Today I switched a co-worker shifts, since her boyfriend's birthday is today, and her shift is 12-8.  So I had time to get an oil change in my car early today.  I came home and ate some avocado toast and thought about writing.

The above beauty is Kent's Beauty oregano, and I am absolutely and completely smitten with it.  I think I may have finally found myself as a flower.  It's always interesting what people think about themselves, and what others think about them - does it ever match up, or do we always see ourselves a bit differently then the rest of the world does?  This week I am flowering oregano and it just makes me really happy.

Fast forward to 6:30pm, because I lost track of time and am blogging at work now.  The poppy in the above photo lasted but a minute, but my goodness it was beautiful for a minute.

I just got some headshots back in my email from a finance workshop that I attended in Manhattan a few months ago.  I had short hair then, brand new short hair, so now I can use current photos for my website.  I'm happy about that - and that a really fabulous photographer was generous to donate her skills to take the portraits.

I have lots of thoughts in my head all the time, and am unsure of how to edit and write them in a way that is easy to receive online.  I want to talk about so many topics: local flowers, finance, client relations, how much I love flowers, freelancing experiences, and more.  Perhaps I'll just title different posts with each of those topics, and categorize from there by bullet point.  That may honestly be the easiest way. 

The battle against fruit flies

Since it's now summertime and there's an abundance of fruit, and despite my fastidious efforts in keeping a clean kitchen, we have fruit flies.  They are intensely irritating and seem to be resilient against our apple cider vinegar traps, but progress has been made in the body count thus far.

My parents just left from visiting for the weekend.  I wish that I could take Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and just smash together the best parts of each city, and then my family wouldn't be so far away.  They're not even that far.  But six hours can feel like a pretty long drive sometimes.  Especially with a meowing cat, a mouth-breathing cat (has anyone else experienced how creepy it can look?  I know that they're just using a mouth gland to get a better sense of surroundings, but still!), and a husband who requires the car to stop at least once during the trip.  I'd rather just take it as a straight shot.

My first ever arch, above.  I'm a bit annoyed that it's taken this long to be given permission to make one alone.  Regardless, I think I like how it turned out.  It was a lesson in restraint.  Some of the mechanics with the arch itself prevented me from adding more flowers, but despite this setback, the clients were still thrilled.  So it's that interesting line dividing what we THINK is expected versus what will actually be expected from the client.  Luckily, things worked out really well this time.

Foxglove, just because.  

This orchid friend was a new one at Longwood.  My parents always just enjoy walking around and admiring their grounds, so off to the gardens we went.  It's fun just walking and talking.

Another test in patience is obtaining freelance work - and continuing to obtain freelance work.  I was booked solid in June, and am working for the shop on Friday to round it out.  I hadn't had a freelance job since about three months ago in early April.  It seemed like a big gap, and I'd like that to change.  Consistent freelance work makes me use different skills more frequently, and I love seeing how other people work.  It makes me think a lot.  For future freelance jobs, I need to remember to actually load music onto my iPhone, and bring headphones though.  On the majority of freelance jobs I've done, I've been given a bit of guidance and then left to my devices for the next 7 hours.  Sometimes in a room alone, which I actually really enjoy.  Then I just get to hang out with flowers.  But I might want James Taylor to join us next time.

New website soon?  I'm trying.

Chopped

About a month ago, I decided to cut my hair off.  I put it in a ponytail and cut above the elastic, and over three days, it became progressively shorter and looked better and better.  Chris helped me a lot with the back of my head.  And by help, I mean he stood there and reassuringly said that it looked just fine as I continued using the clippers to take more off.  

I've wanted to try short hair for awhile now.  Last year I was growing my hair as long as possible for our wedding, just because I presumed if I had more hair, there was a better chance that I'd have more hairstyle options for the day.  But I feel like my hair just kind of stops growing at a certain point.  Or just really slows down.

That's the opposite with short hair.  I have to trim it every week right now because it grows so fast and starts looking a bit too much like a mullet.  We're still refining the style I suppose.  But I really like it.  

