Unedited Interview - Vanessa Taylor, owner of Flower Nuts
Q. Tell me something about yourself.
A. My name is Vanessa Taylor. And something about me is that I
consider myself more of a spiritual individual having a human
experience, more than anything or having a spiritual experience.
And I do several things here in the building which has 3
businesses in it. We have a Art Gallery; we have a clothes line,
Mandinog Republic, and there is Flower Nuts, which is my personal
business, and we have a hair salon in the back which is natural
hair care is done and regular hair grooming. And my thing here at
the business is that I make sure everything gets sold. We are all
kind of creative artists here and we all make the things up and
it kind of my responsibility to match the personalities up when
they come in that door with the things that are in here.
Q. How long have you been here?
A. I've been here in the particular store, 2 years. It started
out with just an idea, I was working around the corner at Fifth
Street Dick's, and all of a sudden I had an idea that I wanted to
sell flowers, and I came around the corner and the first time I
started out, I started out in front with a couple of buckets of
flowers. And I started working, and from that point, I made a few
more dollars than Stuart, who has been here 28 years and who
actually is the shop owner, and was kind of over his head, kind
of like an umbrella, he had the building, gave me half of my
money to put the flower stand and I put the other half up and
then I started with the flower stand. From that I moved to just
kind of develop a business called "Flower Nuts". I
started to do all the flower arrangements in the art galleries
around and how I have some offices that I do. And I sell fresh
flowers to the communities on the weekends along with that. So
that's how "Flower Nuts" bloomed. And that's happening
really well. And it's happening just right, it's not too much -
it's just right because I am just one person and so little by
little I'm trying to pick up new clients. And when new people
come into the Village, so I pick up new clientele on the
weekends. So I run that with a clothes line which is another
artist, it's called "Mandingo Republic" the artist is
from Ghana, Alon he does the designing and makes the clothes up
and brings them in. With the clothes line, I do a little bit of
marketing and the selling here. When we do shows on the road, I
also go along and sell on the road. Some of my other titles is
just pretty much keeping the shop in order and maybe kinda of
balancing the energy with all the three guys that I work with.
You know these are really creative guys and they all have dynamic
personalities, they are special people. So I just kinda balance
out.
Q. Are you from Los Angeles?
A. Kinda. My family is from New Orleans and I'm kinda just like
back and forth. Some of my childhood was spent here, some of my
childhood was spent in New Orleans. So I just kinda consider
myself in both places.
Q. When did you start selling?
A. 2 years ago. Yeah, it was just kinda a though, that Ijust
wanted to be involved with flowers. The other thing that I do and
one of the main things that I do; because I did mention in the
beginning that I consider myself more of a spiritual person
having a human experience, is this is really what feel that I am
here for and that is I teach stress management and meditation,
holistic healing, I do aromatherapy. So things to relax the
individual is really my expertise and even though it appears that
I'm selling clothes or selling flowers; my main objective is to
being a sense of enlightenment to people. Whether they are buying
paintings or whether they are buying clothes or whether they are
buying flowers, or whether they are getting their hair twisted,
my primary reason for being here in this space; on the planet and
in this time is to enlighten.
Q. Why Leimert Park?
A. Why not Leimert Park - it's a wonderful place. I think in
terms of places to be right now in the universe this is one of
the great places to be, because it's people that have their own
minds that are very inspired that are not really run by - let's
say outside forces. That there is a strong cultural base here.
Here's a rootedness here. There's a sense of looking out and
seeing entrepreneurs that mirror yourself. It's not like going
some place and you see all these people in business and nobody
looks like you or sounds like you or has the experiences that
you've had. And here you can walk right next door and you're
going through an experience and this person could be going
through this same experience. And it's wonderful, and for me it's
a oneness, nobody is different we are just expressing in
different ways, but there is that oneness, that same agenda, we
are all on that same agenda. We primarily just want to have our
business and become successful. And I think that's the common
thread that kinda holds us together. Be it that there is all
kinds of diversities there's all kinds of things going on, and I
think that's what keeps the tapestry together, is that we all
have one common goal, and that is to be entrepreneurs and to take
care of our families, and travel and live out our dreams. And
being able to do it in our community. So, that's a thing that is
so wonderful here, and I can't think of any other palace that I
would be excited about getting up in the morning, getting
dressed, doing my meditation, and getting ready to hang out here.
I don't even have a need to want to go out, because this is it,
this is the place to be. So it's really a blessing and an honor
to be here, because people kinda of stumble upon this place. They
kinda come and say "Oh, my God I didn't know this place was
here", and pretty soon they are coming every weekend and
they feel very connected, so there's something that is bigger
than all of us here. There is an unspoken kinda energy that it
just major, it's bigger than all of us, it's bigger than what our
ideas of business is. It's just something phenomenal, that brings
me here. And I do have a desire to travel and to have businesses
in other places, but I have a strong rottenness, I'd like to
remain rooted, like this be my base point.
Q. Is this because of the African American community here?
A. Yes.
Q. How has it changed since you've been here? And what's
remained the same?
