The pretty stuff has arrived!

Some of the "pretty things" have arrived for the 

Spring Fling scheduled for Saturday, April 4th.

We have some wonderful gift ideas for birthdays, Mother's Day, Administrative Professional's Day or just because. The lavender eye pillows smell wonderful. They are made with a beautiful soft fabric embroidered with pretty poppies and come in 3 colors.. pink, red, and orange. They're handmade and stuffed with organic lavender.

The Shea Butter and Lavender Shea Butter [shown in the silver tins] smells divine! It really hydrates your skin and is not greasy. Just a little goes a long way- no kidding.

And then the Archipelago candles.. ..they look great, and truly scent a room. All of the favorites are back in stock. The poured candles shown are $22. and the votives are $3.50 ea. 

We hope you'll get a chance to pop in for the Open House. We'll have lots of beautiful things to brighten your home, get you ready for Spring's upcoming 'local holidays'- Thunder and Derby, and just give you a chance to stop back in the historic district and visit the local businesses.

A Wedding from last Summer

Oh......so much to say about this wedding. The couple, the planning, the details, the end results.

Lots of work, many refined plans and Jessica's first wedding with me and Lavender Hill. It's time I posted the photos. The photographer was excellent..I just wish I had more of her photos.

Become our Friend on Facebook

We now have a correct official page on Facebook.   Lavender Hill Floral

We are hoping you will use both our blog and Facebook as a source to find out what's going on at the shop. Both of these great forms of communication will help us keep you up to date on what we're doing, what new products are available, sales, invitations to nifty events and more. 

We also plan to use Facebook as another place to feature photos of the weddings, events and great arrangements that we get to create. Although we do post some photos here, Facebook will allow more space and that means more photos in albums- for quick reference. So please, be our Friend.. you can never have too many.

Such a great day!!

Well, today was like Christmas for me. 

We have been doing a lot of planning for this new year. What we want to do for new products, deciding on new display pieces, searching for the best crop of dried lavender, new varieties of plants and more. One of the biggest 'mores' has been working on our new look for our business correspondence. This includes everything leaving our shop with our name on it, signage, logo, attire for employees- everything. 

I posted earlier in January regarding the new business cards and today they came!!!! This is probably not exciting for anyone but me and Jessica. But our business cards arrived late this afternoon- personally delivered to us by Tom from Allegra Printing in New Albany. They are beautiful!!! Jen designed them and he did an amazing job of getting them printed exactly as I'd hoped they'd be. So, now we have our new business cards and the rest of the paper items will be coming shortly.

Along with that, as of March 1st. we will no longer have our lavenderhillflorals.BIZ site. We have researched the traffic on the site and found that we'd rather have everything on one site. So, as of March 1st. lavenderhillflorals.com will be the site to go to and if you'd like to order flowers or look at some of the flower photo samples and other items available for purchasing.. you can also get there thru this blog. Just click on the area in the top right of the blog. That will get you to our Direct2Florist page.

Also some new things available for delivery will be Celebration Cakes or Cupcakes. These can accompany a simple arrangement or anything else coming from our shop. If you would like to send Cake or Cupcakes for any occasion, we would like a 24hour notice. We will have more info on flavors, cake/serving sizes and hopefully photos on the next blog post. 

We are excited for all of the new things  arriving before the Spring Fling in April. Saturday, April 4th to be exact, from 10 am 'til 3pm. Well, that's all for now. Check back again for another post. Thanks for stopping by.

Something for March....

Our small token of appreciation... if you purchase your Valentine's Day flowers with us this week-you will receive a "Love Note" good for one free rose during the month of March. 

We know you can go anywhere to purchase flowers. When you come to Lavender Hill.. we know that means you expect excellent flowers and excellent service. So with that, we want to continue our good relationship with you.

Come back in March..if not sooner, and present the "Love Note" and continue the love with another rose. 

Join us on Facebook!

Just another way to find out what's going on at Lavender Hill. We now have a Facebook page. Sign on and add us to your  Friend's list. You can never have too many friends.. at least we don't think so.

