Meet the Team
Every arrangement begins with care, creativity, and intention. Meet the designers and plant lovers who bring Botanica’s thoughtful florals to life—one stem, one story at a time.
Liz Shafer
Owner & Lead Designer
Liz Shafer is the owner and lead floral designer behind Botanica Floral & Design. Drawn to flowers for their color, texture, and expressive potential, Liz approaches floral design as a creative process rooted in intuition, curiosity, and experimentation. For her, working with flowers is both artistic and problem-solving, it’s a way to explore form and movement while creating something meaningful and personal.
Alongside her love of flowers, Liz is deeply connected to plants and plant care. She is a collector, caretaker, and rescuer at heart, finding grounding and calm in working with soil, repotting, and long-term plant stewardship. This balance between floral creativity and plant care shapes how Botanica operates and how customers are supported beyond the initial purchase.
Liz’s design aesthetic is modern and natural, intentionally stepping away from traditional floral symmetry in favor of work that feels organic, expressive, and thoughtfully composed. She is passionate about reducing environmental impact within her practice, prioritizing reuse, composting, and more sustainable design methods whenever possible.
Just as important to Liz as design is connection. A connection to customers, collaborators, and the broader community. Botanica is meant to be more than a retail space. It is a creative studio, a resource, and a place where people can feel comfortable asking questions, learning, and discovering flowers and plants that genuinely enhance their spaces and their everyday lives.
Catie Jewel Burkhead
Designer
Catie is a veterinary medical professional by trade and a fine-line artist at heart, bringing a meticulous eye and deep respect for detail to her work at Botanica Floral & Design. Often working quietly behind the scenes, she plays an essential role in shaping designs from the inside out. Thoughtful, steady, and intentional.
She is especially drawn to seasonal blooms, the meanings carried within florals, and the beauty of often-overlooked elements. Through careful placement and an intuitive understanding of balance, Catie transforms the subtle and less noticed into something quietly striking. Her presence and contributions reach far beyond what is immediately seen, making her an integral part of the Botanica team.
Kaitlin Amidon
Studio Assistant
Kaitlin Amidon is a plant and animal lover at heart, with a creative spirit rooted in curiosity, connection, and a love of learning. Her work centers on helping others better understand and enjoy plants—whether through bouquets, houseplants, or the care and stories behind them.
Passionate about sharing approachable, practical knowledge, Kaitlin empowers people to feel confident in their plant care and floral choices. Deeply connected to the Emporia community, she believes plants are a powerful way to foster creativity, conversation, and connection—one leaf or bouquet at a time.
Heather Heins
Designer
Heather is a designer at Botanica Floral & Design, bringing creativity, care, and a thoughtful eye to each arrangement she creates. Her work reflects Botanica’s design-forward approach, blending color, texture, and seasonality to craft florals that feel intentional and expressive.
As part of the design team, Heather contributes to a wide range of projects—from everyday bouquets to larger-scale event work—helping turn ideas into beautifully executed designs. Her calm, collaborative presence and attention to detail make her an essential part of the studio’s creative process.
