Workshops and Classes - Love'n Fresh Flowers

Having the day off from work today was a welcome treat.  Granted, I still made lots of things disappear from my to-do list, but I didn't have to drive anywhere at 6am.  That was a plus!

I wanted to write a quick post to share my excitement about a series of floral design classes that I learned about this morning.

If you have not yet heard of Love'n Fresh Flowers, click quickly to the website!  Run by the fantastically talented Jennie Love, flowers are farmed in the urban setting of Philadelphia, not even 15 minutes from my apartment!  All locally, organically grown, Love'n Fresh Flowers does a wonderful amount of weddings and events each year, with stunning floral creations.

I learned today via Instagram that a workshop and class schedule has been posted on the Love'n Fresh Flowers website.  The image below is a screenshot of the Bigcartel page upon which you can enroll.

I am hoping to attend at least the Floral Fundamentals Workshop called Flower Child.  The class description makes me feel so eager to attend.  Words such as "flower crown" and "wildflower comb" queue up some gorgeous and lush images in my head.  It's sure to be a treat of a class!

Love and light,

Alyssa

Flower Leftovers

 Happy Sunday, readers!

The flowers above are leftovers from my New Year's bouquet adventure.  This image was taken after Philadelphia received a great deal of snow, and we were plunged into extreme low temperatures.  These beauties only endured the polar votes for about 10 minutes.  Boots from LL Bean are always a good idea in extreme weather.

The white roses, winter greenery, and limonium misty blue were wrapped with a vintage handkerchief that I found at a cute antique store in Wayne, PA.  It adds a practical and homey touch to a simple and elegant bouquet.

Love and light,

Alyssa

LoveSick Expo 2014 - Philadelphia

Learning from others is invaluable to anyone.  Personally, I am learning from observing and speaking with other professionals in the wedding industry, hoping to hear any words of wisdom, advice tidbits, and otherwise pertinent info to helping me shape Demure Birch Design into a successful venture.

Sunday was a day of intense learning from observing.  Chris and I attended the LoveSick Expo at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, and were greeted immediately with a bustling crowd, edging around to see some of the most unique vendors in the Philadelphia area.  The LoveSick Expo is partnered with Offbeat Bride, which is an extremely valuable wealth of resources for folks who are planning weddings that have any aspect of non-traditionality within the event.  I would say that anyone, even those planning the most traditional wedding possible, could use the information on Offbeat Bride, especially when it comes to non-sappy father/daughter dance song recommendations, first dance songs, real talk surrounding the marital aspect of commitment, and some pretty great rainbow elements in real weddings.

LoveSick Philadelphia had an impressive showcase of vendors, ranging from planners to makeup artists.  There were many photographers present who had beautiful prints and books of their shots.  The only vendor type that outnumbered photographers had to be food vendors, ice cream, cakes, fun cocktails, and full service caterers brought tasty samples of their food.

Excuse the mediocre quality of photo...my iPhone was my only means of capturing the event,

 as my camera never made it into my tote.  

Something I learned while observing at LoveSick was that the level of preparation required for vendors is huge.  Having the appropriate structures and tables, maybe even chairs is not to be overlooked when planning ahead to be a vendor anywhere.  

It is also integral to have a pretty arrangement of your wares!  This includes your newsletter sign-up book or clipboard, any paper products you are distributing, and samples of your work, whatever that might be.  Hospitality is huge.

A goal of mine is to become a vendor for LoveSick Expo in 2015.  Lofty?  Yup.  And I'm totally fine with that.  I'm ready to go big.

Love and light,

Alyssa

Monthly Bouquet Project

Happy Sunday to all of you sweet readers out there!

I wanted to give a little bit of information about an upcoming project that I had mentioned a while ago.  The idea comes from my desire to continually create better and more unique floral arrangements, as I grow in skill and technique in the art of floral design.  I want to improve constantly as I work, and part of that comes from having fun and playing, and trying new things.

Each month this year, I will be setting aside time on a weekend (or day off of work!) and creating a bouquet.  The idea is that each month, I have new flowers to work with.  I need to try working with flowers that I haven't yet used.  I need to set aside productive, purposeful time to try my hand at something not yet attempted.  I'll be buying local at times, but at other times, I'll be ordering from wholesalers to get a feel for blooms that cannot be found locally.

January is still open, and I have a few ideas already.  I'm also open to challenges in the comments of this post.  Is there a flower you think I should work with, during a certain month?  Tell me.

Perhaps at some point, I'll be donating or gifting the flowers to local businesses to display in their store.  This would be an awesome opportunity for me, and I'd love to brighten someone's day at the same time.  Shops or people that are interested in a free bouquet and some business cards?  Contact me!

I'm ready to learn and create.  I hope that you'll enjoy what I make.