Did you know ??

Did you know, when you place an order we can email you a photo of what we sent? Yes, that's right.

Why are we doing this? Well, because we know many times the floral sender never gets a chance to see what's been sent. We do get many calls from people not in the local area. They may be calling for a delivery for a special occasion they may not be able to attend-- perhaps a birthday, anniversary or funeral. So, if you give us your email address we'll send you a photo of your floral gift. 

The only time we may not be able to do this would be for a super busy holiday like Valentine's Day- and that is only because of the volume of orders coming in and the time frame for delivery would be a little prohibitive.

We've chosen to do this because we want you to be confident with what is being sent out with your name one it. But remember, it has our name on it too.  So, if you look good, we look good. It's as simple as that.

Enjoy the weekend.. and don't forget Valentine's Day is next Saturday the 14th. For a longer romantic weekend, send your flowers on Friday.

What happened??

Sooo.. over the ice and snow didn't make it onto the blog... Hmmm? Why? because I am not proficient in uploading things from other sites-- no, really I'm not even a little bit knowledgeable. 

I was going to post about how I am truly over the snow and ice -just like everyone else. Then I found this nifty 14 minute or so-movie on YouTube- titled Validation. Totally precious and it made me smile and I wanted to share it and of course my lack of internet knowledge didn't allow me to upload the link-- so now I have something new to learn.. Anyway, the movie was just what I needed after all of this snow and ice.

So... now on to more fun things... Today, UPS came with one of our purchases from Chicago. That's right! Today we received some amazing Shea Butter Hand Cream. Wonderful, Lavender scented and plain Shear Butter. I tried a little of the sample tin and it's really nice. It's not a heavy scent which is good. What really surprised me - it is not greasy. We tried the product while at the market so I already knew it wouldn't be- but trying it again-I was very impressed. Our hands get very dried with damaged cuticles and this should do the trick for us and you. 

Hopefully, we can get it on the floor tomorrow. You can try it for yourself and let us know what you think. There will be samples and even some little ones available for purchase to keep in your purse. 

Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

Sooo.. over the ice and snow!

A lot of ice...

Today was interesting.. most people were home due to the overnight snow and impending ice showers. I did make it to the shop for two reasons, I had funeral work to be delivered and better than that, I had flowers coming from Florida.

After shoveling and chatting with the Schimpff's of Schimpff's Confectionery.. I got the funeral work out. But no flowers from Florida.. where were they?? It's cold out and they need to be in the shop-being told how beautiful they are. I know that sounds weird but it's like Christmas when the flowers arrive. We want to see how pretty they are, how fluffy, how fragrant. We just enjoy it.

So, by 10 til 5- the flowers came- finally. I felt bad for the Fed Ex guy-- he still had a long night ahead of him.  So I sent him on his way and ripped the box open. What did I find?? Beautiful pink kangaroo paw, lavender roses, pink cymbidium orchids, purple campanula, gorgeous fragrant white hyacinth- which I might use for my wedding this weekend- There are purple dendrobium orchids, pink, white and purple lisianthus, sunny yellow gerbera daisy and more.

Unfortunately, because of the crazy weather, we will not be open tomorrow. Typically, this is not something I do. But considering most places we would have to drive to may not be easy to access- this is just the safe thing to do. So back to work on Thursday.

So, in the mean time, I have lots to do on the computer to keep busy. So stay warm!

 

A New Look and some New Products

In May, we will officially be in Jeffersonville for 7 years!  Although the 'Birthday' is not for another 4 months or so...we're already giving ourselves presents. Typical girls- we just can't wait.

Our first present is new business cards. We love our signature purple- but my fabulous graphics girl-and wonderful daughter Jen, created a totally fresh look for us. She took a wonderful Cassis Clematis and worked it with lime- our new color in the shop. I think it looks perfect. It's current, a great color combination and just the beginning of some new changes we're making this year.

