Roses Are Red, Violet’s Are Blue…

Isabella Coleman’s story of ‘flower power’ is sure to inspire you. 

“Let’s have a parade!” Iconic and uniquely American, a parade celebrates all that this right with the world and the Tournament of Roses is no exception. Year after year we spend New Years Day hopeful about the future as we “ooh” and “aah” over the spectacles created out of seeds and flowers. But Isabella Coleman wasn’t so impressed. At least not in 1904. 

After riding on a float at the age of 12, Isabella knew she had been bitten by the “float bug.” But back in those days, the Tournament of Roses parade was a mere shadow of what it’s become. Floats were horse driven and decorated rudimentarily with flowers tied on with string. Knowing that she could do better, Isabella entered her own float into the parade at age 18 because, “Well, flowers grow in bunches, not strings.”

Isabella’s first float was a resounding success and she went on to hone her inner inventor. Though she lacked formal design or engineer training, Isabella is credited with bringing floats out of the dark ages. She pasted flowers and seeds on to create a more realistic look and brought about the use of motors to run floats, not horses. 

Perhaps most impressive was her ability to turn her craft into a business opportunity. Isabella pitched design ideas to large corporate sponsors and was hired by the City of Los Angeles (among others). Needless to say, the board members were shocked to find out a woman was behind such a sophisticated plan. Isabella proved her worth even more when her banker husband lost his job during the Great Depression. Her son later revealed that Isabella’s float design business literally kept the family ‘afloat.’ 

Isabella went on to win over 250 float contests over the years. Upon retirement in the 1960’s Pasadena decided to create an honorary award in her name. Each year the Isabella Coleman award is given to the float that most exemplifies “harmony in color.” We too salute Isabella for showing us how to turn the seemingly simple (flowers, seeds and an idea) into something sensational.