honey of a thousand flowers

New blog and giveaway!

2012-02-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

I have a new blog!

Please change your RSS feed to follow www.sarahwinward.com/journal

because I am going to stop posting here after today.

Aaaaannnnnd-

I am excited to be a part of the cream event coming up on March 1st in LA!

Lucky for you, I have two tickets to give away!

Leave a comment on the post on the new blog and I'll announce the winner on Valentines day.

(It only seems appropriate)

In case you are not familiar with the cream, it is a very thoughtfully curated wedding show/party put together by the girls from Bash, please. They will be announcing a participant each day until the event, keep checking here to see who else will be there.

Valentines Day

2012-02-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

I'm accepting Valentines day orders!

Order online now for pick up or delivery on February 13th & 14th.

www.honeyofathousandflowers.bigcartel.com

e-mail

2012-01-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

It turns out my flowers@sarahwinward.com e-mail address has not been working for a couple of weeks...gasp! I am in the middle of some site renovations (site finished, new blog coming soon!) and it got scrapped somewhere in the process. Over the next few days please contact me at sjwinward@yahoo.com. Sorry if you have e-mailed me and been left in the dark!

UPDATE: The e-mail on my website is back up and running as of 1/22!

Because a post without pictures doesn't seem like much of a post at all...here are some pretties for you. A few blurry shots of flower arrangements, can you guess who?
The green on is here, and the pink one is here.

rachel's flowers

2012-01-20T22:18:00.000-08:00

a few details from rachel's wedding in september, photos by natalie neal. I loved working with rachel. She had all greens for her centerpieces: olive branches, thistle, and wheat. I got to make that little hair piece for her too (only, i wish i was there to pin the grooms boutonniere on right side up!)

Utah Bride and Groom

2012-01-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

I am excited to have a few flowers in the 2012 issue of Utah Bride and Groom magazine's fashion spread. All photos by Heather Nan at the Grand America hotel, hair and makeup by versa artistry.

Alyssa and Jordan

2012-01-13T17:14:00.000-08:00

Dig into your memory, way back to Spring 2011. Alyssa and Jordan's wedding was my second wedding of the year. They had their wedding reception at the Kimball House up at This Is The Place park. It is a great little historic home right up on the mountain. Its got a wrap around porch and the cutest little country kitchen you've ever seen. I would like to live in it if I were given the chance. I loved being able to make some garlands for this wedding, one on the door outside, and one on a mantel inside. We kept the tables simple with little bud vases to let the home's charm do the talking. Thanks so Jessica Kettle for the pictures!

2012-01-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

Todd and Rachel's wedding from August, held at Rachel's home.
Wedding design and coordination: Events by LMG
Photography: Jacquelynn
This wedding is featured in the 2012 issue of Utah Bride and Groom Magazine. Thanks to everyone involved, and congratulations Todd and Rachel!

ilsa & aaron

2012-01-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd start the new year off by showing you one of my favorite weddings from summer 2011, Ilsa and Aaron.

Brides like Ilsa make me love my job. She had her own ideas and vision for her wedding, and I had so much fun collaborating with her. Ilsa had a huge box of antlers that she brought to me to incorporate into the flowers....yes those are antlers in her bouquet. We used a large mix of garden roses, dahlias, and tulips for her flowers, accompanied by begonia leaves, lots of herbs, plums and grapes on the vine. We built that simple chuppa from birch branches and draped a simple marigold garland along the top.

Ilsa and Aaron's wedding was held at Empire lodge in Deer Valley this August, it is so beautiful up there. All photos by Kate Osborne. This wedding was featured on Green wedding shoes.

2011-12-29T21:53:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend a class in new york taught by Ariella Chezar. She is such an incredibly talented and kind woman, it was a dream come true to meet her. I made this arrangement in her class. I love this combination, it is winter, but not holiday.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T06:55:00.000-08:00

This pretty pine arrangement was featured on Brides.com

2011-12-23T12:37:00.000-08:00

This is Hayley and I putting the flowers on Alyssa's cake this May. We look look so cheery and care-free, like all we do is primp petals and sniff roses. It is images like this that make people say doing flowers "must be such a fun, feminine job". We will save them the heavy lifting and stories of scrubbing moldy buckets. not to mention the scarred hands and infected cuts. Hayley helps me set up at a lot of my weddings, she started a boys clothing line too! Culdesac, see it here. This photo was taken by Jessica Kettle, thanks Jessica.

phone photos, late fall early winter

2011-12-20T23:02:00.000-08:00

bay leaves. i love them for garlands, but i am wildly allergic to them

my begonia plant blooming

these two above were featured on once wed here and here
this flower is left over from the bouquet on once wed here.
this one was featured on ruffled here

These last two were for a clients thanksgiving dinner party.

coral charm peonies

2011-12-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

I know its almost christmas but fall just barely ended.

