Cobra Lily Flowers’ Jake Kale on recovery, celebrity clients and queer business
BY MARK ARIEL | PHOTO BY ZIV SADE
Jake Kale, 37, the founder and award winning florist behind the acclaimed Cobra Lily Flowers in Los Angeles, is celebrating six years of sobriety this month.
“I’m extremely proud of myself and grateful for the people along the way who have guided me along this process, says Kale in an interview with THE FIGHT.”
“I had a very intense addiction to crystal meth throughout my 20s, that for the longest while I thought was so cute and that no one could notice and that I was just so cool, running amok around LA. But, surprise, most people in my orbit knew something was up,“ reveals Kale.
“The truth is, I was running from myself, from my fears, from my truths, from my family, from growing up… And meth, the insidious drug that she is, told me that she was actually the one thing saving me. I was convinced I was going to just functionally get high for the rest of my life, despite my total misery and all the messages the universe was sending me otherwise. When push came to shove though, in the midst of absolute total psychosis, from some little part of me that I had pushed down deep inside, came a voice that told me ‘get out now, or you never will.’ Since then I have found recovery programs that have restored me to sanity and allowed me to pursue my dreams. I don’t look back on those times with regret though as some might expect. I have to find gratitude today for that experience because it has allowed me to find my purpose today. Flowers were actually an escape I found in the midst of my using. They provided a small respite from the insanity of my life where I could be creative and connect with nature. Flowers were one of the things that saved me from total annihilation so it only felt natural once I got sober to get a job at a little flower shop, and it has been my world ever since.”
“I’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit for a long time, I’ve always been a bit of a go-getter, so after a few years of working for others in the floral industry, I decided to take a leap of faith and try to create something of my own,” says Kale.
“My grandfather, who was always a big hero of mine, started his own consulting business and so many of the ways I work today come from lessons he left me with. He was always working and providing for his family, of course, but he made sure to keep himself challenged by taking on new projects he knew little about and would learn along the way. I take the spirit with me today, as I’m always looking to try new things and engage in new ways of working, whether that be creating a floral installation when a client has a wild idea, or working on something like merchandise for my brand. I’m very proud of the way I run my business, I love interacting with my clients, and treating them with dignity. My work isn’t cheap so there’s a level of care I take when I work with someone’s hard earned money, but more importantly to me, my clients are entrusting me to deliver a product that also sends a message—whether that’s a message of love, or condolence or gratitude or appreciation—they are entrusting me to translate that message through my art, and that feels like both an honor and a privilege, and I’m so grateful that people trust me with that.”
Kale has worked, over the years, with some big name celebrities. When asked how he fostered those connections he explains: “I’ve been really lucky to be found by people either by word of mouth, press or Instagram who are incredibly creative and are well connected. Through these connections I’ve had the chance to design florals for The Weeknd’s music video ‘Save Your Tears,’ and more recently for Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero.’ I also got to connect with David LaChapelle to shoot the cover story for Rolling Stone with Dua Lipa.”
“This last summer I worked with Shea Coulee on a shoot that was featured in Vogue, launch parties for Hailey Beiber and Instagram, and was featured on “Trixie Motel” (now on HBOMax) teaching Trixie Mattell how to do a floral arrangement.”
“For Pride last year I was also given an exhibition of my work at the Tom of Finland Store, which pushed me to create more queer focused art so I began a project called Bodies in Bloom where I took snapshots of queer bodies nude simply covered by flowers.”
“The concept behind Cobra Lily is that we offer the antithesis to traditional flowers, our tagline is ‘not your average neighborhood florist,’” explains Kale.
“I try to design with the intent to surprise the recipient, I want them to think ‘these are flowers?!’ I go above and beyond to not just source the best materials, but also to transform them.”
“Cobra Lily, at its heart is a queer business,” reveals Kale. “I try to hire queer and trans people, my messaging comes from a queer POV, I stand up for my community, and I’m not afraid to let that be known. I spent too many years hiding who I was to let it be some sort of after thought. Also, like, who else but a queer person could make anything so fabulous!”
For more about Jake and Cobra Lily Flowers visit www.cobralilyflowers.com.