Another change is a new look on our website- lavenderhillflorals.com  This won't take place until after Valentine's Day. Our goal is to combine all of our information onto one site rather than two as we currently do. Currently, our .com site mainly focuses on the wedding and event side of the business. Our .biz site features arrangements available for delivery.  We will be reworking the site so you will be able to easily find what you're looking for. We want you to get a better glimpse of what we do in the shop. We want you to have better visuals for all of the options available to you when your need to place and order for a delivery.

Our biggest change is eliminating generic arrangements. These are the ones you currently see on the .biz site. These are provided to us by the wire services. Unfortunately, these photos are not a really good representation of what we do. Our regular clients know that. So, away with them. We always prefer to create our arrangements with the least restrictions possible. We want to create with the flowers dictating where they are to be placed. We want to place as many premium flowers in your arrangement as possible. We feel that these generic arrangements don't reflect that mindset. We know our clients have great taste and prefer the focus on the flowers...creatively arranged, chic, and natural in appearance.  So, ask and you shall receive.

Shortly, we will be receiving some of the new products we have searched for. They include great gifts for gardeners, beautiful vases, clever gifts for co-workers and corporate giving. We'll have some new greeting cards, beautiful silk florals and more.

We've been asked to instruct some floral design classes in spring. So stay tuned for more info on that. We're very excited to be teaching again and it should be fun for everyone.

That's a snippet of some of the good things to come. We hope you enjoy the new things as they are revealed. We're looking forward to an exciting new year. We hope you enjoy it with us. Thanks for visiting.

Just another reminder for ordering online..

Just a reminder that you can always click here on our blog to place an order too. Just to the right of the screen is says- click here to order flowers- and you can do just that. That one click will link you with the new direct2florist site and our personal page.

So, bookmark our blog, catch up on what's going on in the shop, look for any specials here on the blog- most promotions will only be posted on our blog- and shop for flowers.

If you have any questions just email us or give us a call at 812-288-2388.

Order Our Flowers for Delivery Here!!

We're very excited to announce that we have a new source for you to use to order our flowers online. It is direct2florist.com Our actual link is -http://us.direct2florist.com/florists/lavender-hill-jeffersonville-106970.html

We are always looking for the best most cost effective way for you to order our flowers online. Our current website is through a traditional wire service. You place an order, they take a percentage of the amount you've paid for flowers and we get reimbursed the difference plus a delivery fee. And lately we've been thinking Hmmm?? We can do better~

We found direct2florist.com This company started in Europe and is now available in the US. It's very simple- to place your order online or just view some photos and call us direct with your order. If you place the order online, the price shown includes the tax and delivery and a flat $6. service fee. This covers the direct2florist link. Plain and simple. 100% of the money you spend on the order for flowers goes to the flowers.

We have always filled our web orders an incoming orders from another state to us for full value. We do know that there are many shops that don't fill to value and that's not fair to you. So we're making some changes in 2009 and this is one of them.

We will continue to add photos because we've just gotten this site up. If you want to call us direct for the order you're welcome to do that. Just know the site is there should you need to order in your jammies after hours. If you forget to copy the link just go to direct2florist.com and type in the zip code 47130 and click on our shop- it's very easy!

We will keep the original site of lavenderhillflorals.biz up until after Valentine's Day. But it will eventually be taken down. We will also have an area on our lavenderhillflorals.com site that will allow you to link into the direct2florist.com site. We're hoping to have that officially up and functioning by March.

We truly appreciate your support of our business. Please let us know if ever there is a suggestion, compliment or complaint. We're here for you. Thanks and have a great day.

Look for us at the Special Occasions Wedding Show

We will be at the Special Occasions Wedding Show tomorrow! Join us at the Expo  Center in the West Hall. The expo is scheduled from 11am until 4pm.

There are over 100 vendors scheduled to exhibit. We have not done this show in quite a while. Because it is not the typical set-up we're accustomed to, we will not have as much on display. We will have some beautiful florals to display, but as always, for our undivided attention scheduling an appointment is best.