There are coral charm peonies, a few days into their fade....losing a few petals here and there, but all the better if you as me.

Shayla's bouquets

2011-12-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks to tracy hill for the photos.

phone photos, from late summer & early fall

2011-12-07T22:44:00.000-08:00

one of my favorite arrangements of the season

this was featured on ruffled blog
bought these daffodils from the farmer himself in new zealand, it was spring there

this one was also on ruffled
these ones were on ruffled too, made in australia, in their spring.

see you next year crab apples

2011-12-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

you will be missed. photos by the ever so talented jessica peterson.

two

2011-11-30T23:33:00.000-08:00

Two arrangements from late summer, photographed by leo patrone. The one on the left was featured on ruffled here.

maia's flowers

2011-11-25T09:38:00.000-08:00

maia was an absolute breeze to work with. she has twinkly eyes and ended every email with a :)

these were her flowers. this was my first day working in the studio that wasn't summery. it was a bit chilly, it snowed on top of the fall leaves, the light was gray.....i loved all of it

Kerianne's bouquets

2011-11-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

From June, all photos by Jacquelynn

texture

2011-11-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

A few leftover pieces of that queen anne's lace are still looking really good in a vase at the studio, two weeks after the wedding. Its probably the prettiest bunch I have ever had.

fall garland

2011-11-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

I made this little mantel piece for kinfolk out of things from around my neighborhood. (Don't be worried neighbors, I clipped most of them from the empty school down the street), you can see it on the journal.

clematis

2011-11-11T21:55:00.000-08:00

I made this arrangement in Australia, where it is spring. I loved it in all its clematis viney-ness. You can see more of it on ruffled.

Thanksgiving orders

2011-11-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

I am opening up the shop an accepting Thanksgiving orders! I am offering two sizes of mixed fall color arrangements. The orders are for pick up only at my studio in Salt Lake City between the hours of 9-6 on Wednesday November 23rd. Order online here.

Jane and Richie

2011-11-07T21:31:00.000-08:00

Jane and Richie's wedding from August, photos by Green Apple Photography.

Some color palettes are intimidating, this was one of them. Pink, purple, and blue can go so wrong, especially if it has to coordinate with a pattern. But, I like to think that it turned out just right, phew! Jane was a pleasure to work with, she was sweet and trusting. I have Green Apple Photography to credit these photos. I love looking through pictures from weddings I have brought flowers to. It is fun to see how different photographers interpret the flowers, and how differently each photographer photographs a wedding. I will tell you this, Lindsey captured everything I can imagine you would want captured at your wedding. Every single picture is a work of art, too. She works with both digital and film, and uses each beautifully.

Travel

2011-11-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

I have been getting a fair amount of inquiries asking if I travel for weddings. Yes, I do!

Pricing for travel will vary with location. I do not have additional travel fees other than covering the cost of transportation to and lodging in the area of your event. Each travel proposal is different and is written specifically for your event. I love being inspired by new environments, it always creates beautiful work!

Drew and Lynettes Anniversary

2011-10-31T06:31:00.000-07:00

Drew and Lynette had a party to celebrate their third anniversary. Lynette's inspiration for the party came from Italy. She is inspired by the shapes, colors, and intricate textures from 1950's Italian styles. Lynette made her dress, isn't it gorgeous? Lynette made all the food herself too, it was a perfect Italian picnic.

All Photos by the wonderful Leo Patrone

Planner: Audrey Moore

Cake: Pink Peach Cakes

Thanks for letting me be a part of this Drew and Lynette, happy three years of marriage!

This party was featured on Oh Happy Day

Spanish lace

2011-10-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

Way back this spring I made some flowers for a shoot that Megan of Easy Dreamer Photography styled. She put together the shoot taking inspiration from her love for monarch butterflies and Spain. This bouquet had lots of geranium, reminiscent of the pots of geraniums down alleys in spanish neighborhoods. Also in this bouquet were coral charm peonies, poppies, dinner plate dahlia, bleeding heart, jasmine vine, and foxglove. I made that little headband with flowers on it.

Fall is my favorite, but I really do love the delicate flowers spring has to offer too. It is nice to see them in these pictures and remember them. I wish I could have bleeding hearts year round. I would grow them in my house if I could. Can you imagine having them dangling from a bookshelf or windowsill?

Thanks to Megan for the pretty photos, and her special attention to taking detail shots of the flowers. Darcie of Pink peach cakes made that cake that smelled so good I wanted to lick the frosting off of it. Pretty model too, I love the way she photographs. This shoot was featured on postcards and pretties.

market

2011-10-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I forget to post things on the blog because I tweet them. Back in September I opened up the shop for the 9th&9th street festival. It was so fun to meet people! I sold flower bunches and a few other things, here is a taste. I am going to be accepting orders and opening the shop for thanksgiving, so stay tuned!

amber and greg's flowers

2011-10-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

Here are a few rather pathetic attempts to photograph my flowers as I am loading/unloading them on the rainiest day I have yet to do flowers in. Whites with bits or deep purple and navy blue again, this time I used some dark begonia leaves and foraged fall berries. Amber and greg were a lot of fun to work with, I quite liked them. Greg is a tattoo artist who is passionate about orchids, amber is the daughter of a minister. Greg's dad was wearing suspenders with flames on them....under his suit jacket of course. All of the boutonnieres and corsages were made of different orchids, there were a few crazy varieties in there that looked like they might spit venom.

Inspiration

2011-10-21T00:03:00.000-07:00

Each one of these is on ruffled blog with its own post. Scabiosa, Art Nouvea inspiration, and Coxcomb. All photos by heather nan.

Amy and Will's flowers

2011-10-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

Amy and Will are such a sweet couple. They are kind and creative, I loved working with them. They had a gorgeous wedding at Log Haven in the first week of September, complete with dresses for the ladies from Alta Moda and Lily & Iris, and a night of dancing to the gatsbys-who I highly recommend if you are looking for a wedding band. All of these bright and cheerful photos by Amy Lashelle.

little buds

2011-10-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

Little buddy, thats what I call weddings that have little bud vases on the tables.

Jessica's wedding was little bud vases filled with white flowers, accents of purple and navy blue. This has been a popular color palette this year, but a tricky one for florists-as there aren't many navy blue and eggplant purple flowers. I have spent many sleepless nights lying awake hoping that my purple scabiosa and anemone come in correct.

jen's flowers

2011-10-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

thanks to nate for taking these pictures while i was running around.

and a big thanks to all my helpers from the summer for that matter, nate and katie, hayley, tessa, ashley, and my husband david. i would have lost my mind without you.

fall

2011-10-08T04:42:00.001-07:00

some pretty fall arrangements that you can see on brides.com and in my series on ruffled.

all the gorgeous photos by erin kate, taken one fun late-summer afternoon in my back yard.

Utah Style and Design

2011-10-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

Iv'e got a feature in the fall/winter issue of Utah Style and Design Magazine that just came out.

On the page following the spread above there is an interview.

And, if keep flipping you can see a few pictures of the brightly colored shelves in my home :)

Rachel's Flowers

2011-10-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

I love working with artists, they have good visions and then they trust me to execute them. Rachel came to me with a mood and a color palette. She loves textures and greenery, and left the rest up to me. All of the centerpieces for rachels wedding were in thick etched glass vases that were filled with olive branches and thistle.

Pieris

2011-10-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

Pieris, roses, scabiosa, and anemone....a few of my favorite flowers. When I finished this arrangement it overwhelmingly reminded me of my grandmother. She was elegant and stern. As a young lady she had jet black air and she married a sailor. They went to fancy clubs in NYC in the 1940's and danced. In her older years she had snow white hair, perfectly polished nails, and a house of blush pink filled with cherub statues and chandeliers. I love these pictures of her when she was young. My dad is little guy on the left in the picture above.

this arrangement was part of my column n ruffled, see it here.

more from june

2011-09-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

I miss you peony. come back soon, ok?

sundance wedding

2011-09-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

It seems I only take pictures of flowers when they are in their delivery boxes these days.

the end of a season.

2011-09-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

For me at least. Wedding season is a crazy thing, and this is my first year experiencing it in all its madness.

And?

I survived.

So- tomorrow I leave for a month long break.

I will be in New Zealand and Australia...missing my favorite part of Autumn here, but enjoying spring there. I hear there are some crazy flowers there, and I cant wait to have my way with them. And if you must know, I will be attending a few of the rugby world cup games while I am there. A lady can like a variety of things, can't she?

I will still be in contact, so feel free to e-mail and I will respond when the time zone permits.

I still have plenty to share from the summer so I will keep posting while I am gone.

And- to my readers way over there on the other side of the world...have any suggestions of things for me to do and see while I'm there? I'd love to hear them!

a day after their prime

2011-09-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

I will be at the 9th and 9th festival tomorrow all day, with the studio open! I will be selling little bunches of flowers and a few other things, come say hi!

Salt Lake/Park City Bride and Groom magazine

2011-09-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

Tara and Christian's pretty fall wedding from around this time last year was featured in the first issue of SLBG magazine, one that was new to Utah this June. I'll be in their next issue too, keep a lookout for its release in January!

Tara and Christian's wedding was photographed by Jessica Peterson.

You can also see their wedding here, here, and here.

grace's flowers

2011-09-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Some snaps of the flowers from a wedding a few weekends back, t'was pretty.

Next week I am leaving to New Zealand to go see some of the rugby world cup games.

Most of our time will be spent in Auckland, with a bit of time in Wellington, and then we will probably jump over to Australia for a week or so too.

We are in need of a place to stay in Auckland...any ideas? We procrastinated booking a place and now it seems that our options are fairly slim.

Victoria

2011-09-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

Victoria was a bride from this summer, isn't she pretty? Photos by Jessica Kettle.

road side pickings

2011-09-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

ilsa's flowers

2011-09-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

Ilsa was such a fun bride to work with, the kind of bride I hate to see get married because it means my time planning with them is over. But not really, because I am glad she got married obviously. Ilsa wanted flowers that felt like they may be at a swedish smorgasbord, that were blue and yellow and rich in color. She bought a big box of antlers for me to incorporate into everything! I love it when brides come with their own ideas, and then trust me to make them happen. The wedding was up at deer valley and it was gorgeous, the weather cooperated just in time.

grace's bouquet

2011-09-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

At grace's wedding she introduced me to her family and friends as "her florist". She would say "so-and-so this is Sarah, my florist", to everyone that arrived while I was setting up.

I loved it.

Her in-laws are from South Africa and were speaking in french. I loved hearing them speak while I was working. It made me feel like an in-house florist. I thought about how amazing it would be to live in an old castle in the countryside and be someone's full time florist. They would of course introduce me as so to all of their guests. I'd keep a cutting garden next to their field of sheep, and i'd have a shed full of giant urns and antique silver pieces.

mountains

2011-09-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

When I take my inspiration from nature, my flowers always turn out the prettiest. I wish I was out enjoying these things and taking inspiration from them more. These are from a recent 24 hour camping trip between weddings.

scavenging

2011-08-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

I nabbed these grapes from a grapevine behind the studio.

I go out at night "hunting" for foliage and sometimes flowers, usually after 11 p.m.

Name a leaf and I can tell you what public park or parking lot you can get in from, and what the risk level is. We have become rather dubious at night. We fill up the car with bags of garbage, drop it off at dumpsters behind abandoned shopping centers, then set out to fill up the car again. This time with leaves and road side flowers. This is usually done at night, but I have become increasingly shameless and sometimes I've been "hunting" in broad day light.

About a month ago I hiked a mile uphill in the middle of the afternoon to get some little purple flowers I had seen the week previous when hiking the trail for the first time. I waited for hikers to pass by, then I pulled the scissors out of my back pocket and I quickly clipped. I have become numb to clipping flowers off the side of the road or in a parking lot or park. But the guilt gets to me a bit when I clip from the mountains. So I hurried down the path heading back my car, trying to walk slow when people passed by, you know, act casual, like there wasn't a small bushel of flowers in my hand. But I know I was walking like a nervous flower girl going down the aisle, carlessly throwing petals so that she can get to the end of the path...only I was clipping them. I smiled nervously as people walking passed and eyed the flowers. I got to the bottom of the trail and headed towards my car. Just then a forest ranger pulled into the parking lot. I panicked, shoved the flowers in a vase and tucked it far under my dash. My heart began to race, did they catch me? Did a hiker turn me in?

I started driving down the canyon when I saw another policeman pull up to the trailhead and park. I got a bit more nervous. About another mile down the canyon I passed another policeman driving up the canyon. My heart was racing. But not enough to pass up those purple wheat-looking grass things on the side of the road. So I pulled over and clipped a few. As I was walking back to the car another policeman driving up the canyon made eye contact with me and quickly pulled over. As he was looking at me he said something into his walkie.

Could it be?

Was I really going to get caught stealing flowers?

Had my time come?

He made eye contact while on the walkie, it had to be for me. I moved the vase of flowers to the back seat and put my jacket on top of them, just in case. There was still a trail of dry grass crumbs on my front seat spreading down to the floor in the back seat. I brushed them off.

I continued to the base of the canyon, thinking I had escaped them.....if they were even looking for me. Obviously they weren't, or they would have stopped me. When I got to the base there was an officer at the toll station. He waved me down.

This was it.

What would I tell them?

Do I say I am a florist and that I love the flowers so much I couldn't pass them up?

Or do I innocently say it is my sisters birthday and I wanted her to have some?

There are fines for picking wildflowers and I had a whole vase full. I pulled over, I am sure my face was red at this point. I was sweating.

Officer: "Did you just come from the trail?"

Me: "I did. The Fresh Aire trail"

Officer: "Did you hike?"

Me: "yes."

Officer: "Well.....we are looking for a flasher." Said with intonation like it was a question.

Me: "a flasher?"

Officer: "yes"

Scared and not thinking straight me: "I don't know what that is..?"

I'm thinking...someone stole a light from the police officers?

Officer: "you know, a flasher?" (makes motion of a woman lifting up her shirt)

Me: "Oooohhh, that kind of flasher! um, no, it wasn't me"

Officer: "well....ok, have a nice day maam."

Things that are noteworthy:

1. This arrangement pictured is not of the flowers I picked. They had a week long life in the very vase I hurriedly put them in after I picked them. They then died by my kitchen sink.

2. At least four cops and a ranger to find a female flasher on a hike!? Really?

3. It didn't stop me from mountain scavenging.

yarrow

2011-08-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

blush

2011-08-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

I really regret not taking pictures of this wedding when it was all set up, it was really pretty. I managed to snap a measly three pictures before I left the studio.

the afternoon

2011-08-21T23:04:00.000-07:00

From my yard, the little sheet of honeycomb included. My camera lens was doing crazy things and wouldn't focus, it finally gave up the next day. Thats what I get for throwing it around all the time, letting is swing off of my shoulder and crash into buckets of flowers, get crumbs of dried leaves in its cracks, and pollen on its face.

in my garden

2011-08-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures from my garden a few weeks back. It looks completely different now, I love watching it change. Something picked from my garden ends up in everything I do, whether it is just a single arrangement or an entire wedding. I really want to grow more of my own flowers lately.

The bees are loving this mutant ivy that we have in our back yard. It is really overgrown and has blooms on it. The entire bush buzzes if you get close to it. The best part is, you can taste it in their honey!

Ruffled

2011-08-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am now posting for ruffled blog a few times a month! I will be writing about specific flower that I love, color palettes, different decor elements, etc.

I love the bouquet I made for this particular post on fall color palettes, stop by ruffled to see it. Photo by Leo Patrone.

2011-08-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

The painted wall at my studio sort of reads as a neutral to me now and I don't even think about it when I am taking pictures. Fortunately, sometimes it looks really nice with the flowers that I am photographing in front of it. These are from june too, can you tell that june was a busy month for me? I still have so much more to share from June. And its a good thing, because lately I haven't been the best at photographing things before I take them out, not sure why.

2011-08-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

I don't really take too many flowers home. If I do they sit in drinking cups and turn to pond water by my sink. But-I am a sucker for branches, I like them at home. Right now I love the apple tree in my front yard, and I love it even more when it is precariously perched above my sleeping head.

I think people should use branches more in weddings. It seems that there is a trend for several small arrangements right now, which I like-but I am a sucker for large scale arrangements that are really simple too. Vase from Flora Grubb.

arizona blue cypress

2011-08-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

These pictures really have nothing to do with each other, but I like them together.

oak leaves

2011-08-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

I love them. I had them in my wedding bouquet and if I had my choice they would probably be in everyone else's too.

phone photos

2011-08-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

Misc.

Some of these dating all the way back to may. A lot of these pictures taken in my car, or in the case of the pretty copper and pink bouquet...made in the car. I like the way flowers look in there.

poppy red, mint green, and aqua

2011-08-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

...from june

Emiley + Josh

2011-08-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

Emiley + Josh

July 1, 2011

Photos by Jessica Peterson

I had so much fun collaborating with Emiley to come up with the flowers for her wedding. I love it when it feels like we are working together, and are on the same page.

Jessica Peterson captured the wedding perfectly. I love the way she sees things.

Utah brides need to know how lucky they are to have so many talented photographers here....there are so many. Jessica is one of my very favorites.

Emiley and Josh's flowers were featured on Utah Bride Blog.

...and some roses

2011-07-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

...Because I know you are not here to look at my messes. Those five petaled ones are called Sally Holmes roses. I love them because they look fragile, but they are actually quite tough.

one year

2011-07-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

In hindsight, it is rather hysterical that I took this picture. I remember thinking that I needed to document how chaotic and messy the studio was after I was done doing this wedding. I had no idea that it was only the beginning of the messes that were to come when Utah's June wedding season hit. Boy was I in for a surprise. There have been days where I am literally wading through stems that are inches thick on the floor, and have hot glue stuck in my hair from trying on hair pieces before the ribbon glued to the back of them was set. I would take what is in the picture above ANY DAY and feel like I was a step ahead. For those of you who came over from design sponge and asked how my studio is functional, where do I work? Right there. My space is about 220 square feet.

It is a little bit like entertaining at home for me. When I have guests over for dinner I like to just enjoy their company and revel in the piles of dirty dishes and yes, stems on the floor (but usually of vegetables) as we eat dessert together. I really enjoy doing the dishes the next day, in fact. Stacks and stacks of them to load into the dishwasher row by row. I like to spread the cleaning up over a few days, so that I have as long as I want to think about how fun it was. Unfortunately wedding season does not allow for that. As soon as these remains are swept up the new boxes of flowers arrive. sigh.

It was just one year ago today that I did my first paid wedding. Similar to the mess above, I had no idea that it was just the very beginning. I am so grateful to how far I have come in my first year, thank you to everyone who has supported me. I can't wait to see how big the messes in my studio are next year...

pink

2011-07-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

beets

2011-07-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

this bouquet looked like it had been soaked in beets!

lights, and design sponge

2011-07-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

My favorite part of the whole studio project was my lights. I picked up some old exhaust fans from a junk yard, popped a plastic piece out of the top, sawed a few braces off of them, and strung them up, that simple. I think they are a perfect mix of industrial an eclectic for my space. Thank you to Kate Osborne Photography for all of the pretty pictures here.

The studio is featured in the before and after on design sponge today! Some of the photos on the feature there are by Kate and some by Yan-which you may have already seen here.

figgy pudding

2011-07-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a smidge of some work I recently did for a magazine issue that comes out this fall.

Other places you can see my work this week: here, here, and here.

the studio

2011-07-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

I must admit, it is a little weird to show my face around here. I am used to having my work out there, and maybe a shot with my wrist or elbow holding flowers, but now it feels so much more personal. Here I am, internet!

This is my studio space. David and I slaved away every night in this space for two and a half months. It was once a plumbing supply store with moldy carpet, stained ceiling tiles, florescent lights, and a machine that made noises to scare the rats away. We gutted the space, drywalled the walls and the ceiling, put in reclaimed wood floor, resurfaced the counter, made the lights, build a platform for my cooler, etc. etc. It was a long few months with much patience from my clients as I made them sit on whatever I had lying around, and met them with paint in my hair and my toes drywall plastered together.

The 9th & 9th area where I am located is one that has a lot of foot traffic. Passersby at all hours of the evening, night and early morning got to see us slaving away, dancing, yelling, or being pinned on our backs between sheets of drywall and the new concrete counter. It wasn't always pretty.

I kept the design really bright and fairly utilitarian because doing flowers is a messy job. I think the lights are my favorite part. I made them out of old exhaust fans that I found at the junk yard. The wall shelving is from the brick house tutorial, and a friend and I painted the mural on the wall to look like some fabric that I love. It is nice to have a space that is mine, a place that is just for me to work in. I love the neighborhood, the dogs that constantly walk past to go to vet next door, the soft light from my north facing windows, and that the building i'm next to can smell the flowers when I am working on a wedding.

All photos by one of my very favorites, Diana Palmer of Yan photography. We shot the studio for my feature in kinfolk magazine, here are the photos we did not use.

I put a bell on the front door, you know, a "ding-a-ling-a-ling" kind. Except turns out it is REALLY loud. Can't decide if I should take it off though, sometimes it is so loud that we all laugh and it serves as a great ice-breaker.

kinfolk

2011-07-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

The first issue of kinfolk magazine launched today, and I am excited to be a part of it.

Kinfolk is a guide to small scale casual entertaining. The magazine is a collaboration between a lot of artists from all over the world. There is an interview with me in the magazine, please go see it online, and/or order a copy in print.

....one of my favorites to date

2011-07-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

I love a copper and blush color palette for a late summer or fall wedding. I added a touch of blue, and there are a lot of rich burgundy browns in there too. It is romantic and wild, but it has a natural sophistication to it. I am really into the dark foliage lately....a sprig from my yard, a sprig from my neighbor's, and a cutting from my sweet potato vine.

Katie + Andrew

2011-07-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

The family of Katie and Andrew were so sweet and thankful to me. That is something that makes all the hard work instantly worth it. Then it pays off again when I get pictures back from the Photographer. Christmas morning!

All photos by Alixann Loosle. Pretty, aren't they?

emiley's flowers

2011-07-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

I loved working with Emiley. She is the kind of client I want to hug every time I see, the kind of client who trusts me, and who gives me confidence. We were on the same page from the moment we met, and I think that makes for pretty flowers.

poppies

2011-07-07T09:05:00.000-07:00

These poppy petals kill me. If you turn them upside down when they fall off they look like little skirts. I want a poppy petal skirt.

Variation

2011-07-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

People at weddings probably don't notice differences between each arrangement, but I do.

They are like my children, after all.

samples

2011-07-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Iv'e enjoyed making samples for upcoming weddings recently.

It is nice to give things a test run. I am really into different greens lately and this one had a wide variety of them.

Amber, the possible bride for these arrangements noticed the center of the white scabiosa in these arrangements and commented on their nice "mint green" color. This is another reason I love my clients. They have fresh eyes. I use white scabiosa every time I get a chance, and I have never thought that they had a mint green center. I am now seeing them differently. I love the industry for this reason too. Everyone interprets flowers differently. It is fun to get professional pictures back and see how the photographer saw my flowers, it shows through in the pictures. I like hearing about people's take on my flowers. I also really love when people see them the way I do, and what type of people said people are. Recently, this post made me excited. I think she understands my work, and I love the pictures she paired my flowers with.

sorting

2011-06-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

My current week consists of 4 weddings and 3 editorial photo shoots. Boxes, petals, water, vases, stems, foam, and cherry pits from my mid day snacks are everywhere.

I was in shock when the fed ex man backed into my driveway to unload his truck earlier this week. I didn't believe all of the boxes were mine, and I made him wait while I checked all the labels just to be sure. Then the same thing happened the next day. I am going through my storage rooms and emptying linens and keepsakes out of plastic boxes so that I have something to put all of these flowers in.