The above photo was taken about a week and a half ago at a wedding on Long Beach Island that I was fortunate to freelance on.  Amy at Leaves of Grass Floral Design is a sweet soul that I met just under a year ago, and she hired me to freelance for the event.  Working a gigantic event with her and the rest of the team was a wonderful experience - just think branches upon branches upon branches.  And the most beautiful local flowers as well.  There's a lot to be said for sourcing flowers locally - the  overall quality is truly unparalleled.  That might be a discussion for another post.  But for now, just trust me. 

It's funny because my cousin actually was married five years ago at the same venue.  Luckily, instead of the over-hundred-degree temperatures that I experienced before, the week was mostly overcast and cold.  Perfect weather to arrange flowers at a beach house.  We didn't even use the air conditioning, just opened the windows.  It was perfect.

Freelancing has been so educational for me in the past year.  Luckily, I've been able to work for some amazing florists while also working at the flower shop that I'm at full time.  We're in the middle of a busy wedding season at the shop already, and we're not slowing down until mid-July.  Sometimes I wonder about the sustainability and heart behind the back to back to back weddings that we produce. I especially wonder how I'd like to run things once I'm on my own.

I think that I'm also benefitting from seeing other florists in action because then I'm able to analyze how they work.  Not only how they design, but how they interact with others, and how they run their show.  The back end of business, the numbers and logistics, are really fascinating to me.  I want to write about those things, but I'm not sure if it's worth it, or who will read it.  Sometimes having the thoughts in my head is enough, but then when I'm ready to talk, few people actually are comfortable talking about those things.  Perhaps I'm just trying to share a ton of industry "secrets" and steal information from others.  If you're paranoid and insecure, that sounds about right.  

If there's one thing that I've learned recently, it's that there is more than enough business to go around.  This is evidenced by the amount of inquiries for weddings at the shop that I have to refer elsewhere.  Some weekends, we are booked completely solid and just cannot take another wedding.  And no, not even the inquiries that insist they "don't need much...just a bride's bouquet, 4 bridesmaids, boutonnieres, and ten centerpieces plus delivery to (insert location 30+ miles away)."  

Hopefully soon, I'll be launching a new website with a new blog for myself.  It's almost ready - maybe by Friday if I feel ambitious.  We've also been apartment hunting, and I'll be telling the horror stories of that soon as well.

Flowers to Hospice

Since I've been posting a lot recently on my Instagram account about flowers that are headed to hospice units, I wanted to explain a bit more about what hospice is, and why I care so much about it.

Hospice is very different from any other traditional medical care.  The focus of hospice is not treatment, but quality of life for those with terminal conditions, typically with 6 months or less to live.  Maximizing comfort is the priority.  Hospice care will not only be provided for 6 months if the person exceeds that projection, but hospice care will be provided so long as doctors can verify that the client's condition remains limiting to their life span.

Talking about the process of dying is really difficult for lots of people.  I'm not one of those people.  My dad died when I was in elementary school, and I've had lots of close relatives die since then.  My family throughout my life has been very up-front about death, and it's not really something scary to me.  Probably because it was discussed frankly and not drenched in religion - but all that aside, I find our life processes fascinating and am interested in them.

We've had lots of brides at the shop recently request that their reception flowers be donated to hospice care - any hospice care.  Often, hospice care is provided in the client's home, but there are several inpatient wards throughout Philadelphia.  Every Monday, I go visit one 15 bed unit to fill bud vases with leftover wedding flowers (we always have a ton), and just yesterday I went to another unit in South Philadelphia to donate to a specific unit that the bride is associated with.

You would think that I was delivering a million dollars.

Staff and volunteers get so excited to see the flower deliveries, and I suppose families and patients do as well - I don't have a ton of interaction with the clients of the hospice.  

I would like to think that bringing a bit of nature into a medical setting has a positive impact.  Showing something bright in a stark, clinical setting can really improve someone's mood, even incidentally.  But I think that donating flowers to hospice is a really small way to communicate care for others in our community.  Lots of people don't know much about hospice, and I feel like it's kind of a no-man's-land.  

Suggested reading and watching below.  I've personally viewed or read all of these and recommend them to anyone who is interested in learning more.

