sugar and spice and everything nice

This-ladies and gentlemen, is about as springy and feminine as it gets. Wouldn't you agree?

I loved having an ocean of these on my counter. I wanted to swim through them.

My studio space used to be a plumbing supply store. While I was working on these last week they were sitting on every possible surface of the space. I had a few plumbers drop in to pick up some parts.

They would walk in the door (wearing overalls, and holding lists on paper that were covered in grease) looking at the ground. When they looked up, about five steps in, they stopped dead in their tracks. Like a deer in headlights.

Perplexed, they would say "this is a flower shop now." They said it like a statement, but their faces were asking it as a question.

I probably looked equally as shocked to see them as they were to see the lacy ocean of lacy fluff and pink. While in flower mode, I am similar to being asleep or in a dream state. The shock of a stranger suddenly standing right in front of me when I am really zeroed in on the fullness of the double white lilac is similar to me being awaken by a gunshot from my sleep.

The awkwardness that followed, each realizing that they were in the wrong place was short but painful.

Sort of like a stand off.

Both of us so suddenly out of our element that we just stood there and tried not to make eye contact. Then they would say something like "welp, good luck with your business", "i'll keep you in mind", or "i'll tell bill".

Just sent these little numbers off for their big day and I wanted to share them with you right away.

I love my clients. I really do.

when I asked Natalie what "her colors" were instead of saying "orange and green" she said, "the colors you see when you slice open a peach" and "granny smith apple".

leftovers

I'd like to tell you that I always make constructive use of leftover flowers, but really I don't. Sometimes I admire them haphazardly shoved into a drinking cup by my sink until the water goes brown. Sometimes I construct them into things and model them in front of the mirror. Then I rip them apart and try something different until the stems are too short to work with and the petals are wilted. If my sister is in town, something like this happens.

trim

I was going to post flowers today but then as I was uploading them I saw the mailman walking up to my door with this.

We shipped packages to ourselves from almost every country we visited during our travels. This package was lost in the mail for a few months and I thought I would never see its contents again. (Calling just about every post office in Jordan to try and locate a package is something I never want to do again). But alas, it is here! We shipped it in a box, and it arrived in a bag. It makes me wonder what its life has been like for the past few months. These spools of ribbon and trim are just some of the fun things that finally made their way back to me.

Tying a floral bouquet with patterned ribbon is an art, one that I am anxious to experiment with. You have to find the right pattern that compliments the flowers instead of distracting from them. Most of these pictures are more subdued tones, but I have a lot of bright ones to try out this summer, and I can't wait.

behind the scenes

This is an i-phone photo dump of behind the scenes, in-process, on-location, or in-transit flower pictures. Sometimes I love these pictures as much as I like the professional pictures I get back of the flowers.

Its fun to have the process documented. Flowers show up in boxes before they are arranged, and acorns are gathered from the mountains before they end up in arrangements. Impromptu oak leaf boutonnieres happen, and sometimes the light on an arrangement while it sits on the floor of my car is the prettiest.

big blooms

This was a pretty little project by Natalie Neal. She asked me to make some big floral head pieces for Rose to wear. She used smoke bombs to get the amazing colorful plumes of smoke.

It was fun to do something a little bit different than wedding flowers. Natalie does fashion photography, fine art, and weddings too! This shoot was featured on forget.me.knot.weddings.

All photos by Natalie Neal.

Hair and makeup by model, Rose Hopper.