We hope you'll stop by. Happy wedding planning. 

A New Year with New Hopes

A New Year is...another chance, another opportunity, a do-over, and most of all a Fresh Start.

Everyone experienced many things in 2008-good and bad. I think most people are glad to say-

Good bye.

So, out with the old and in with the new! What are you looking forward to??

As for me?.. my list includes in no particular order-

Figure out how to work my Apple more efficiently and learn how to use photoshop.  For those of you that know how to photoshop- stop laughing. Yes, I am that incompetent.

I look forward to the opportunity to work with many new clients, both corporate and private. I'm looking forward to some wonderful weddings and party work. I can't wait for the amazing fresh flowers that are getting ready to grow- just for me to play with.

I am looking forward to celebrating my twenty-fourth wedding anniversary. I think twenty -nine years with the same person is pretty cool. Yes, do the math -we dated for five years. And better yet, is the fact that he still makes me melt.

I will enjoy redecorating my home [since it didn't sell- it's now new again- to me!]

I am looking forward to SPRING!! Beautiful blooming plants, beautiful, colorful window boxes, and warm weather once again.

I am excited to test for AIFD.. and I hope to have an amazingly creative day when I step into that testing room in Kansas City. Because I plan to leave Kansas City with the confidence of knowing I will get a letter in August that says I can put the four letters A I F D after my name.

And, as if I'm not planning for enough.. I hope for continued health, inner peace and happiness for myself, family, friends and clients. Because  without those three things the rest is a little less likely to happen.

Have a wonderful New Year- 2009 should be quite interesting, to say the least.

All the Best!

Carolyn

Guess who can sing.. and who can't??

I am beyond thrilled that my Christmas shopping is nearly complete. Seeing that it's only a couple of days away you'd think I'd be finished. Well, heck no. Only a few special people are left on the list for a few little things. Anyway...

I need to back up a bit.. earlier in the month, I had a birthday. My darling hubby and kids thought I should grow up and get an Apple.. I think secretly my hubby wanted my current laptop to surf Ebay and of course I was right. It worked in my favor regardless..I got a laptop. Now, I am in the progress of figuring out all of the nuances of an Apple..it's definitely different than my other laptop. So I feel like I'm having to learn a new language.

So what did I learn today??? Well, I learned that the ear plugs from my Ipod work on my laptop. It sounds great! And what else did I learn?? My hubby told me that I cannot sing??? What?? I sound great! At least I do in my head. But he insists I'm wrong. All I can say is I am sooo glad my daughter introduced me to Pandora.com  Now I can listen to all of the George Michael I want and sing as badly as I can-- because I cannot hear myself. This is GREAT !!

Oh, and who can sing??? Well, that would be Jessica.. yep- she has the voice of an angel. And she has friend that sing too, and they're talented as musicians too. Gosh, some people.   

We're getting NOTHING for Christmas!!

We're getting nothing for Christmas.. and we know it. We were very bad. We took advantage of Santa's chair being at the shop and took naughty photos in it. We will probably get coal-- which could be a good thing considering the economy- at least that could provide heat. But, none the less- we were overcome with silliness. We figured 'what the heck, the Big Guy isn't coming back any time soon.'

So, like Goldilocks, we frolicked in the giant chair. We tried to figure out when he'd gone to Egypt to snag this ugly specimen. Egyptian chair- Santa...?? it didn't make sense to us, but we played anyway.

We didn't know it, but Santa Came back today, Saturday. He informed us he'll be back to our shop every Saturday until Christmas. Great!! now we really do have to behave.

Calling all Marthas..Class is in Session Tuesday, December 16

If you've ever wondered--'what nifty things could I come up with for a last minute hostess gift, inexpensive decor gift or quick gift wrap idea?'-- then you should take our fun class- Holiday Ideas 101

We will be holding our class at Lavender Hill on Tuesday, December 16 at 7pm. We have room for 12 people for our first class. We promise to make if fun and keep things on course to end by 8:30.

The class will be $20. per person. Our class will cover quick gift wrapping ideas, you'll make a simple centerpiece and learn how to create additional quick centerpieces from things you may already have in your home.  We also want your input on things you want to learn how to do.

If you're interested call the shop at 288-2388 or email us and let us know your coming. Martha said she would come - but we said 'No'-that's a Good Thing- she would just be too distracting... 

Blooming Carpet

Talk about a custom made carpet!! I just received this photo from our favorite Photog Princess- Stef- This would be amazing to see in person. Just thought I'd share- Thanks, Stef.

Invitations and a Special Offer for you!

Did you know we not only have FABULOUS Flowers but also FABULOUS Invitations ? That's right.. We can design amazing florals for your wedding or event AND you can save at least 20% on your invitations to your hip soiree. And, as if that's not enough.. mention you saw this on our blog and you'll receive *free* thank you notes for your wedding shower. If we're doing the flowers, you'll save on the invitations- it's that simple.

Also, if you didn't know already- we have rentals. Candelabra, gorgeous vases, lots of glass items, silver candle lighters for the unity candle, silver cake plateaus and more. The most fabulous thing is we also carry linens. Gorgeous, luxe, decadant linens- even hard to find colors- for all of the guest's tables, just your wedding party or just you and your new spouse. Linens can completely transform the atmosphere.. of course with beautiful flowers sitting on top of them!--All available to rent from us.

You don't have to go to Louisville. Southern Indiana does have a variety of amazing event vendors- and many of them are our favorites. We know how to spoil our Brides and Grooms and their families with excellent service and products.

And one last thing.. we also offer wedding/event coordination. If you need direction or just want someone experienced to handle the details so you can just enjoy your day, we can do it! We have many years in this event business and are always researching the nations' latest trends. New York, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Palm Beach-- we have friends in lots of places. It's our job to be in the know...and we love to share ideas. If we're booked, we have fellow event planners we love to refer to- they're amazing too- or we wouldn't work with them. We have very cool friends.

Give us a call. Schedule an appointment. We'd love to meet you and hear all about your plans.

Thanks for stopping by!

Marianne's wedding -- Part II

On my way back from my wedding at Farmington, I stopped by Glassworks where Jessica's friend Marianne was getting married. First, I must say Jessica worked her buns off. Working 'til three in the morning to be sure things got done..yes, we really do have to work insane hours on some events- but it is always worth it.

Although there were two official photographers, Stefanie being one of them, I snapped a few photos to post. Unfortunately, my photos don't show all of the detail of the color and designs infused throughout the wedding and reception. The main floral color was chartreuse and truffle. So the table decor leaned towards the shades of green. The bride's bouquet combined both the ivory and truffle. It was a bundled bouquet of mini calla lilies accented with plum toned feathers collaring the bouquet. Marianne also included a silver Fleur de lis pin on her bouquet stems and on many of the items used at the reception.

I'm sure everything went wonderfully. Glassworks looked amazing - it was truly worth all of the time that went into creating such a wonderful event.

Jessica, enjoy your special day off.

A wedding at Farmington

One of our other weddings taking place today was outside at Farmington. Our lovely bride could not have ordered a more beautiful day. The weather was absolutely perfect. Her colors were olive and chocolate with beautiful orange and rust toned flowers.

Our DYI bride and her family and friends did a great job with table decor of creme toned pumpkins with monograms nestled in a bed of fall foliage. I can't wait to see the photos from her photographer. I'm sure she got some great shots..

Next posting.. more from Marianne's wedding.

Marianne is getting married today!!

So, one of today's brides is having a themed wedding. One focus is family and friends. The other aspect is the Fleur-de-lis. [By the way,we have 4 weddings this weekend.]

Marianne is a dear, longtime friend of our lead designer, Jessica. So together they have been collaborating on the ideas for decor, bouquets and details. Many photos, sketches and notes later-there are plenty of details. So, this is just a start to the photos we will have from her event.

I know we'll have great photos because Stefanie will be snapping many of them. So, check back for the rest of her details and for some photos of the others.

Have a great weekend! and Best Wishes to all of our Brides and Grooms.

The new designer

Heidi is our guest designer for the day.. we definitely need her help today. We have lots to do with four weddings this weekend. Lulu is not fond of our guest. It is no longer all about her and she just doesn't like it one bit.

I'll post more photos of the weddings later.

Thanks for visiting.

Of course !!

Wouldn't you just know it !! There is an E- STEFANIE. I'll be you I won't screw that up ever again.

Carol and Stephanie

I want to publicly announce that I have incorrectly spelled Stefani's name..hence the Carol and StePHanIE...title on today's post.

People who know me know -Carol- is not my name. Yet for some strange reason, people who don't know me but claim to know me call me Carol- a dead give away- they really don't know me. If they did, they would really know how much my being called Carol is like nails down a chalk board or better yet getting a paper cut licking an envelope or slamming just the tip of my finger in a drawer. Being called Carol is icky memories of childhood and a neighbor girl named- Kim standing across the street from my house yelling 'Carol' so I would come out and play with her.. while she was covered in sticky goo from a giant colorful charms pop sucker sliming down her arm- I didn't like it or her. I know that's very bad to put in print but it's true and explains why I personally don't like being called Carol. Enough of that.. on to StePHanie--

My post the other day was in reference to a photographer Stefani. Of course, I boldly took it upon myself to spell her name Stephanie rather than being sure it was spelled correctly. It was brought to my attention that when Stefani learned of the post featuring her photos she gasped with distress upon seeing her name spelled incorrectly. Of all cruel things I could do to another person-- a misspelled name-- I of all people should be uber-sensitive to this - but was I ?? NO- what is my problem?

So, I humbly post my error. I Carolyn- not Carol- althought it does sound like something she would do- admit my error in spelling and publicly correct {the artist- formerly known as Stephanie} is actually spelled Stefani.. I only hope I've spelled this correctly and didn't leave off an E.

Okay, enough of my faults.. have a great day.

It's been a while..second artist -Elaina

I am very excited to also be hosting artist Elaina Panico at the Art on Spring event.

She is not a local artist -she's from Wisconsin. She's a mere -almost 20- and very talented. I was fortunate to receive two of her paintings this past week. One is shown on the blog. You'll have to stop in to find out which one it is. I'm hoping to receive a couple more of her paintings and sketches within the next few weeks. The photos I'm posting are just a few in her portfolio.

Enjoy.

Oops! The Art Show is November 13 -NOT- October 13

It's been a while..

As darling Jessica pointed out to me the other day, it's been a while since I posted.

I've been busy enough to have lots of things to post-flowers for photo shoots, lots of work in the shop, painting, re arranging displays, weddings and more. And of course getting ready for the Open House and the Art on Spring event the following week.

So, I'll post about the art and some artists. First the new photo at the top of the blog was shot by Stephanie. With some coaxing.. I'm hoping she'll display some prints of her latest work. She has photographed a variety of subjects [I'm lucky enough to have some copies] and I hope she'll select at least a couple to display at the Art on Spring event - Thursday, October 13. They will be for sale.

Okay, I'll post a few. It's amazing to see someone's perspective through a lens. Especially when they make you really feel something or inspire you to think.

I will post another post following this. The next artist is a painter...with a completely different perspective and subject. Enjoy.

Our Favorites

In my coupious amounts of spare time this weekend, I'm making lists. Lists of things to do this week. Flowers to order, containers to prep, silks florals to make and more info on this blog.

One list I made for the blog was the 'Favorites'. Often we're asked who we would use for a vendor if if was "our event". So I've compiled a list. I have personally used the services of a number of the businesses listed.

The list I compiled is just a suggestion of some of the vendors we feel do an excellent job. They are businesses -we know first hand- who consistently provide excellent service, excellent products, seek a creative approach in their production and are an absolute pleasure to work with. We have no vested interest, we receive no compensation. We just feel it's important to let our readers know when an excellent vendor available. As we find more "Faves" we'll add their name.