Documentary: How to Die in Oregon

TED Talk: There's a better way to die and architecture can help

Books:

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

The Good Death: The New American Search to Reshape the End of Life

There is Value in Education

When I was looking around the Philadelphia area for florists that I wanted to contact, I got a crash course in floral design style differences.  In other larger cities, you'll see people whose portfolio is almost exclusively blush and soft neutrals, round balls of blooms in bouquets.  You'll also see some folks who do more modern styles, with color-blocking and tropical flowers.  I could go on and name about 10 other signatures among the florist community here, but there was only one thing that I was looking for when I was reading everyone's website and blog, looking through their portfolio multiple times: what do I want to do?

In contacting floral designers for a potential meeting, I contacted people whose style seemed to be something that I liked, and that I would want to try a hand at.  There were tons of people that I didn't email, because I do not want to immerse myself in certain styles.

As I read websites and anything I could find on dozens of florists, I would read interviews that those florists had done for others, and all of their backlogs in their blog.  And something that I found to be a common theme was really sad to me.  Tons of these folks have flat-out said or written that they would not ever hire someone who had any previous floral experience.  These are probably (actually absolutely are) some of the people who didn't return my emails, but I won't name names.

The fascinating thing is that a ton of these folks, who will not hire anyone with experience, teach workshops and classes.  What dissonance.

Workshops and classes are a great way to hone techniques, learn new things, ask questions, and meet other people who are interested in similar things as you.  Workshops are also a nice way to simply try new things, without having to please a client.  They are valuable.

Then I suppose the issue is defining what "floral design experience" actually means.  Does it mean you took a class once?  That you interned or apprenticed for three months?  That you were an employee to someone else?

Stay with me here.

Relating to education for floral design, I've also noticed another interesting phenomenon.  Lots of industry folk, not even specifically people in floral design, have something on their bio that reads to the effect of "has trained with top industry leaders/premier so-and-so/top-rated whomever/luxury something in (insert nonspecific region here)" to validate their expertise in their field.

But what does that even mean?

Does it mean you took a class once?  Foes it mean you interned or apprenticed for three months?  That you were an employee to someone else?  That you were an employee to someone else?  That you met someone at an event and are extrapolating and stretching your expertise?  That you freelanced for someone?

So then the issue is being specific about the extent of your training.  

I just think it is fascinating that there can be such ambivalence all around about education level.  But I find it relevant and interesting because I am a former teacher, and I believe that education is everything.  Education has the power to change your life.

I feel there is value in education, and that it should be rewarded.  Not treated as a detriment.

That being said, I must acknowledge that attitude is a trait that is independent of educational level.  Meaning that your knowledge of any skill is of little value if you are unable to amend your application of techniques and skills in a kind and humble manner.  Especially if you are working for someone else's studio, or are under the tutelage of someone else.

When my new website goes live, there will be a link or page of some sort that will have a listing of my relevant experience, and the extent of that experience.  Workshops and classes will be listed and skills learned at each will be explained.  Any freelance jobs will also be posted, but I'm not sure what the best way to list those might be yet.  Perhaps just a list titled "Has freelanced for" will suffice.  But it will be transparent and complete.

So go examine your website, and your attitude.  How does education and the value of continuing education fit in with what you are communicating to others?

We Have No Budget

would you create

something amazing for us

we have no budget

Screenshot from Instagram, from @newrafael (Reposted from @brrch_floral)

When I saw this picture on Instagram, I immediately thought to myself, "Wow, what a great thing for a client to say to you!  No budget?  The sky is the limit!  Now what can I suspend from the ceiling...and how many bunches of sweet peas would be the best."

And then, I noticed the little quips, and silly emoji faces that people had tagged their friends with.  I then realized that people were tagging fellow creatives in a tongue-in-cheek manner.  They took "no budget" as minuscule budget.  Which is more frequently the norm.  And kind of a bummer - on the end of the client and the professional.  

It's no secret: small budgets for large events with big dreams is not easy.  And it's also not really fun to be limited in any way, especially if your client's budget directly affects how much zing and flourish you initially think can go into making their flowers amazing.

Notice that I said initially.  Sometimes after meeting with a client, you need to continue to process the information they've given you, and really hunker down to get the right proposal to them.  I'm sure there are brides and grooms out there who also need to decompress after their many meetings prior to the wedding day.

If you have an budget with no end, then that's awesome!  Email me and we'll knock it out of the park.

But I do have a few suggestions and some intel for folks who may have a smaller budget and want to stretch it as far as possible.  I know several flower folk who agree with these ideas, but I'll bet there are even more out there that I don't know, who have great tips as well.

First, understand the limitation of your budget.  This is part of being self aware, but also part of being realistic.  I am a lot of both of those things.  You may not be able to give each of your eight bridesmaids a substantial bouquet.  Perhaps they carry smaller posies instead.  Giving each groomsmen, father, grandfather, uncle, usher, and chuppah holder a boutonniere could also chip away very slowly and very innocuously into your budget.  Maybe only the groom gets a bout.  That way, he looks snazzy in pictures and gets a little something, since you still get your bridal bouquet.  Maybe you want to allocate more money towards the floral arch that the ceremony and all family photos will be taken in front of, as opposed to a large escort table arrangement.  That's fine too.  You may only get normal, clear glass container votive candles, as opposed to the more pricy rental mercury glass votives.  The candles will still light the table all aglow.  

Second, be flexible with your florist.  Any florist that I've spoken to out there has tons of tips and tricks for ensuring that you get the overall look that you want, without sacrificing your wallet.  Your florist should be happy to edit the proposal as you see fit, but ultimately, they are the expert.  Be honest with them and listen to their recommendations.  

Last of all, I think a positive attitude can go a really long way.  This is a tip for everyone out there.  It's about finding the right florist/caterer/planner/whoever to deliver their magic to you on the wedding day.  Entering into every meeting with a hopeful outlook will go a far way, along with determining if the professional partnership together is a good idea.  For example, I was contacted the other week for a wedding (would have been my first wedding booking ever!) and I had to turn it down.  There were lots of reasons, and I may talk about the ideal client some other time on this blog, but I decided that I was not the best person for their needs.  I referred them to two other florists that would have been more suitable for their wedding, and gave them some helpful (I hope) advice in finding the right florist.  But I still treated them with kindness and heard them out, and hopefully, they don't hate me.  Despite turning their business away, I was still positive with them.  

Whatever your budget, you can have beautiful flowers at your wedding.  It's just a matter of figuring out the best setup and design for the day overall, and working together to refine the proposal.

Any thoughts?  Questions?  Email at alyssa.yukevich@gmail.com

[In other news, I'll be working on my new website for a bit this afternoon!  Get ready to see that by the end of May!]

Little Flower School: Bouquet Intensive, February 2015

I braved a snowstorm two months ago to return home from Brooklyn.  Seriously.  It took 4.5 hours to make it back to Philadelphia, in some really crappy weather.  The drive up only took about 1.5 hours, and it is a really good thing that I had a full tank of gas.

Intimate flower arranging and coffee sipping occurred, as only five ladies, myself included, registered for the class.  Held at the Saipua studio in Red Hook, a wonderfully gorgeous day unfolded indoors as snow fell gently outside.  Sarah and Nicolette were wonderfully kind teachers, but didn't skimp on the constructive criticism in order to better our work.  Attending Little Flower School was a dream of mine for awhile, and I am pleased that I was able to attend a class with the instructors.  Ultimately, I would love to attend a private class with Sarah - I will be accepting donations to my continuing education fund on a rolling basis.

Choosing the color palette was actually my favorite part of this bouquet.  My ideal client is definitely flexible on color, because sometimes the most beautiful flowers available are not the color you're expecting.  The dark purple lace flower and the glowing pink ranunculus are not typically a combination in the shop that I work at, let alone pairing them with umbrella fern.

Fritillaria is one of the most interesting flowers that I've learned about in some time.  The petals have a checkerboard.  I mean, seriously.  That is interesting.

The side view.  Unf.

My second bouquet, after a delicious lunch and champagne, was way more challenging for me.

Having made a moody bouquet, I wanted to do something completely different.  But none of the foliage was speaking to me at all.  Odd, right.  I'm surrounded by abundant beauty in foliage form, and I don't like any of it at that moment.

So Nicolette said to just omit the foliage.  Her challenge to me was to make a bouquet without foliage, swirling color in way that variegated the bouquet from one color to the other.  

