URBN Freelance Flowers

On Sunday night, I was texted by my boss at the shop.  She had heard of a freelance floral gig for the next day.  Monday happens to be my day off, and I was really excited that she had heard of an opportunity that would work for my schedule.

Freelancing is a really good opportunity to interact with other folks in the floral design field who are interested in collaborating and working on projects.  It's also a great way to build contacts and meet people who need florists from time to time, who might call you again.

The freelance position was to design and create several floral designs to accent the different vignettes in an URBN department store, including the brands Anthropologie, Terrain, and BHLDN.

Yes, I said an URBN department store.

The warehouse was at the Navy Yard here in Philly, where the URBN headquarters is located.  In this particular warehouse, the interior was transformed into a fusion of the three aforementioned brands.  The exterior was set up largely for Terrain, and the patio was decorated for a dinner for investors.  On Tuesday, investors in the project were to have dinner, and see what the store looked like in person.

From what I gather, this was the "pilot" for the department store.  The current freestanding BHLDN stores in Chicago, Houston, and other locations, will still exist, but there won't be any new freestanding BHLDN stores.  They'll be incorporated as a boutique section in Anthropologie stores.  The Terrain component included kitchenware and functional items for entertaining.

There was also a blow-dry bar.

Perfume counter.  Such loveliness.

The above arrangement (and two little ones on the left) were in the BHLDN loft.  This was my favorite to make for sure.

Can Chris and I get married every year?  I'd love to stockpile these beauties.

Confession: I touched everything.  I love the feel of really fine and luscious fancy fabric, 

so naturally, my hands were on everything.  I couldn't help it.  

And each dress was silkier and more ethereal than the next.

The quality of the above photos isn't the best.  In the shoe department, the lighting was a little trickier to use well.  

But the large, sprawling setup of bud vases was very fun to work with.

In the Terrain section, we went for a farm stand kind of feeling, using tons of bouquets in the galvanized tin buckets, with mini arrangements in the green glass goblets at the top.

I completely loved working my first freelance opportunity.  How could I not enjoy it, in such a beautiful setting?  The folks that I was working with were kind and had a clear vision, and didn't mind the questions that I asked throughout the day.  I really strive to complete the vision that a bride or a designer has for their space, and I think that I worked really well with the team at Building 17 on Monday.  

Here's to hoping that this becomes a regular occurrence!

Love and light,

Alyssa