MARIGOLD BLOOMS IN THE MISSION

It Girls are a thing of the past, but if San Francisco had an Alexa Changtype It Girl in its ranks, it would be Anna-Alexia Basile. A frequenter of many of the city’s stylish events, the photographer and artist is hard to miss, clad in colorful outfits and turbans. This year, Basile celebrated her 29th birthday not at a chic new bar, but at Marigold, a small flower shop on a quiet Mission District corner.

She’s not alone. Since opening on summer solstice in June 2018, Marigold has hosted the Wing’s opening cocktail party, Sophie James’ first San Francisco wine tasting, blogger Amanda Holstein’s new media brand launch, and many more stylish, buzzing and talked-about happenings. Every year brings its own hot spots, and 2018 belonged to Marigold.

“We wanted to transform the experience of the flower shop,” says cofounder Aubriana MacNiven.

It may come as a surprise to those who are not avid Instagram users, but ever since the social media platform divided our lives into well-appointed squares, flowers have been on Marigold, a new floral shop in the Mission District, has become a popular space for parties and events.

a winning spree. Photogenic and artisanal by nature, they’ve become a status symbol, and florists have, in turn, become influencers. No lifestyle event these days is imaginable withfor

out a grand flower arrangement. Prior to Marigold’s meteoric rise to fame, it was Ampersand, the miniature turquoise-doored flower shop at another Mission street that drew the it-crowds launches, parties and bazaars. MacNiven and Gena Winter, both in their early thirties, met while working for local super-florist Natalie Bowen. MacNiven went on to found the flower studio the Bloomerie Co. and had Winter as a freelance assistant.

“My ultimate dream has always been a coffee/flower shop,” says MacNiven, “and Gena and I both realized we have the same idea.” Partnering, rather than doing it alone, made sense, and a business plan was underway. The two still work on plenty of wedding and events, but the store is getting busier and busier.

Then, of course, there are the events at Marigold itself. “We really wanted to be a lifestyle brand,” MacNiven says, “and not to be defined as just florists.” This meant working with a branding designer and thinking ahead, incorporating a coffee and lifestyle component into the visuals, as the two look to 2019 to open a coffee shop in the part of the store that remained empty. Most of the marketing was done by word of mouth and on Instagram.

The highly photogenic, naturally lit

Andres Barraza