Love and light,

Alyssa

New Year's Bouquet

I want to wish you all a very happy new year!  Last night, Chris and I rang in the new year by having a pajama party for two, with nature documentaries and homemade pizza.  I'm a huge homebody, so it was just perfect for the two of us.  Today, we are relaxing around the apartment together, him playing guitar and researching computer circuitry, and me working through Lara Casey's Powersheets.  I want to be ready to make changes in my life, but I do enjoy having a plan.

Yesterday, I went out and purchased some beautiful blooms to continue practicing my bouquet making skills.  I bought white roses, baby's breath, hydrangeas, limonium misty blue, and some greens, and I started bunching things together this morning.  Chris and I went to a nearby park to stroll in the cold air and to take some photos.

I love the different textures that were pushed together in this bouquet.  Texture is a major aspect of any arrangement or bouquet that I make, and I want to play more with texture in this new year.

Sometimes bouquets like to just sit and relax on rock walls.

  

I am learning while constructing bouquets, but I am learning from the photographs of my creations as well.  Sometimes a photograph will show us something that we did not even consider when simply looking at something.  Perspective is everything, and I can clearly see some good things along with areas to improve on when I look through the many photos we took of the bouquet.

Stay tuned for some exciting news about a monthly project that I will be starting!  I am ready for 2014 to teach me in so many ways.

Love and Light,

Alyssa

Making Things Happen in 2014

Ever since signing up for the Trouvaille Workshop and speaking with the kind and personable Rhiannon Banda of Hey Gorgeous Events, a seed was planted in my heart.  I had emailed Rhiannon with questions regarding Trouvaille, and while answering those questions, she pointed me toward the Making Things Happen intensive in March.  I had heard about MTH before, but had not seriously looked into it, because I was still unsure about how and in what way to find the focus for my goals.

Making Things Happen is all about finding the core of what makes you move.  By combining some serious goal setting and soul searching with branding and business essentials, MTH seems to be a huge turning point for the attendants.  I am ready to be one of those people!

I bought the ticket after learning via Lara Casey's Instagram feed that there were only 19 tickets left for the intensive.  Despite the huge popularity of the intensive, the event is capped at 70 tickets to ensure that the gathering is still intimate enough for major interaction and change among attendees.  I realized that if I did not make that leap to attend this conference, I would be left wondering.  I would wonder what pushed the other attendees to purchase their tickets.  What changes are they hoping to make?  I would have wondered what topics and planning would have been covered during the conference.  And I would have been wondering how the lives of the attendees would be changed after the conference.

Things became really clear after that.  I had to attend.  Pure and simple.

I bought my ticket, and I booked my hotel.  I am rooming with another sweet attendee at the event, and I am so happy to have already spoken with her and several other people involved.  We are all so excited!

Chapel Hill, I am coming for you!  I am ready to learn and be challenged, and I am ready to make positive changes in my life.

Love and Light,

Alyssa

Getting Out of a Rut

It's been over a month.  The impulse to write and create in this space has flickered on and off, in small blinking ways since my last post.  However, the creative flash that I thought I needed was not pulsing through my mind.

While balancing a job (one that during the day, makes your body and mind tired) and trying to begin a new line of work, the impulse to create can be so hard to muster up.  My day job, while rewarding and fun (at times) in its own way, is not something that makes my heart happy anymore.  A long time ago, I loved that I felt valued and happy at my workplace each day.  Sadly, I do not feel that way anymore, due to a number of factors.  It is obvious now, more than ever, that I must make changes before I can no longer remember what makes me happy in being a hardworking, efficient, caring employee.

In simply getting through the day to day aspect of my job, it is seriously challenging to want to come home and do anything but shower, eat (if I have the energy), and put on pajamas and fall asleep on the couch.  The last thing on my mind is how to network to build a successful working relationship with vendors in the area, or researching the best floral wholesalers.  Thankfully, I have been afforded time to do these things, due to the winter break from school that I am currently soaking in.

I am still trying to crawl out of the rut that unhappiness can push me into, while internally dealing with the looming date that I need to go back to work.  It is hard to push for progress when I have such a sinking feeling that I will be shoved down once again by a hostile entity.  Honestly, it makes me scared for who I am turning into, because I do not want to be unhappy.  I do not like how I can be a huge downer when I have to talk about what I do at my workplace.  I want to be enthusiastic and happy, living with a passion for my work.  I am moving in that direction, just more slowly than I'd prefer.  I am patient.

Dear readers, whoever you might be out there, I have not vanished.  I am here, and I want to be the best choice for your wedding needs.  I'm learning, thinking, working, and practicing a liberal amount of self-care in order to be that person for you.

I'm not abandoning this ship.

Love and Light,

Alyssa