At Home With Sammy Go
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Senay Inanici
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The Oakland-based florist, former NBA dancer, and all-around-creative on life with three kiddos.
The desire to become a dad was never a question for Sammy Go of Lambert Floral Studio.
Today, the Oakland-based florist (for Chez Panisse and others), former Golden State Warriors dancer, and lifelong creative is living that dream alongside his wife, Sarah, and their three children: Griffin (8), Rocky (4), and Daisy (1).
In today’s profile, Sammy welcomes us into his colorful home, where creativity and connection shape everyday life. Think impromptu living room dance parties, local library and bakery runs, wagon rides around their scenic neighborhood, and a Ghibli soundtrack playing in the background. Together, he and Sarah are intentionally creating a family culture that celebrates curiosity, imagination, and joy.
In addition to letting us tag along with him at work, Sammy also shares the fathers who inspire him, how parenthood has completely reshaped his priorities, and why watching his children create has rekindled his own artistic instincts.
“One of my greatest joys as a father has been witnessing Griffin and Rocky explore their own creativity, which has impacted my own in so many ways,” he says. “As a creative entrepreneur, you learn how to temper your own creative junction with the vision of your stakeholders. In fatherhood, I’m relearning how to listen to my creative intuition, wanting to peel back the years of learned behavior of how to make my creativity effective above expressive.”
He also reflects on the humility and growth that fatherhood demands: “I think fatherhood is a full contact sport—you are so engrossed in it that it’s important to zoom out, assess and reflect, and realign if necessary. I’ve become quite accustomed to apologizing to Griffin and Rocky when I wish I hadn’t done or said something, just as I expect them to apologize and try again when they make a mistake.”
Read more of Sammy’s words of wisdom—alongside a mini day-in-the-life photo shoot—below.
Be sure to follow Sammy online at @lambertfloralstudio and lambertfloralstudio.com
Did you always know you wanted to be a father?
"Always! My first job in high school was as a summer day camp counselor for first graders, so now I get to be a full-time camp counselor for my kids."
What was the experience like going from 2 to 3?
“It has been more chaotic than we anticipated—the most repeated comment said to us was ‘You’re outnumbered now!’ It’s proven very true.”
“Their priorities become my priorities—both by necessity and the recalibration of vision and purpose. In fatherhood, you have irrevocably crossed the threshold where your life is no longer your own.”
Did you always imagine you'd want three children?
“We have always held plans for babies loosely, knowing we’re barely in control. But when Rocky was an infant we realized we were welcoming him into a family culture we didn’t realize we had been cultivating for years with Griffin. It was a moment of clarity and we began imagining what it’d be like to welcome another into that culture.”
What excites you about raising two sons—and now a daughter?
“Raising two sons feels like the most important job I’ll have. Sarah and I are raising them to hopefully be the kind of men we want to see in the world—kind, full of love, tender, humble, empathetic, inquisitive and curious and humble, creative and full of wonder, an advocate for others.”
“Now having Daisy, we anticipate a different dynamic for our family. I want Daisy to grow up feeling supported and protected by her older brothers and I want them to grow up advocating for and respecting her journey of growing up a girl and how that might be different than their own lived experience. I love that Sarah now has a mini-me, and I’m just as excited for her to wear the boys’ hand-me-downs as I am excited to learn how to put bows in her hair.”
Tell us about your kids' names.
“For Griffin, I knew I wanted a double G name, so he can one day be dripping in Gucci GG logos. (Am I kidding or not?) We actually didn’t fully decide on the name until we had to fill out his birth certificate. ‘Griffin’ means ‘strong of faith,’ and when he was born, almost all the nurses commented on how strong he was—strong grip, strong cry. It felt like confirmation. His middle name, Saint, is a shoutout to San Francisco and a reference to the griffin being the fantastical creature said to be a guardian of the Garden of Eden. We liked the duality of strength and protector qualities compared against the garden, a refuge of beauty.”
“Rocky’s name comes from a meaning of ‘well of rest,’ which is comical because he is such a chaotic little person. Let’s just say he helps us appreciate the little rest we can get. His middle name, Lambert, is my maternal grandfather’s name, my middle name, and the name of my floral design studio. I was actually contemplating retiring from Lambert before Rocky was born and wanted the name to live on in him.”
“Daisy is our midsummer’s eve girl—carefree and without worry, like dancerly wildflowers in a summer breeze. If we were to dip into the world of flower names, we liked how straightforward this one is. (Sarah had to really talk me out of the name Buttercup.) Her middle name, Lenora, is a derivative of Sarah’s mom’s name, Helen, and means ‘bright one.’”
What has surprised you about the experience of fatherhood so far? Do you feel changed as a person?
“First of all, I did not expect to be draining my savings on how expensive berries are. Otherwise, I’m surprised about our multiplied capacity to love and delight in our children. There’s an alchemy to fatherhood, the ability to expand and transform and grow to try and show up in the way these babies need. Their priorities become my priorities—both by necessity and the recalibration of vision and purpose. In fatherhood, you have irrevocably crossed the threshold where your life is no longer your own.”
What was your own upbringing like?
“I grew up in San Francisco and my parents still live in that same house—it’s so fun that my kids get to play around in my childhood bedroom! My childhood was very sunny, full of fun. My mom and dad raised my older brother and me with a selfless type of love that seemed so effortless. They let me be creative, put me in sports and tutoring, but also let me try out for dance classes and capoeira. I think they were always able to see the validity in what I was interested in and curious about and gave me opportunities to grow skills in those interests. My dad is an optometrist and runs a private practice so I was exposed to an entrepreneurial way of life very early on. I was also very close with my grandmother, who lived 2 minutes away from us. We would hang out a lot.”
Are there things from your upbringing that you're consciously trying to incorporate (or not incorporate) into your kid's upbringing?
“I feel like there are so many layers in this question! I’m a 3.5 generation Chinese-American and the process of understanding my own heritage and making sense of my own identity has been its own journey. I also think Griffin, Rocky, and Daisy’s generation will relate to their own identities as Chinese-Americans differently than Sarah and I do, and I want them to be equipped to engage in that discourse as it arises amongst them and their peers. So sometimes that is as simple as making sure our Sunday mornings are balanced evenly between french toast breakfasts and a trip to Chinatown for a box of fresh char siu baos.”
“I’m surprised by our multiplied capacity to love and delight in our children. There’s an alchemy to fatherhood, the ability to expand and transform and grow to try and show up in the way they need.”
Do you have any dad icons or folks you look up to?
“My own dad, who raised my brother and me with sacrifice and selflessness and enthusiasm. I’m also finding myself encouraged and inspired by the fathers of Griffin and Rocky’s classmates and friends from the neighborhood. There’s been an unexpected sense of community there for me, one that didn’t feel forced to fabricate.”
You are so in touch with nature and creativity — you're a florist, but you've also been a dancer for the Golden State Warriors. Is this sort of creativity and eclecticism something you're trying to infuse into your kids' childhoods?
“Absolutely! I’m not saying any of the children have to walk in my footsteps, but I’m also not not saying it. I want them to cultivate their own love and awe for the natural world—in as simple, small ways as letting Rocky pick out a bunch of flowers when he tags along with me to the flower market, or letting Griffin plant the seeds from the apple core he just ate.”
“We have a lot of living room dance parties. I joke all the time about being a Stage Dad, but I don’t think I actually have that energy in me. I feel so grateful that my parents allowed me to explore what piqued my interest until I found my footing in somewhat niche mediums. I’m trying to mirror that same open-ended support, even though I’m silently evaluating their sense of rhythm.”
Is the idea of what "kind" of parent you "want to be" something you think about?
“I’d say so. Maybe not in a way where you become obsessed about ego, or labels, or personas, but more so the growth mindset invitation that parenthood presents. I don’t think I’m set on embodying any specific idealized parenting archetype, but I am constantly wrestling my parental instincts into a fatherhood framework that I feel best serves my children. I think fatherhood is a full contact sport—you are so engrossed in it that it’s important to zoom out, assess and reflect, and realign if necessary. I’ve become quite accustomed to apologizing to Griffin and Rocky when I wish I hadn’t done or said something, just as I expect them to apologize and try again when they make a mistake.”
What does it mean to you to be a "good dad"?
“A ‘good dad’ shows up. He gives all of himself to his family, he gives all of himself for his family.”
What about being a "good man"?
“A ‘good man’ is others-focused. His ambitions are rendered selfless.”
We know you read a lot with your kids — any books you particularly love?
“I particularly love any book with a Chinese-American or Taiwanese-American author or illustrator (shoutout Lian Cho, X. Fang, Eugenia Yoh)!”
“Griffin is getting into Greek mythology books. Rocky loves any book about Christmas.”
What excites you most about fatherhood right now? And what makes you most nervous?
“I am most excited about my kids growing in relationship with each other. There’s a lot of effortless fun and our living room is host to their playtime shenanigans, but there’s also a lot of friction and bickering. We hope all of it is building a foundation for their future as grown siblings.”
“I am most nervous by how to support them in an AI world.”
