Episode 50: Interview with Ace Berry AIFD, PFCI about his Personal Experience on Full Bloom on HBO Max
Spoiler alert: this episode discusses the winner of Full Bloom. Fresh off interviewing Beth O'Reilly in episode 48, Vonda and Lori sit down with another Texan and friend of the show — Ace Berry, an accredited member of the American Institute of Floral Designers, a PFCI member, floral artist, and flower shop owner in Houston. Ace made it all the way to the final two of HBO Max's floral competition series, and he holds nothing back about what it was really like.
From "this is a scam" to the final four
Ace almost didn't apply. When the casting ads first circulated, he got four messages about the show and assumed every one of them was a scam. It took a phone call from the casting director to convince him it was real. From there it moved fast: an arrangement filmed in his own store for a Skype interview, a flight to LA for the top-20 round — during Valentine's week, of all weeks for a florist — and then the call that he'd made the cast.
Filming was anything but glamorous. The crew shot two and a half episodes before COVID shut everything down, then Ace flew back out and spent thirty straight days away from his wife and daughter, bridging the Texas–California time difference with early-morning and late-night FaceTimes. Each 45-minute episode took roughly two twelve-hour filming days.
You can't leave home without a great team
Unlike some contestants, Ace owns a brick-and-mortar shop — so who ran it for a month? His staff, who he describes as friends more than employees. His manager Crystal held down the fort, took over the social media and orders, and called every few days with updates, while freelancers and his "college girls" filled in on the bench. His takeaway is one every shop owner should sit with: you can only say yes to a big opportunity if you've built a team you trust to run the place without you.
Competing like a professional
Ace's strategy on the show reads like a masterclass in knowing your strengths. He opened episode one in his comfort zone — pink flowers, structural design — to start on a good foot. He rarely joined the mad dash for product, reasoning that with $50,000 to $100,000 of flowers in the room, there was always something beautiful left to design with. He treated the judges' mid-challenge interruptions the way he treats chatty customers at the design bench, because retail had already taught him to design fast while holding a conversation. And when they handed him the next day's challenge brief, he folded it up, put it in his back pocket, and went to bed — no details, no point worrying.
He also made a deliberate branding choice: though high-style tropical work is his signature, he refused to touch a tropical stem all season. He didn't want to be seen as a one-trick pony — he wanted to prove he could win with whatever was in front of him.
The hardest challenge, he says, was episode four, when the judges pushed him to drop his walls and design outside his bread-and-butter aesthetic. It forced a vulnerability he'd spent years avoiding — and he took first place on it.
The final room and a story about being broken
Ace's finale room was built around a heartbeat and a story: how flowers mend broken people. He talked openly about his years in the oil field — miserable, working for the insurance and the paycheck — and how finding flowers, and his mentor and best friend Patience, gave him community, purpose, and healing. Vonda and Lori both thought his room should have won; Ace is more gracious, saying Connor's back wall was one of the most beautiful things he's ever seen. And the friendships on screen were real — the cast agreed early on never to talk badly about each other, and Ace still talks to Kristin, Connor, Justin, and Beth regularly.
What's next for Ace
Ace and Patience are hosting an inspired design retreat in Austin June 7–9, built for "all flower enthusiasts" — from one-month newbies to seasoned designers — because, as Ace puts it, people don't try because they don't have cheerleaders. He wants to teach more, write a book on profitable everyday design, and maybe even judge Full Bloom season two. Had he won, the $100,000 had a plan attached: a trip for his wife, the breadwinner who made it all possible, and $25,000 to endow an AIFD scholarship for career-changers like him. You can still stream the series on HBO Max.
Key takeaways
- Big opportunities require a team you trust — invest in people who can run your shop without you.
- Know your strengths and lead with them, but be willing to design outside your comfort zone; that's where growth (and Ace's first-place win) happened.
- Don't panic-grab product. Slow down, secure your mechanics first, and make something beautiful with what's in front of you.
- There's enough business for everyone — "I don't care where you buy your flowers, as long as you're buying flowers."
- Be someone's cheerleader. Mentorship changed Ace's career, and paying it forward is now his mission.
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist