A New Branch For Joy Flower Pot: Inside a Day of Tết, Community, and Celebration

Xuân đã về, meaning “spring is here” or translated literally as “spring has come home,” is a song that sweeps every Vietnamese household during Tết, bringing forth renewal and fresh beginnings. That same spirit of arrival bloomed with Joy Flower Pot’s grand opening party to celebrate their second home in Williamsburg and the start of a new chapter. Headed by Kelly Nguyen, the flower shop started with its roots in the Lower East Side and has now opened a branch on Lorimer St which also serves as a café and workshop space.

To celebrate all the festivities, Joy Flower Pot hosted a grand opening and Tết party on February 21 in collaboration with Viet Salon NYC, a modern day salon for the Vietnamese diaspora. The party consisted of a day market featuring local Vietnamese and minority owned businesses and an evening show.

Upon arriving at the flower shop, whose doors were wide open with music flowing onto the street, Beansprout the guard dog greeted visitors. The next greeter was fashion designer Lexyniso or Alexis Doan with her calligraphy station, where she was writing Chữ Nôm, a former logographic writing system of the Vietnamese language.

The new space is warm and inviting, with the coffee bar cranking out drinks and filling the air with the familiar aroma of Vietnamese coffee. At the end of the coffee bar is where the flowers are located, ranging from stems, to bundles, to prearranged bouquets. On the day of the event, the shop was bustling with vendors and visitors alike, many donning the traditional áo dài, all perusing the variety of food, crafts, and art on display. The most mentioned item of the market ended up being the phở candle from 22MINUS21, which really did smell like phở, except without strangely feeling like you were in a kitchen. From handcrafted bags from Inner Child to perfumes from AYOND or board games from Bo & Mei, there was something for everyone in a demonstration of the Vietnamese creative community’s artisanship.

Of course, it’s not a celebration without the food! Thèm served up the iconic pandan honeycomb cake bánh bò nướng and other bites, such as bì cuốn (rice paper rolls) and nui giòn (savory and sweet fried pasta). Figz & Chibz had a variety of desserts, including  chè trôi nước (mung bean filled rice balls in ginger syrup), chè thái (fruit cocktail), and an assortment of cookies.

As the day market wound down, a lion dance captivated everyone, with everybody spilling out onto the street to watch the performance and the popping firecrackers. However, the fun was just beginning as the night variety show kicked off, headlined by comedian, DJ, and MC Leo Nguyen. Mai Vino provided beverages as the night settled into stand up comedy acts by Kyle Lucero, Art Cai, and Jamie Wang and music performances by Juliet by Night and duo Thai An and JDN. 

In With The Horse, Out With The Snake

On this day dedicated to celebrating new prospects and reflecting on the past, we asked the event organizers a question: “What is one thing you’re shedding and one thing you’re galloping towards?”

These were the wise responses:

Kelly – Joy Flower Pot

Shedding?: Negativity

Galloping towards?: More freedom and traveling

Quentin – Viet Salon NYC

Shedding?: Assumed pessimism 

Galloping towards?: Unbridled optimism

Chani – Figz & Chibz

Shedding?: External pressures

Galloping towards?: Abundance of community and connections

Erin – Figz & Chibz

Shedding?: Fear of defining myself

Galloping towards?: Making new friends

Rachel – Xanh Studio

Shedding?: The pressure of meeting expectations 

Galloping towards?: New goals

Gabrielle – AZN AMERICANA

Shedding?: Grasping for what’s hottest and trending

Galloping towards?: Chasing longevity and legacy 

Connie – AZN AMERICANA

Shedding?: My inner critic

Galloping towards?: Running toward fears

Huong – Đất Hun

Shedding?: Anxiety and anger

Galloping towards?: Keeping my chaotic energy

Pyper – Pyperbleu

Shedding?: The fear of being fully in charge of my life

Galloping towards?: Being more in love with the world

An Emerging Creative Community in Bloom

As someone who emphasizes community as part of her business ethos, Kelly has made it a recurring effort to collaborate and host events with other local business owners. 

Pyper from pyperbleu attested to this sentiment, expressing the desire to express more love towards friends, strangers, and community, and in taking concrete steps instead of merely wishing. This party was a clear demonstration of that — of building, supporting, and celebrating the oncoming wave of Vietnamese creatives in New York City. 

“They’re in vogue, I’m in Vogue, we’re all in Vogue,” said Gabrielle from AZN AMERICANA, referring to the recent Vogue article highlighting how NYC Vietnamese-American creatives celebrate Tết that featured one of the event organizers, Viet Salon NYC. The event embodied that exact spirit, sharing a collective momentum that shares success and community and channels that into lasting cultural presence. As the snow melts and the seasons turn, Joy Flower Pot and the new generation of Vietnamese creatives are steadily defining their place in the city’s landscape.

For more on cultural happenings, check out our dive into Korean crown relics here.