This bouquet would not have worked without the hyacinth.  See that it's both pink AND yellow?

And I should confess that I actually didn't want to use it.  I'm not used to hyacinth in bouquets.

But the hyacinth is necessary.

Merry Ostara, and Some Goals

Today is the first day of spring, and as I type these words, I'm watching some really light snow falling out the window.  Having a day off today is doing my heart a lot of good, as is the cup of coffee that I am leisurely consuming.  And the above image?  A picture from the class I recently attended at Saipua.  I was spoiled with some amazing product and creative energy.  I'm learning that it's not the flowers, it's what you actually do with them.  So I'm learning and having fun.  And wanting critique and practice.  

Goals.  There are things that I want to do and create and show the world.  In no particular order, with no particular time frame, here are some current goals.

• Massive focal arrangements.  I want to make huge-ass arrangements in big urns.  Like something that makes people stop and just marvel, and then look closer to see the dozens of varieties of flower in it.  I want branches coming out of it, and vines trailing out of it to pool on the floor or down the stairs.  Let me at 'em.
• Grow flowers.  The lisianthus we started inside has germinated and has been going strong for weeks now.  And most flower farmers just purchase the plugs?  Whatever.  If I can grow it in a living room, you can grow it in a greenhouse or hoophouse or something-house.  We're starting foxglove this weekend inside, possibly a few others.  We were planning on planting hellebore outside, plus nigella and lots of other fun stuff.  But the snow is putting a hold on that for now.
• Try to get out of my head a little.  Communicating with people is difficult.  Especially when I come across as weirdly confident (possibly in a perceived lack of skill on the other end?) or blunt and forward (because I mean what I say and say what I mean - shouldn't everyone?).  But enjoying talking to others more is something I can stand to improve on.  I have thoughts and should share the productive ones.
• Finalize dahlia purchases.  Give me money to spend on tubers please.
• Continue to eat healthy food.  With the exception of the occasional doughnut, Chris and I historically eat really great food.  No falling off the wagon here.  But drinking more water would help.  
• Make consistent deposits in my IRA.  I gained a ton of adult points by opening one for 2014, and lost a lot of money out of my checking account.  But I'm all for tax deductions, and for saving for retirement.  Win-win.  I want to invest in my future by contributing money weekly for 2015.  You should also probably start an IRA, because being financially responsible is attractive.

Happy Ostara!  And cheers to goals and keeping them, or changing them, or just learning from them.

A Question of Demographic

So a lot of things have happened this past week.  A few firsts.

The most exciting, my first solo consultation - on the phone at that!  The couple was just the sweetest.  They live in New York City, but are getting married at an arboretum in Philadelphia.  Met here in the city, and still have ties to it, may eventually return permanently.  Their palette is a far cry from the constant dusty-miller-ivory-blush that I dread hearing.  There's nothing wrong with it, it's just not interesting anymore.  But blue bonnets as a nod to the groom's home state of Texas in the boutonnieres?  That's interesting.  And I love it.  It's sentimental and authentic and thoughtful.  Keep those ideas coming.

Today I have another consultation, but in person this time.  Also alone.  I'm excited.  I like talking to people who want large quantities of flowers.  I like to get excited with them.

It was the first wedding of the year for us at the shop on Saturday night.  Today I get to go back to the venue and pick up all of the pieces.  But there were lots of taper candles, and I'm curious to see how "dripless" they are.  It's all about being vertical, and not leaning.

Another first this week - I was contacted by a dear friend to provide flowers for a bachelorette/bridal shower weekend in September.  It's being held in my old college town, and I am already really excited about it.  I don't want to divulge too much on here, in case the bride-to-be reads the blog.

Another personal first was offering a flower class for my upcoming trip home to Pittsburgh.  However, the only person who has expressed interest in attending is my mother.  I'm planning on bringing some really amazing flowers to her anyway, to show her a bit of what's happening in my world, in person.  But currently, enrollment is essentially at zero percent.  And why?

I attribute it being so low to the demographics of who views my blog or other social media.  Yes, I am capable of running a class, and there's no question that there are people out there somewhere who are interested in attending.  But in terms of demographics, that may not be who I'm currently reaching.  Another element to examine is the cost of the class.  And the cost of flowers in general.  Which deserves its own series of posts.

