Carlota Flower Lab is a Mexico-based floral studio and educational platform that has reshaped how contemporary floral design is taught, practiced, and shared across Latin America. Founded by Paola Mendoza and Rolando Torres, Carlota began as a small, home-based operation in Michoacán, where custom floral work was driven by intuition, discipline, and a clear desire to create with meaning.
What started in a modest laundry room grew steadily into a recognized brand – one known for its thoughtful aesthetic, technical rigor, and ability to communicate stories through flowers. This year, they made it their mission to be the first Latin American flower lab to bring Tulipina to Mexico. But before getting into more detail, it's time to learn more about the story of Carlota Flowers.
The Journey Behind Carlota Flower Lab
How did Carlota begin, and what inspired its focus on education? Here's a full background you'll find very interesting...
The story of Carlota Flower Lab begins with Paola Mendoza and Rolando Torres, a couple who discovered in flowers not just a profession, but a creative language capable of transforming spaces and connecting cultures. Their journey started by fulfilling custom orders from the small laundry room of their home in Michoacán, where each arrangement became an exercise in intuition, discipline, and a desire to offer something different: flowers with intention, design, and a distinct character. What began as an intimate venture quickly grew into a recognized brand, known for its contemporary aesthetic and its ability to tell stories through flowers.
Driven by the need to refine their floral skills, Paola and Rolando pursued formal training at several floral art schools in Mexico before continuing their education with Flower School NY and McQueens. There, they understood that floristry could be an art grounded in methodology, technical depth, and global vision. More than learning techniques, they found a mission, which was to bring professional floral education to Mexico and Latin America, raising standards and projecting Latin talent onto the global stage.
In November 2018, they taught their first workshop in Mexico City, beginning a journey that has since transformed the lives of approximately 4,000 people. From that point on, their teachings traveled to cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Peru, and Lisbon, connecting florists, creatives, and entrepreneurs with a new way of seeing and working with flowers – one inspired by beauty, technique, and purpose.
Their passion for sharing knowledge led Carlota Flower Lab to build an educational project that crosses borders. Since 2020, year after year, they have fulfilled a long-held dream: bringing some of the world’s most respected floral educators to Mexico. They have collaborated with leading figures such as McQueens Flower School from London, Lacy Bird from Moscow, Susan McLeary from Michigan, Holly Chapple from Virginia, Gilberto Freihoff, a Mexican designer recognized in the United States, Michael Putnam from New York, Aulling Atelier from Korea, and Madrid Flower School from Spain.
These gatherings have not only elevated the technical and creative level of the community but have also positioned Mexico as an international meeting point. Each edition welcomes students not only from across Mexico, but also from Canada, the United States, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Colombia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Spain, and Italy. Seeing so many cultures come together in one room, united by floral art, is one of the project’s greatest rewards.
Today, Carlota Flower Lab is a brand that brings together two worlds that strengthen one another: a contemporary floral studio recognized for its style, and an educational lab that propels Latin American talent toward international platforms
Recognizing Mexico as an international reference in contemporary floral design is the result of years of work, vision, and faith in this art form. And even so, the story is only beginning. For Carlota Flower Lab, there is still much to create, to share, and to let bloom
The Values That Have Guided Its Growth and Community
At Carlota Flower Lab, they believe in professionalization with purpose, in sharing knowledge generously, and in building a community where collective growth matters more than competition. They work with technical excellence, creative authenticity, and respect for both the designs and the flowers.
Above all, their story and community are grounded in three pillars that define the essence of Carlota: faith, consistency, and perseverance.
Faith to dream big, consistency to train and teach with discipline, and perseverance to open paths in an industry that today, thanks to everyone involved, flourishes stronger than ever.
“If there is one thing we have learned along this path, it is that dreams can be built—but never alone. They are built with faith, consistency, perseverance, and a community that believes alongside you. Our greatest purpose at Carlota Flower Lab is to show that Latin American talent has a place in the global conversation of floral design. And when knowledge is shared generously, we all bloom.”
The Journey to Becoming the First Flower Lab to Bring Tulipina to Latin America
Bringing Tulipina to Mexico was always a personal and professional dream.
Paola shares:
"Kiana has long been one of the florists we admire most for her sensitivity, technique, and ability to tell stories through color. For us, she represented the opportunity to bring our community closer to a global reference who inspires, challenges, and raises the standard of floral design. We were not the first to bring her to Latin America, but we felt a deep desire for our community to experience an educational opportunity of that level, right here at home, with the quality that defines Carlota Flower Lab."
Kiana giving a workshop in Seoul
What They Hope for From This Collaboration and What It Represents for Students
From this collaboration, they hope for a genuine exchange of technique, vision, and sensitivity. Working with Tulipina means bringing their community closer to a level of design that has inspired the world. They want this experience to reaffirm their commitment to offering floral education of excellence in Mexico and Latin America, with international standards and a contemporary approach.
For students, the expectation is to live something truly transformative since they'll be learning directly from one of the most influential florists of all time, understanding her creative process, strengthening their own identity, and expanding their perspective on color, form, and composition. They seek inspiration, technical clarity, and the confidence that comes only from learning from someone who has shaped global trends.
At its core, this collaboration represents an opportunity to grow, to open new possibilities, and to continue elevating floral design in the region.