A. It's always been artsy. I don't think that change, I don't
know so much what changed, but for me it's always been a cultural
diverse community. I mean I remember back 20 years ago when I
went to beauty college here. It still was the spot to be, for
people to have their businesses, shops seemed to be the same,
there were beauty shops all around here, and they were African
American owned, and there was this one phenomenal lady who was
definitely my mentor - Lucille Wells, who owned Leimert Park
Beauty College and this was maybe 25 years ago. And in less than
one year, she opened 9 beauty salons, and she took everyone that
was in her school and made them managers and gave them jobs. Even
people that were "under ground" coming out of
correctional centers, coming out of never having an education. I
mean this woman was like a saint, she would take them in, they
didn't have to leave. She had one guy that went to the state
board 9 times and she never kicked him out of the school an on
the 10th time he finally passed the exam and she was able to
place him in one of her shops and made him manager of her shop.
So it's kinda timeless, the energy that I talk about is bigger
than all of us has been here. It's just a matter of the different
people who have had the opportunity to tap into it you know.
Q. How do you think the community here will change in the
future?
A. You know I am one who speaks what I'd rather see, so I would
say that the only change that I would see is it just growing and
beginning to spread like wild fires. There's a lot of thing
happening politically but I don't focus on that. I'm a real
believer that what you think, see and say, is what you will
experience. And so I choose to see a change for the better. I see
more and more people becoming more conscious. I see more people
coming here, waking up. I see a community that is evolving, like
a whole other culture of awareness that is going to spread
throughout. I see it raising, not spreading.
Q. How do you think Leimert Park has impacted the surrounding
community, residential - other businesses?
A. I think that Leimert Park is one of the reference points. We
get people now, not only from other communities, but we get
people from other cities. I've had people come here from New
Orleans and ask if I'd be interested in coming to New Orleans and
helping to create this type of environment there. So, I believe
that we have a voice. I believe that if we put the voice back in
that Blacks and African Americans are entrepreneurs and are able
to maintain their own businesses and back in the 60's, when
everybody wanted to move out to the valley or move out here and
move out there, they were in their family structures and they
were in their stores and business owners that were Black that we
could look at that looked like you and they were very progressive
neighborhood stores that were owned by Black people. So I think
that this brings the voice back to that and I think that things
could only get so bad if there is a word like bad that goes a
certain way, and then it has to turn back around, and I think
that we've lost some of our children, our families, our family
structure, I mean the
worse has happened.
Q. Have you had formal training in any of your businesses?
A. Well I just recently graduated from Cal State Long Beach in
psychology. I was a psyche major, which ties in to what I was
saying before. I wanted to do psychology from and African
perspective, which prompt my trip back to Africa a year ago. I
was in west Africa and I spent time in Ghana with Timana Boas,
who does traditional healing. And I went through a cleansing
process and some teaching there to catapult me in to what I do
here. I received a Bachelors from Cal State Long Beach and that's
as far as I wanted to go in that particular point with
psychology. I didn't want to go into clinical psychology and I do
believe that populations are different; cultures are different,
and there's different techniques and for me, I believe very
strongly that one of the reasons that our African American
culture has had some psychological infliction's like drugs, and
different things is simply because it's been disconnected from
it's spiritual base. That was a premise; that's where my mind was
when I first took my Black history class. My attention was
focused on that, we just simply lost contact with our inner self.
Which was something that was very strong in ancient Africa, our
ancestors were always connected spiritually which was what
brought them here, their spiritual base. And that once you begin
to connect spiritually, with yourself, there are just certain
things that you don't want to do, don't allow in your body space.
You see things and choose things differently. So, it that base is
disconnected then your choices are disconnected, so my premises
was built on that and that's what I wanted to do - come back and
reconnect the community with that spirit - with that power - with
that intuitiveness. And that's what I do with the process of
meditation. I meditate, I take instruction from George Quant who
taught 20 years in a transmeditation facility back with Mini
Rippleton and Stevie Wonder were meditating in the 60's. George
was with them, and George was actually employed by Suzanne DaPass
and he works with Predictcan and he also was - a peer with Deepak
Choopak. So him and I had lead a workshop together a meditation
workshop. So a lot of my meditation education came from George.
And I just incorporate those things - my African teachings as
well as what I learned at Cal State Long Beach in terms of
technique, but kind of inter weaving the both of them together.