I struggle in wanting to educate people about the true cost of flowers, and then flipping and thinking that they should just educate themselves if they care enough, and that it's not really something I care to do at this time.  Generally because most people out there either have no idea about what flowers cost, or they think that they do but are actually completely wrong.  Perhaps misled is a better (nicer) way of saying it.  But that's a post for another time, and I honestly don't know where to start on it.  What do you want to hear about, on the topic of the true cost of flowers?

Love and light,

Alyssa

The Class that Never Was?

I was thinking about hosting a flower class in Pittsburgh, and then didn't go through with setting it up at all.  Meaning, I still might host it, but don't know what the market for something like that would be.  If there's any interest at all, I still might host it.  Especially if it's even just held for people that I know and love, with people that they know and love.  Flowers among friends, for fun, sounds like the best thing ever.  Especially when I bring snacks and coffee as well.

No floral experience is needed.  That's how I started out.  Just playing around with flowers.  Some people in the industry really prickle when they hear the phrase "playing with flowers."  I can understand why.  Floral design isn't all play.  It's about being an artist, and working diligently, long hours, and having a backbone of steel in moment where your integrity and ideas are challenged.  But sometimes, you just need to play.  And it's ok to call it what it is.

Mason Jar Arrangement 101

Saturday, March 14, 2015

1pm to 3:30pm

Location: TBA

Cost: $65

Class includes a lovely purple Ball mason jar in which to make your arrangement.

Florals will be the most delicious domestic, Dutch, and Japanese imports.

The refreshments served will also be delicious, and edible.  

Flowers not recommended to be eaten.  Just admired.

To reserve your spot, please email alyssa.yukevich@gmail.com.

Minimum enrollment of 6.

And there you have it.  The class that may never happen.  But maybe it will.  And maybe I'll see you there.

If you have a question, fire away or email me at the above address.  I'd love to talk about it!

Love and light,

Alyssa

Philadelphia Flower Show 2015

Philadelphia is the yearly host of the world-renowned and recognized Flower Show.  I've never attended before, largely because my previous job prevented me from enjoying life on weekends and otherwise impeded my functioning as a human being.  But also because I didn't exactly know what was available at the flower show to see and enjoy.

But I know way better now.  And am more functional.

My friend Tanti, owner of the floral and event design company Papertini, is a judge at the flower show this year, and is also exhibiting work there.  One of her employees, Caroline, and I were able to create the above piece together.  

This year the theme for the flower show is movies.  The intersection of movies and Hollywood with flowers and horticulture, which is interesting and really fun.  The movie that Caroline chose for us to portray was The Lord of the Rings - specifically Rivendell and Lothlorien.  The land of the Elves.  And we had a ton of fun creating a table with that setting in mind.

And one more for good measure.

Love and light,

Alyssa

New Offerings

I'm really excited about this bouquet.  The Saipua studio makes a pretty lovely background, doesn't it?  I enjoyed my time there last weekend for a class through Little Flower School.  

[If anyone wants to send me to the Master's Workshop in Upstate NY, please just buy me a ticket and let me know.  I'll probably just do your future wedding for free.  I'm completely serious about that exchange.]

So, new offerings.

I'm pleased and excited to announce that I'm available to take on small numbers of wedding and event clients for late 2015, and throughout 2016.  Since I'm still working at the flower shop, my time there takes priority for events, which is why I'm putting out the call now for late 2015.  2016 is still completely wide open.

I can't wait to talk to you!  I'd love to chat through email or over the phone to see if we could work together.  

To brighten your day, here are a few more shots of that delicious bouquet.  I'm looking forward to receiving the professional photos sometime soon.  Keep an eye out!

Love and light,

Alyssa

I live inside my head and sometimes on my blog.

Does anyone else in blog-land struggle with that?  I am a big thinker.  Not necessarily big thoughts all the time, but I don't really turn off my mind, ever.  Chris especially loves this when I bring up big existential worries and life plans at 10pm on a weekday.

A consequence of living in my head and just thinking all the time, is that I don't really enjoy reiterating my thoughts to an audience on a blog.  I already thought all of the thoughts, and now I need to go over them again in text?  Sometimes it's too much to do again, and I can be selfish with keeping my thoughts all to myself sometimes.  But I also really enjoy being forthcoming, so here we are.

I've been busy.  Mostly with walking a dog as a side job, experiencing Valentine's Day at our busy retail flower shop, and taking one of our cats for a teeth cleaning.  Giving her an antibiotic for a pulled tooth 2x/day has been funny and interesting.  You can't say you've really lived until your cat drools out her medicine because she refuses to swallow it.

Philadelphia has been quite cold, along with the rest of the northeast.  Despite the cold and snow, we have germination of the lisianthus at my mother-in-law's house!  Starting from seed is not impossible.  We'll see how they do until we can plant into the garden.  But this is progress.

Enter Valentine's Day.

No, this is not apathy kicking in.  Working with the same wonderful ladies all the time, there are some funny things that happen - this client wanted whatever looked "nicest" (and what does that really even mean, to each person?), but in the midst of the busy-ness, it appears that we just don't care.  But we do - a really lovely bouquet was made and we cracked up noticing the order form.

All in all, a really successful Valentine's Day, with only the minor inconvenience of a broken heater.  Minor, as in I volunteered for any and all deliveries, because the van has a wonderful working AC system.  

Next post, I might be talking about something exciting that I'm planning for my Western PA/Pittsburgh folks.  I miss Allegheny County a lot.  Philadelphia is fine for now.  And I love Pennsylvania as a whole, but I really miss Pittsburgh all the time.  So, you may be hearing about that soon.  Or about another exciting business thing I'm cooking up.  Or maybe this:

Love and light,

Alyssa

Finding the Right Ones

This past week at the flower shop, we've had some really great clients come in for meetings.  It's always interesting to see how clients find us, and what they found that they like.  And it's also interesting to see what knowledge they bring to the table about flowers, and how interested they are in making their florals amazing.

We've recently had two or three clients that just stand out amazingly.  Just really excellent at communication (amongst themselves and with us), knowledge and interest in flowers and sourcing seasonally, and a general flexibility and trust that we're going to take care of their needs for their weddings.  It also doesn't hurt that they're adorable and tremendously in love, with the sweetest stories and dispositions.  It's a little bit sickening.  And it's hugely inspiring.

Just last weekend, I wrote my first proposal for a client, to just show my boss, to compare to the one she was writing.  To see how I do, since I look at all of them and reference them constantly during wedding season.  I kind of love writing proposals - it's a throwback to the days of writing lesson plans that never were looked at.  But in this situation, the proposals actually do get looked at, edited, and referenced a lot.  And that's a step up for me.

I just wanted to post a little bit about how awesome those clients are, even though they won't see the words.  It fires me up to think that we're not going to be stuck doing yet another mason-jar-peach-blush-cream-rustic-elegant wedding, for the umpteenth time.  There's nothing wrong with those weddings, but change and variety can be refreshing.  These couples and clients are making me so excited about possibilities out there, and it's seemingly a rare thing to be inspired by your clients.

Making flowers for any client can be inspiring or routine.  It can be just simply giving the client what they want, without a ton of soul.  Still pretty, still something nice to look at, but nothing that really fires up my heart.  But to be sparked by a client - motivated to make their awesome, personal vision come alive, because they thought of something that could be magical.  That's the hope I have for myself as I grow, and for other designers as they grow.

My friend and colleague, Dan of Floradelphia had something similar to say about being inspired and excited about his work, on his blog here.  Check out his words!  I really enjoyed reading them, and his thoughts really resonated with me.  Having a wedding speak to who the couple truly is - to have the decor and space and general atmosphere become a reflection of the couple.  I think a large part of being able to do this involves enthusiasm and inspiration.  What do you all think?  And how awesome is it, when you can truly be inspired?

Love and light,

Alyssa

On Going for It

I've been having a lot of thoughts about the flower business recently.  Not on any one track in particular, but that's the consequence of not being able to turn off my brain.

