of the Society of American Florists that takes place each October. Although Norwood-Day has only been open a short time, the company has already garnered a loyal following. The company placed first in three categories in AY About You’s “Best of 2025” contest — florist, special events planner and seasonal designer — and Day-Essary said there is more to come.
“We want to continue to grow our customer base and give wonderful customer service to the customers, as well as provide them with the best and most curated products we can find,” she said. “Personally, we want to have joy and always enjoy what we do — daily.”
7509 Cantrell Road, Suite 4
Little Rock
501-255-8883
