Pith + Marrow: Beginning Floral Design

Floral design has always been such an intriguing concept to me. From far away, assembling a bouquet or table centerpiece looks rather easy. You have a bunch of beautiful flowers, you chop the stems at an angle so they can drink water, and you plop them in a vase - easy peasy folks.

Wrong. So very wrong. 

The more and more I play with flowers with Misha & Teresa (the other 2/3 of pith + marrow), the more I respect wedding florists and floral designers of all kinds. This is no joke. Between narrowing down the hundreds, probably thousands, of different blooms out there to select a collaborative color palette full of texture, variety and good smells, to filling out the arrangement with the proper ratio of flower to filler, and doing so one handed as you twist, pull, fluff and assemble to perfect grouping to cut and stick in a beautifully selected vessel. (Don't even get me started on what to put it in - glass, silver, hand thrown ceramic pots, mugs, vintage metal boxes, tea crates - TOO MANY decisions!!)

That being said, I kind of like this floral design thing. What a beautifully tangible item based off of your inspiration, that you create with your own two hands. No two arrangements will ever be alike, no matter how hard you try. They are perfectly imperfect. I'll spare you the life revelations metaphorical joy going on on the other side of this screen right now - but I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.

In other news, we start our three part more advanced floral design workshops this week at Camelback Flowershop! I'm so excited to meet our new season of students, and to dig in and play. Let's see what we come up with this time!

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The Final Workshop - pith + marrow spring 2014

We are so thankful to have found two amazing locations for our first pith + marrow workshops, Chestnut and Lux. This third one will be extra special, as it will take place at the new location of my all time favorite coffee shop, Lola.  

Lola has transformed into Lola at The Yard, a coffee shop, tapas restaurant and bar all morphed into one. They offer an expanded brunch menu, bar bites, spanish tapas and stellar coffee. 

On June 10, we'll be taking over that fantastic middle table for an evening of floral design. This time, we'll be teaching european style hand tied bouquets. This skill can be translated into gorgeous bouquets for a wedding (shout out to all you DIY brides!), but can also be placed in a vase for a beautiful tabletop arrangement. Versatility FTW.

With the purchase of your ticket, you will also receive all kinds of small bites and tapas from Lola, two glasses of wine, access to all of the tools and supplies needed to complete your arrangement, your own vessel AND some surprise goodies. You'll have to wait and see!

Tickets are available at www.pithmarrow.eventbrite.com

treat yo self.

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Friday Favorites: Part II

FRIDAY.

In an effort to spread a little more love & grateful feelings into the world, I've decided to start publishing a few lists here and there. Quick messages of thanks to the people, businesses and signs from the universe that made my life more fulfilled (and oftentimes, easier!) during the week. 

To Lola, my soul's match in a coffee shop, thank you for repeatedly letting me sit at your counter and drink your cinnamon americanos, while meeting with future clients and industry friends. You always have a few big ol peonies blooming, which make my heart smile. PS - the new art on display is killer. 

To Misha and Teresa, my cohorts in pith + marrow, thank you for another successful event. I'm so thankful to have stumbled on this wonderful friendship & business partnership! I'm SO looking forward to our staycation retreat. A little fire isn't going to stop this train ;)

To Olga, my eyebrow lady, you are so.so.so.so. good. Thank you for restoring my confidence to take over the world with great-brow-power.

To Neimans, thank you for welcoming me back with open arms, bringing me on to do a bit of freelance PR. It appears you knew I couldn't stay away for long. 

To my photographer friends, who I had the privilege to hang out with this week - you all are so talented!! Apologies for lurking your websites for so long and likely throwing off your analytics. Let's make up at least 5 excuses to work together asap. Mmmk? (cc: Daniel, Karie & Galaxie)

To Christopher, who helped me cover the hideous sage green walls of my office. I told you navy blue was a great idea.

To my in-home office, thank you for finally absorbing the smell of your fresh coats of paint. I think I nearly asphyxiated myself on Monday and Tuesday, which is not great for productivity. P.s. I love you. Working from home is the bees knees.

So tell me! Who or what made your life a little better this week?

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