I've also been thinking a lot about our flower farm.  It doesn't have a name yet, so I'll be taking creative ideas from anyone who feels compelled to offer one.  Growing flowers is a way for me to have tons of flowers to mess around with.  They'll be all mine, which means that I can do anything with them.  Working at a flower shop does afford me the opportunity to work with some really pretty things, but they're not mine.  And I'm also subject to the budget and general desire of the client whenever I make something.  It's really fantastic when someone sending flowers just says "designer's choice" for the arrangement, but that doesn't happen every day.

Every day on our flower farm (does it even constitute being called a farm yet?),providing that things actually do grow, I'll be able to cut any flower that I want, make massive bouquets, and reap the rewards of what is sure to be hard work getting things to grow.  I know that lots of flower folk go onto farming because they want a better product from a better source.  And that's partially true for me.  But I think the big motivator is mostly wanting to expand my creativity and have more freedom.

And I just want to bury my face in a bucket full of nigella.

We're also tossing around the idea of selling the flowers, not only to the shop I work at, but as a bouquet order service or some such.  Possibly wholesaling to Kimberton Whole Foods, but that's a big maybe, since we're not sure how successful the growing will be.  Every web source has said to forget about trying to grow lisianthks from seed, but I have four varieties that we're starting right around Valentine's Day.  So hopefully the web is wrong.

Related: I read this article this morning, and I think you all should too.  The best part:

"How generous are you willing to be? How generous are you willing to be with your whole life? Will you share yourself with us? With the world? Do you dare? Or are you just going to hold yourself tightly in, hold these long arms and legs all to yourself? 

"Are you just going to be stingy? Just keep yourself to yourself for the rest of your life? In case you fall? In case you fail? In case you make a fool of yourself? In case we see how imperfect you are? 

"OR: are you going to choose to just be generous anyway? To just take up as much space as you actually take up? To be as big, as graceful, as long, as gorgeous, as enormous as you actually are?"

Love and light,

Alyssa

I Need to Stop Myself from Buying More Seeds (So I'm Posting to the Blog Instead)

Good morning to you all on this grey Monday.  Yesterday, I described Sunday as grey.  A lot has been happening here, and I've been terrible at posting for a long while.  Chalk it up to being busy, or even simply not wanting to share, but for better or worse, I'm back at least for today.

Things at the flower shop have been going really well.  I've been able to grow more as a designer, and have recently been completing more complex orders independently.  I've also been honing my skills at funeral flowers of late.  Last weekend, we had several funeral orders, a baby shower order, and a wedding order.  I think that they all make me appreciate one another - the work was different for each, but it's kind of nice to be reminded that there's a life cycle, a schedule for things.  

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Lovesick Expo as a vendor with my boss.  She chose me to go with her since I will be taking on more wedding work this year.  I'll be independently meeting with the engaged, learning about pricing out proposals, and all of the nuts and bolts that go with wedding preparation.  

Do you remember this post from last year?  I am really just thrilled with the progress I've made.  My work has improved SO MUCH since last year.  It's good to be reflective and really see what I've learned and how that has influenced my work.  It's also just really good to see that I am growing as a professional.  Attending a wedding expo is a great way to really see what people are looking for out there.  It also gave me some practice with talking to prospective clients, and my throat paid the price by the end of the four hour expo.  It was a quiet evening at home, but that's the norm here and just fine by me.

This all isn't to say that things have been perfect and easy around here.  But for the most part, things have been wonderful.  And I'm really thankful for that.

In other news, my wonderfully accommodating husband will be helping me with a huge flower garden this year.

I never thought I'd be growing flowers.  Playing in dirt is never something that I've liked.  But I'll really do just about anything if it means that I can have my own flowers.  I think it also comes with just wanting to have an entire bunch of flowers that are mine and mine alone, to hug.  It's a really interesting reaction, if you're lucky enough to see me, when we get a particularly wonderful bunch of flowers in at the shop.  I'll make some silly noises, possibly stomp my feet. maybe jump around, and just kind of hold them like they're an infant, requiring all my attention and adoration.

So hopefully, I'll be doing that in the privacy of a garden, with handfuls of lisianthus, sweet peas, and tons of other blooms this summer.  If things actually do grow (and I'm terrified that nothing will grow at all), you can ask to come help cut the flowers.  We'll probably need the help, and you'll get some free flowers.  Win-win.

Love and light,

Alyssa