My family is from a Russian Jewish decent, who immigrated to Iran from Russia in the late 1800's. My father, Abraham Rad was a self made Industrialist, who had close to monopolized the corrugated Industry in Iran, as well as being a real estate developer, during the reign of the Shah, up until the Islamic Revolution. He provided extremely well for his family and all those close to him. He was also a great philanthropist and a passionate patron of the Arts. Amongst his greatest achievements, was the founding and funding of the Abraham F. Rad Jewish film Archives in Jerusalem, that later, he passed on to his good friend, Steven Spielberg, to continue this great preservation of Art, which today is known as, the Steven Spielberg Film Archives. My father's appreciation and patronage, was diversified towards music, paintings, sculpture, dance, literature, and all that was worthy of appreciation. I was always very grateful to have had the exposure to this diverse world of art that in time, became an intricate part of my life.

One day, while I was having lunch with a friend of ours, I got inspired and decided to start a floral business and name it, "Flowers for Ever". The business cards read "Flowers for Ever, Inspiration by Effie". That was my company until 2005, which relied primarily on word of mouth and personal recommendations. During that period, I participated in a number of Art Shows, like the Tempe Art Fair and the Fountain Hills Art Show, amongst others, which was a great source of exposure for my work. As a result, I accumulated a client base that was rather interesting and diverse. Of course, I continued to work with furniture stores like Copenhagen, Bova, Art Furniture and many others.

In time, I had the opportunity to create a number of floral arrangements for the lobby's of Residential establishments such as the Equity Properties. I was further graced with a number of private clients that would hire me to custom design and create arrangements throughout their homes, like the Castle in Camelback, where my creations were showcased on A&E.
 
During those years, I had the opportunity to work closely with commercial offices as well. I had even found a niche, which was to soften the feel and the look of Dental offices, which was always greatly appreciated. As the business grew, I set my sights on the political arena. Soon after, I was enhancing a number of political events with my floral arrangements, including political dinners for Governor Hall, and others.

I also had the privilege of being on Chanel 3, on Good morning Arizona, to teach the art of silk floral arranging, and amongst other things, there was a heartfelt promotional article written in the Jewish paper. I truly felt that I was blessed with this talent for floral design through my mother, who encouraged me, right up to her last moment. I found that I had great insight into what people were looking for, in terms of floral décor, and I could turn their inspiration into reality quite easily. There were no boundaries in my mind when it came to creativity. In fact, I was so proud of my arrangements that I insisted in delivering the arrangements by myself, just to see the smile on their faces, which was my ultimate gratification.

In 2005, a friend of mine encouraged me to lease a booth in Chandler Mall for Valentine. Even though I was rather nervous, nevertheless, as Flowers for Ever, I leased a booth for seven days, right in front of Nordstrom, in Chandler Mall. At that moment, I made a decision that this time, I was going to honor valentines' Day, as it should be, by working primarily with fresh flowers.

Well, to my utter astonishment, my Valentine's Day endeavor was very successful. Through this effort, I developed a number of new satisfied clients and even made some profit! On the last day, the management contacted me and strongly encouraged me to open an inline store inside Chandler Mall. I was truly shocked and honored, considering that, I had no previous experience in working in a store. I could not see how I could do this, but as the saying goes, it was meant to be. As a result, I formed a new corporation, singed a lease, and opened the store inside Chandler Mall by April of 2005, and "Flowers By Rad" was created. I practically lived there since I was working seven days a week. You could say I was married to my store. Most importantly, the floral shop was launched successfully and continued to do well.
 
Amongst the interesting opportunities, in September 2009, I had the honor to participate in the 42nd annual competition, in the Sylvia Cup, the most prestigious national competition for the society of florists in the United States. Furthermore, I was truly grateful and ecstatic by the appreciation that the Media expressed in their promotion and exposure of my work. My philosophy is that, as any true Artist or floral designer, you carry with you that unexplainable inner flame that makes you create. That powerful feeling that connects your heart, your mind and your hands to produce "Art" from a fragment of your imagination, which has no boundaries.
 
Therefore, I smile knowing that we all carry our talent with us any where we go. More importantly, that we live in an era where the internet has removed all the walls, the barriers and the confinements of  having a store, and has broken through all the boundaries, expanding the parameters to the whole world, as being your oyster!

I believe that the Phoenix Art Museum has added a new dimension to the world of Art, by expanding into perishable Art. By graciously opening its' doors to the floral industry, and inviting the designers to this Exhibition / Competition, which they have so carefully orchestrated, they have made a bold statement and given more credence to our industry, as well as bringing beauty and nature, to the spectator, for which we are truly grateful. I hope to always have my passion for beauty in flowers, and the ability to spread a little happiness by bring a smile to people's faces, through my work.
 
Nahid Rad
"Flowers by Rad"
480.580.1322
nrad@cox.net