Meet Hannah Yeun: Musician & Floral Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Yeun and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, how do you think about risk?
I think playing it safe inhibits one’s growth in whatever creative field they are interested in. There is a way to take risks as long as they align with your personal goals. For me personally, I knew that I had to move across the country and get out of the stifling DC suburb I grew up in. I think that’s a common feeling for many creative people—the need to escape their hometown. If you have to start over somewhere that no one knows you, it forces you to face yourself and the things you truly want on the most basic level. And then you start feeling resilient and feel freedom to dream bigger and take bigger goal-aligned risks.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a songwriter, I’ve been writing my own music since I was a kid and use it mainly as a form of emotional processing. Sometimes it’s hard for me to interpret how I’m really feeling until I write it in a song. And then once I’ve written the song, it’s like that emotion is released from being trapped within me. It’s very freeing. These days, my main music focus is through recording as the whole live music industry is on pause during the pandemic. It’s been interesting exploring new styles of songwriting but also getting back to basics, which is just me alone with my guitar in my bedroom, probably crying, (kidding, not kidding). As a floral designer, I started this path because my parents had a roadside flower stand that they used to raise money for the church I grew up in. I knew I always wanted to find my way back to flowers, and so I worked in a grocery store for awhile and that led me to move out to Oregon to be closer to where the flower farms are for a few years. These days I design with Bloom Maven, and our designs have been seen in major publications including Dwell, Style Me Pretty, and British Vogue. We also participated in the Modern Love wedding showcase in Palm Springs and recently collaborated on a photoshoot with Revolve and Under Canvas. My boss, Akiko Senda, has a creative vision unparalleled to anyone else in the floral world and I’m thrilled to go along for the ride.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d say a drive up to Mount Lemmon especially if the leaves are changing or there’s snow, followed by a drive to see the San Xavier Mission temple (an incredible architectural treasure), food at Kukai for their ramen or onigiri and drinks at Owl’s Club (a former funeral parlor turned into a bar). I miss drinking mezcal in a bar.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Groundworks Tucson—a nonprofit that focuses on youth driven music and art

Website: hannahyeun.bandcamp.com
Instagram: Hannahyeunmusic
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDNesW6VZwI6-iwo6V5NnNA

Image Credits
Photo with flower crown by The Fine Photo Co Photo playing guitar- Jeff Sprytime