What advice would you give to other dads about to start their fatherhood journey?
“Support your partner. Anticipate their needs and then do something about it. Be kind and tender towards your children.”
Tell us about your home.
“Sarah and I want our home to reflect who we are—not too serious, comfortable and relaxed, not necessarily calm, but warm and soft. We try to be concerned less about how it all looks and more about how it feels. Sarah reminds me this is not a museum, a family of 5 lives here.”
“We spend a lot of our time in the living room. It’s where the kids play, where we lounge and hangout with friends after hosting a dinner. We have these really big, old, original windows—a lot of bright sunlight floods in and we can wave at neighbors when they pass by. For both of these reasons, we also have these tall pleated pink linen curtains. We ripped out our front lawn when Daisy was born and planted a garden of wildflowers and grasses. The boys like to fawn over at the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds that zoom past the windows.”
What does an ideal family day in Oakland look like for you?
“Our Saturday mornings begin with a stop at Poppy Bagels (our boys have befriended ‘Uncle Gabe’ who takes our bagel order), then we sneak through the back patio to grab cappuccinos at Alleyway Cafe, and make a final stop at Forma for a loaf of milk bread to make french toast the next morning. It’s crazy to encounter that many carbs on one city block without having to cross the street (critical with 3 kids).”
“As of late, we have been enjoying slower pleasures—I’ll push the kids in a wagon through our neighborhood while playing Ghibli soundtracks from my phone, we’ll fill tote bags with books from the library, catch a matinee at Grand Lake Theater. Rocky is addicted to the chocolate chip cookies at Arizmendi.”
Can you tell us about your career in a nutshell?
“In a nutshell, I’d describe my career arc as a mixture of random interests and never being afraid to try new things. I studied Landscape Architecture at UC Berkeley, had a small (and slow) residential landscape design studio after graduating, met and interned for a florist, opened Lambert Floral Studio, tried out for and joined the Warriors Dance Team after Griffin was born during the 2021-2022 Championship Season, took over as the florist in residence at Chez Panisse, and most recently have been learning the ins and outs of hospitality design as a consultant for Auberge Collection.”
What would you consider your "big break" (or breaks) in your career?
“Y'know at every step of the way there’s been that one person who initially trusted me to do something special for them. I think those moments come to mind as big breaks—the landscape architect whose car I hit in college and thereafter hired me as her intern (long story!), the florist who answered my email to sweep the floor of her studio, my friend’s big sister who was the first to ever hire me to make wedding flowers, et cetera. I am so grateful!”
How has becoming a father impacted your creativity and how you think about work?
“Becoming a parent has absolutely changed my relationship to career. I’m sure other working parents may recall a pull to work less and be with their child(ren) instead, and then gaining renewed vision for the importance and value of their work.”
“One of my greatest joys as a father has been witnessing Griffin and Rocky explore their own creativity, which has impacted my own in so many ways. I feel like children have the purest sense of creativity—it’s not for ego or ambition. It’s not concerned with being on trend, or optimized for engagement, accessible enough to be understood but unexpected enough to be trailblazing. Their creativity is wholly expressive of their own curated idea of beauty, a response of delight to the world they’re experiencing for the first time. Some notable recent creations are Griffin’s Lego macarons and Rocky’s (very) abstract pink splotch drawings.”
“I also notice that their creative expression is a choice for them (no one is forcing the boys to spontaneously pick up a crayon). Therefore, it’s trustworthy and true. Lately I’ve made small shifts in my creative posturing, trying to emulate my sons’ creative choices. As a creative entrepreneur, you learn how to temper your own creative junction with the vision of your stakeholders. In fatherhood, I’m relearning how to listen to my creative intuition, wanting to peel back the years of learned behavior of how to make my creativity effective above expressive.”
What's inspiring you lately?
1. The Bangkok artist O Terawat’s highly-detailed colored pencil drawings of food.
2. Ralph Lauren’s SS2027 Menswear show.
3. The enigmatic pre-rollout and speculative anticipation of Beyoncé's Act III.
Do you have any go-to creative habits or practices to get grounded, inspired, and ready to create?
“I’m always listening to music when I’m alone and designing.”
Any big goals or happenings—professionally or personally—that you're excited about for the year ahead?
“I’m excited for Daisy to turn 1 years old in a few weeks. We’re hoping to take our first international trip as a family of 5 this winter. I’m helping with the design of a playground renovation at Griffin’s elementary school, which is super exciting. I’m looking for a carpenter to build us a window seat and make a breakfast nook that can also do double duty as an art and future homework zone.”
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