“During that time, I kind of just went through a phase of trying to find myself and not really knowing where I stood with life in general,” Baltz says. “If you told me five years ago I was going to own a business in the future, I’d be like, ‘There's no way.’”
A trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, was where Baltz realized she could turn her love for art into a career. She witnessed artisans in the streets selling paintings, hand-blown glass and metal works. When she met a glasssmith whose journey paralleled hers, she had an epiphany. He told her that he also came from a medical background, and an injury forced him to switch careers. Eventually, he picked up glassblowing as a means to regain mobility in his hands, and thus it became his livelihood.
“I think it's something that I really needed to hear," Baltz says of the exchange. "Especially being first-generation [American], I felt like I was pushed one direction to please my family, but my heart was calling me somewhere else.”
After the trip, she began job hunting. Baltz was open to anything — glassblowing, Painting with a Twist, and other creative jobs. Eventually, she landed a job with a luxury wedding florist in Dallas, where she worked for about a year. Her love for flowers developed exponentially, and she then got a job at H-E-B in Frisco as a florist. There, she befriended fellow florist Samantha Cuellar, who now assists her with bigger events.
“I’m really impressed with Ashley’s ideas for her company," Cuellar says. "She has a vision for Red Oak Studios, and is fully confident in how to make it happen. [With] the events I help with, there’s no question unanswered, and a plan for everything. She is very memorable... listens to clients, and forms long-lasting relationships.”
Baltz isn’t driven by the potential of making money, though. She gets fulfillment from making art and seeing people take joy in her creations throughout the last year and a half since she began her business.
“I felt like I was hiding a lot of who I was, so when I was designing with flowers and doing art and using flowers as my medium, I was here in the present,” Baltz says. “I could see myself doing this for a long time.”
In the past six months, Red Oak Studios has seen rapid growth. As a Peruvian-American, Baltz has found community amongst other Latina-owned businesses, with whom she has frequently collaborated.
“Things just started rolling — I started reaching out to people and giving flowers to businesses that I want to work with that align with my same values, like community, my faith, and really being passionate about being creative,” Baltz says. “When I collaborate with other people, I really try to make sure they are very authentic as well.”
Baltz says she makes an effort to build designs that are unlike other arrangements commonly seen in Dallas. She experiments with inspiration from modern abstract art, which she sees in her favorite florist studios, such as Calma in Miami and El Creativo in Los Angeles.
“I knew that I didn't want to be traditional, so anytime I make an arrangement, I [try to] use a brand new flower I've never used,” Baltz says. “I've kind of driven into this modern style, but with my own twist, adding extra greenery or extra textures into it and just trying to make it my own.”
Another huge inspiration for Baltz is the Quechua women in Cuzco, Peru, whom she identifies with. Baltz, being adopted from Peru, wants to represent and honor her heritage by appreciating her people's textiles and colors. She incorporates pops of color to emphasize the cohesiveness seen in native Peruvian clothing.
Red Oak Studios currently only takes orders through its website and Instagram. Apart from preparing orders, she tries to stay in touch with the community, which can be seen through collaboration events like the flower design workshop held at Hyphen Space, a community art space in Dallas; the second class of this series will be Sept. 27.
The next major event is an exciting collaboration with Los Rangers. The team has asked Red Oak Studios to create a backdrop representing Latin American countries to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the Texas Rangers' game against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19 at Globe Life Field.
“I see the ladies on the street selling their bouquets, and I was like that [too], selling my bouquets in the rain on Mother's Day and Valentine's Day," Baltz recalls. "When I think about these big events that I have now, I'm very thankful. When companies say ‘Oh, we really like your work, and we see that you're Peruvian-owned,’ it gets me really emotional, because I feel like I'm representing my country.”
Baltz’s main goal is to make flowers accessible to everyone. Eventually, she wants to have a studio where she can continue creating arrangements and give opportunities to aspiring florists. Ultimately, she wants to open a sister studio back home in Peru and keep making flowers available to everyone, not just clients.
“Everybody should be able to have access to something so beautiful, and eventually, I want to give opportunities to my people to learn skills they can carry on for a long time,” Baltz says. “There's so much that I want to do with Red Oak Studios, but my goal is to take it back home.”
