In December 2019, Carmen and Olivia Ojeda launched their Raleigh-based business Bouquets For The Holidays. Both sisters work together to sell handcrafted origami paper flower bouquets, wreaths and earrings. 

After making flower bouquets and boutonnieres for their older sister’s wedding in November 2019, Carmen and Olivia Ojeda were inspired to start their own business. 

“We had already done origami — we are both very creative, artsy people, so we wanted to use those skills to make flower bouquets for her wedding,” Carmen Ojeda said. “That’s where we started to look up how to create the flowers and got our ideas for how to put them together into bouquets.” 

Bouquets For The Holidays has sold its products at multiple craft fairs, including the Red Hat Company Craft Fair and Moore Square Market. They are also popular for different events, including conferences and weddings.

“We also have the custom bouquet side of it,” said Olivia Ojeda, a first-year studying business. “For a while I was doing custom orders for just single bouquets, so people can get that for friends and family just for a variety of reasons.” 

Olivia Ojeda said wedding bouquets are one of her favorite types of flowers to make. 

“Wedding bouquets are really fun because you know it’s going to mean so much to that person for the rest of their life,” Olivia Ojeda said. “The thing that I love most about it though, in terms of the holidays, is getting to create something really cute … For Halloween, I made a little ghost that I could put in a bouquet and it would stick out of it.” 

There are several paper options that the Ojedas use for their flower patterns. 

“One day I found this galaxy paper set,” Carmen Ojeda said. “It has stars and is shiny and metallic. I think that’s my favorite one — it’s something a little bit different.” 

Carmen Ojeda has enjoyed making bouquets for bigger events, such as weddings and rehearsal dinners. 

“It takes a while to get all the bouquets done, but it’s cool to see the finished product,” Carmen Ojeda said. “When you work so hard on something and then you actually get to see it set up.”

Each bouquet is specialized to what each customer may want. 

“Because [the bouquets] are so personalized to what somebody wants, it makes it a very unique gift,” Carmen Ojeda said. “People can choose what kind of colors they like, and the design and everything.” 

According to Olivia Ojeda, one of the best parts of owning a business is just seeing people appreciate your work. 

“You also feel very empowered by it,” Olivia Ojeda said. “It’s just been really cool to see what we’ve been able to do with it. And also being able to go to the markets and see other small businesses — I really appreciate that, how it’s given me connections to other people.” 

The mission of Bouquets For The Holidays is to make something that people can hold onto and use to remember specific moments in their lives. 

“The first bouquets that we made for my sister’s wedding, we still have them,” Olivia Ojeda said. “They are still in a vase in our apartment. It just ties into the mission of the business … It’s a really sweet memory of my sister getting married, and I got to be a part of it.” 

For more information on Bouquets For The Holidays, or to place an order, visit their Instagram or website.