Using some of the counseling styles with traditional ways of
healing. I also am a aromatherapist, so the same way around the
Egyptian times they used aromatherapy to heal, so I incorporate
that as well in my healings. So, you know I can't say that that's
how I would tell anybody else to do it, I just know that it felt
comfortable for me. And that I believe that - that is just the
way that I should be doing it. You know I been told -
"you're not going to get your masters - you're not going to
go on and get your doctrine" - and be me I believe strongly
in the way that I'm being guided. And if that works for me and I
see how it's helped and worked for many, many others and not only
that - even the way the planet is shifting - even the things that
are happening, it's like I had this thought and I hear what
happening and there's actually a conversation going on about it
now. I mean you see it on Ophra's new way of television or what
ever. That's all they are talking about is healing and you know
holistic ways. And a lot of things that they are talking about
came from indigenous people - from African or even Asian - you
know it came from the old tradition - that is coming forth
again.I remembered a long time ago when I went to Sedona and a
psychologist actually told me I was entering in at the right
time, from the way I thought. Because there was a point when they
wouldn't mix the two, they wouldn't mix spirituality with
psychology, which was just a no, no. And now at this point they
see a big correlation. In fact I got into a big argument with one
of my professors back in junior college, he said, "well you
can't live like that Vanessa because you need facts and evidence,
and I'm telling him that I am the facts and the evidence, because
I knew what my life was a very long time ago as to where it is
now. So, I'm my own study. But later on the class was critical
thinking and I realized that the object of the class was to learn
the things on my own, and I realized the instructor was, you know
it didn't really make a big difference because the instructor was
the instructor. The class was learning things on their own. So I
kinda got it and it was funny because about 2 weeks later they
had a study on plants and they had a prayer group in the study in
the laboratory that would circle around some plants that weren't
living that were kinda sickly. And then they had a group around
that didn't pray. And the prayer group plants started to show
different levels of energy and the plants began to come alive. So
that happened about a week or so after and I was able to bring
him the kind of facts and evidence he wanted to back what I was
saying.
Q. What did he say?
A. Well he had to agree with it afterwards. He had toagree with
it. It's really hard for a teacher to. Unless he's a really good
teacher, accept the fact that a student may know a little more.
Or know something else.
(TAPE WAS STOPPED AT THIS POINT).
A. I just like to see more and more of the consciousness.I think
that what it has here is a great seed. I'd like to see that seed
blossom. I'd like to see people, the tourist, recognize that we
are here. I'd like to see it be supported like some of the other
places like Westward, or the Beverly Center. You know all the
different places that are advertised. I'd like us to have that
fairness of advertisement. I'd like to speak to the media and
tell the real story about what Leimert Park is about and not have
shooting that are not even in Leimert Park. But when the write
them up in the paper they write them up like this shooting took
place in Leimert Park, so that we are getting some type of bad
name. When people hear of this place, they think, oh well they
had this shooting there and automatically think, "oh we
shouldn't go there". I mean we had some German tourist that
were here that were just so blown away at this community, but we
had been portaraited in the media that some violent thing was
going to erupt and happen. And they came here and they just love
this place. So, I'd like to see the truth be told in a big way.
I'd like to see the traffic coming and I'd like not just to have
one great day. But I'd like to come to work and be busy. Because
we have some phenomenal products. I mean the clothes line you
couldn't find anywhere, you couldn't find it on Melrose. You know
our prices are within reason. This man is doing actual art on
clothing. This is not just something that he's sewn together
together, but he's actually taking time and painting and re-doing
the fabric. So there is a lot of work being put in here when a
Ralph Lauren sticks a label on a regular Polo shirts - and it
just sells, I'd like to see that kind of fairness. And not that I
have anything against those clothes because I wear them. But I'd
like to see the same kind of fairness being done here.
Q. Do you think more of that is coming into play with the new
building that is being built on the corner?
A. I'd like to talk about what I'd like to see. I'd like to think
that these buildings are going to be brought up and are going to
bring more people into the community. I'd like to see that vision
and that's the vision I choose to see. I want to see primarily,
yes - the Black owners here. But it doesn't mean that we don't
want to open it up to diverse cultures to come in and to shop and
to enjoy the jazz, and the coffee shops and the art galleries,
and to purchase things. Most of the time when people purchase
African art they'll go on Melrose and they'll find somebody
that's non-African and purchase art from there. When these
people, this is their livelihood. And you see the African's that
are here and they actually have their precious art from their
country and you can find it here. I'd like to see the fairness.
The same opportunities as the other shopping centers, the
Galleries and the other Malls. Because I know that on it's own
and with out exposure, who can hold their own.
(THE TAPE WAS TURNED OFF AT THIS POINT - THEN
RESUMED AGAIN).
A. When I first came out, I did get involved. And I'm involved
for the standpoint that not actually an on going paid up member.
But in terms of going and being a part of it in that way, yes.
Q. Do you think with the new African Community Development
Coordinator - Beverly Cashen, do you think that with here in that
position, that would help?
A. I am really not informed enough to elaborate on that because,
I'm just not a really political person. I deal a lot from a
spiritual perspective, and so in terms of the politics of it, I
just don't care to be involved in that way.
Q. Is there anything else you would like to say
about the community or yourself?
A. I think it's a wonderful thing that you're doing an interview
like this and that there is a voice. Because life does exist in a
conversation and no matter whether the conversation looks like
its through a newspaper, or a student doing a report, it's still
conversation going on about this place. I appreciate you being
here. I appreciate your consciousness. I appreciate that you
heard and saw this
place enough to want to talk about it and take it to another
level. Take it into a classroom setting. I think that's a
wonderful thing in itself.