It is funny to think about all the different types of packing, sorting, and groupings cut flowers go through in their lives. They are clipped, bunched, and banded in the fields, then put in plastic sleeves. Then they are sorted in buckets by type, then in more buckets as they are set aside for my order. Then they are wrapped in paper, put in boxes that are lined with foam and/or paper. The boxes are wrapped in tape then plastic ties. They are shipped to me, going through countless sorting processes though the shipping system. When they arrive to me I peel off all of the aforementioned layers, then sort (shove) them in buckets. I take them out of their buckets when the time comes, arrange them in new groupings, inside a vase. The vase goes in a box, lined with paper to make it fit tight. That box goes in another bigger box, then that box is packed in my car. I get to the wedding venue and again unpack all of the aforementioned layers to place the arrangement on the table or in the hands of a bride.

this is my life lately.

sure is pretty though...

how do i love thee? let me count the ways.

2011-06-26T23:31:00.000-07:00

You get the idea, right?

Truth be told, I am a little tired of doing "pink and romantic" this summer...but I am finding new ways to make it something I love each time. This time it was the dark greens and the pink that was almost beige mixed in with the blush and the peach that did it for me. One of the bride's colors was a dark charcoal gray and I used that dark purple vine to hint at it. I quite like the way it turned out. I picked up most of these teapots while I was in the Middle East.

Are you starting to recognize the blue wall behind the flowers? Well, get used to it...it will be around for a while. It was still in progress in these pictures and I can't wait to show you the finished product.

p.s. I had to make a new facebook page when I changed my name, like it here.

leftovers

2011-06-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

All but the top bouquet (featured here this week) were made with leftovers.

I am trying harder than ever to not let anything go to waste.

2011-06-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

this bouquet was tightly bound as requested, but within the bouquet there were a lot of shapes.

bits

2011-06-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

Bits here are there are from my garden....I love snipping a handful of things from my garden as I am walking out the door for the day.

little yellow

2011-06-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

2011-06-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

This was mother's day. i made my mother's gift while sitting outside on her lawn, made with leftovers and things I collected on the way there. My nieces and nephews were running in circles around me, the air smelled like barbeque and lilac. I love working outside.

I thought May was crazy busy at the time, but the memories of sitting on the lawn and leisurely arranging are long gone, and the madness of summer weddings ensue...

orchids, passion vine, and tree peonies

2011-06-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

bleeding hearts

2011-06-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

You know when babies are so cute you want to eat them? Or at least bite their cheeks? When I really like how flowers turn out, sometimes I want to eat them, too.

I only had time to snap pictures of this myself after the shoot it was for. So it had sat in a hot car for somewhere around two hours, and then had been outside and out of water for a couple of hours too. The petals start to lose their strength and become a bit softer. Not that I would want that for a client, but I prefer to look at them this way. They are more fragile and paper-like, the texture is more intriguing and you are reminded of how temporary flowers are. A few days later those bright poppies had a faded lavender edge that was so uniform it looked like each petal had been dipped in a bowl of paint.

gasp!

2011-06-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

I have had the most gorgeous roses and peonies lately.

2011-06-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

I love this color palette for summer and fall, it feels so natural. This arrangement reminded me of these ones.

goooooooood morning.

2011-06-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Ask any florist, we all have a thing for the FedEx man.

Not a particular one, but the one that happens to deliver flowers to us on days such as mine today.

Being a florist is tough sometimes. There are parts of my job that keep me up all night worrying. And, life is tough when you spend your days delivering flowers to people but know that no one will ever give flowers to you because "you are the florist". Only other florists and flower enthusiasts send flowers to florists....with the exception of the FedEx man man. Yes my job is stressful, BUT I GET FLOWERS HAND DELIVERED TO MY DOOR BEFORE BREAKFAST...several times a week.

Any sleep I have lost that has my eyes seeing fog when I first wake up, vanishes with the ring of my doorbell. This morning I went from a zombie-like attempt to plug my computer charger into my water bottle (true fact), to hyperventilating as I was trimming the ends off of these beauties.

Thank you for fighting for these Sabrina!

setting up

2011-05-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

I thought the storm was going to blow that door garland, and the entire house for that matter off of the mountain. Fortunately it cleared up and the sun even came out a little right before the bride and groom arrived.

more white!

2011-05-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

2011-05-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

white

2011-05-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

Just another fluffy white bouquet.

a new favorite

2011-05-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite rose, do you see it? It is such an amazing carmel color. I think I will be a favorite for a while. It is such a perfect neutral that will meld in with any color palette. These are from a wedding last Saturday. I hope they survived the furious winds that were threatening my sanity as I tried to set up an outdoor garland.