Bird Rock smelling sweeter with addition of floral designer

Flowers are something Robin Ellsworth Dietsch can arrange for any event. And she does it with her own panache.

“What I do, the look I have, it’s European,” said Dietsch, who opened Red Floral Design at 5648 La Jolla Blvd. on Jan. 12. “What I bring to my work is interesting colors and textures. It’s a different look that is fresh and new, what people are welcoming.”

The front portion of Red Floral Design, a name derived from its owner’s intials, is a retail gift shop strewn with an array of items: gift baskets, purses and vases, gnarled Manzanita trees. Dietsch has a line of scented candles that she said has made Oprah’s O List. The back of her shop is work space for flower arranging.

La Jolla is a great place to work, said Dietsch, because it’s such a high-profile destination for locals and visitors. “There are lots of events that are just happening.”

A mainstay of Dietsch’s flower arranging is the work she does for weddings. She’s already booked ahead for weddings every weekend this June. She handles flower arrangements for all occasions, wherever the need arises, in people’s private homes, in hospitals or in corporate settings. She’s worked with civic groups like Las Patronas and with local interior designers like La Jollan Dawn Kearney.

Dietsch partners with other local businesses, like Sea Lodge and La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, as well as event planner Creative Occasions With a Personal Touch to fill flower needs.

“She’s very easy to work with,” said Amy Kerr, catering convention services manager at Sea Lodge. “She’s personable. She treats my clients very nice, with the same standards and appreciation that I would. I feel confident sending my clients to her.”

Sea Lodge often has the need for flower arrangements, from parties and weddings to meetings and anniversaries.

“She does the flowers for most of our brides,” said Kerr. “Anything from centerpieces to the entire decor, she does for us.”

Kerr said one of the best things about Dietsch is she can work on short order.

“Weddings you plan way in advance,” she said. “But, we have meetings with just a day or two notice, and we can call her and say, ‘I really need this and this,’ and she gets it right over to me. I would recommend her to anyone. My clients have always been happy with her work. She’s just a wonderful person - very talented.”

Creative Occasions, a couple doors down from Red Floral Design in Bird Rock, has had a similar positive experience working with Dietsch.

“Robin has just been one of our favorite florists,” said Leah Nelson. “She’s just so accommodating. She worked with a lot of our brides, whatever their budgets may be. She really tries to work with them in any way she can. She’s super creative. She’s dependable.”

Flower arranging is a very competitive market, with no shortage of players.