Julia Testa

A SoHo storefront and a Brooklyn production studio under one name, and it matters which one you go to: the SoHo shop takes walk-ins and sells flowers to carry out, while the Bed-Stuy studio builds installations and does not do in-store shopping. Julia Testa is a full event-design company that kept a real retail door open — so the same team that dresses a gala will also hand you a bouquet on your way to dinner.

What people come here for

On the retail side it is the ordinary run of reasons, handled with a strong hand for color: a date, an apology, a birthday, a housewarming, a thank-you sent across town. The look is editorial and deliberately bold rather than quiet, which is either exactly what you want or exactly what you don’t — worth knowing before you order sight unseen. Sympathy arrangements are part of the service as well.

The other side of the business is why the shop exists at the scale it does: weddings, brand activations and large-scale installations. The company’s work has included sets for Netflix productions, displays for the Tiffany flagship, and corporate programs for the New York Stock Exchange, NBCUniversal, Revlon and Pepsi, alongside galas, private parties, holiday decor and PR mailers. Weekly subscriptions for offices and homes run in the background of all of it.

The founder’s own story explains the mix. Julia Testa began designing wedding flowers out of her mother’s kitchen while still at college, built the client list by cold-calling, opened the Brooklyn production studio on a small business loan, and only then risked the SoHo store — with no investors behind any of it.

Delivery and same-day orders

Same-day delivery is available on orders placed online or by phone before 3 p.m., with arrivals scheduled between morning and early evening — so an order placed at lunch can still be on a desk before the office empties. The delivery map covers Manhattan and Brooklyn, which is the honest boundary of a shop that runs its own vans rather than a partner network.

Pickup is straightforward at the SoHo store, where finished bouquets are kept out front. The Brooklyn address is a working studio for events and installations, so treat it as production space and not as somewhere to collect a gift.

What stands out

• A real shop attached to an event company. Walk-ins welcome in SoHo, which is rare among florists working at this scale.
• Two addresses with two jobs. Retail in Manhattan, installation production in Brooklyn — go to the right one.
• A same-day cutoff late enough to be useful. Orders in before 3 p.m. still go out the same day.
• Built without investors. The founder financed the studio and then the store step by step, and still runs the company.
• A recognizable hand. Bold, saturated, editorial color — a house style rather than a catalog.
• A team that stays. Around twenty people across design, events, service and delivery, with unusually long tenures for the trade.

Where the flowers come from

The company does not publish its buying arrangements. What it states is a working principle rather than a supply chain: seasonality first, with palettes chosen around what is actually available at the time of the order — which is also why the same design brief looks different in March and in September.

The shop, the service and what else is sold

The SoHo storefront is one of the more photographed shopfronts in the neighborhood, dressed with floral installations that change through the year, and inside it works as a shop: a selection to take away, custom orders taken at the counter, plus plants and gift pieces. The store also runs floral design workshops, which is a different kind of visit — you leave with something you made instead of something you bought. Everything larger — weddings, installations, holiday decor for a building or a brand — is quoted from a conversation and produced in Brooklyn.

When to come and how to get there

The shop is in the middle of SoHo, minutes on foot from Greenwich Village, Nolita and Tribeca, with several subway lines within a couple of blocks; the neighborhood is best reached without a car, especially on weekends when the sidewalks fill. Spring and fall are the booked-out seasons on the event side, and the retail peaks are the usual ones — Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and December. For a wedding, months of notice is normal here; for a Saturday bouquet, walking in still works.

Questions and answers

Can I walk in and buy flowers?

Yes, at the SoHo store. The Brooklyn address is a production studio and does not offer in-store shopping.

Can I get delivery today?

Yes, if the order is placed online or by phone before 3 p.m. Arrivals are scheduled through the day into the early evening.

Where do they deliver?

Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Do they do weddings?

Weddings are a core line, along with installations and brand events. Spring and fall dates go early, so start months ahead.

Can a company order flowers regularly?

Yes — subscriptions for offices and homes run weekly, and the same team handles corporate activations and holiday decor.

Can I order sympathy flowers?

Yes. Say where and when they need to arrive, and the arrangement is designed to the occasion rather than picked from a page.

Can I learn to make an arrangement here?

The SoHo store runs floral design workshops; check the current schedule before planning a visit around one.

What if I want something quiet rather than bold?

Say so in the order. The house style leans saturated and editorial, so a restrained palette is worth asking for explicitly.

Opening hours