Have a great week!

The Holiday Open House- November 6th.

It's coming. We have lots of people asking when it is..the official date is Thursday evening, November 6th. Not only is it our shop's soiree, the Open House is a joint event for all of the merchants in Downtown Historic Jeffersonville.

We are very excited. We'll have a new look in the store- new tequila lime walls [if I ever get them finished] New holiday gifts, new wonderful Arbonne personal skincare and bath products, absolutely delicious gourmet foods- yes, we will be sampling them, beautiful holiday wreaths and arrangements and so much more. We can't tell you everything. We have to have some surprises.

And, as if that isn't enough, the following week will be the Art on Spring Event- November 13th. Local artists will be featured in various shops. The locations will be announced at the Open House. Please mark your calendars. If you haven't attended our Open House in the past, we're sure you'll enjoy it.

The Chocolate Candles are here !!

Our patience was worth it!

The heavenly Chocolate Candles have arrived. They smell divine. We've ordered these from a small business in upstate Washington. They're made by hand.

If you need a low-calorie chocolate fix, this may be it.

What I learned in school today..

First thing- I learned the day before school-- Garmin or as I called it- Garmina- my backseat girlfriend driver- is a wonderful friend to have on a trip. Of course my awesome husband gave me great directions..but Garmina got me where I needed to be locally.

So, day one in class- most of the people here are 1- women, 2- from the region, and 3 very helpful towards each other.

The hotel- The Omni, has a great lobby and atrium- but could benefit from more flowers- they have them, just not enough...or the ones they do have, should have more- Oomph! They did however have a great lunch and the bananas foster was YUM!

So, Phil- is a floral natural- it just comes from within. He is beyond helpful as is his assistant Fanny. I like the fact that he infuses a philosophy of positive thinking in design. Basically, you positively can do it- just let it happen. Be open to instruction and soak it in. A definite positive, happy, I love what I'm doing vibe- very contagious. He spoke about his shop Avante Garden and his wife Cathy- also AIFD. Definitely a floral family.

Our first assignment was creating a tropical table arrangement which included anthurium, protea, lotus pods and some other things.. in particular a 'nautilus' created with a leaf. First we had to learn how to make the nautilus- and I did !! Not right away, but it came to me after a couple of tries. They are very cool and you will be seeing them in our future work as it fits in.

We also did some weaving with grasses and ribbon and applied it in design. Again, very cool. The main thing he was focusing on was balance and the minute details in design- the ones that will make or break you in going for passing a certification with AIFD. Also a lot of other design details that would not impress anyone not in the floral industry. So, I won't bore you. Jessica, I know you'll be reading this- you I will give the details. And Kim, girl- you will love learning how to make the shells and the birds too. No palm leaf will be safe with us around!

We also made very cool birds with palm. Definitely not something you can make only once. They will definitely need some practice.

Tomorrow, more designing, more hand work and other detailed creations. The attached photos are of a very large arrangement Phil designed- about 6 feet tall. The other one is one I made. I'm glad I'm here. It re-enforces what I know and shows me where I need to focus my attention with detail.

Well, I see the photos I'm trying to upload- aren't. I promise I'll try and figure out what the problem is. Maybe tomorrow, I'll have better luck. I've got to get to bed. I have school in the morning ;)

Bye, for now.

I'm going to school..kind of-

I am beyond excited for this weekend. I will be leaving on Sunday for a road trip to Charlottesville, Virginia. I'm going there to attend a continuing education class in advanced design. Yes, I have been doing design for 24years-- but, there's always something to learn. My last class was at Texas A&M and I learned alot.

I am most excited because the instructor is Phil Rulloda. This man is brilliant. He has won every design award possible, has his shop and design school in California, has written design books and more and is an AIFD member. One of my goals is to also become AIFD certified. This is kind of like getting a PhD for someone else's profession. It is not an easy thing to accomplish. But, if you do you will be celebrating and it could open many new doors.

So, bright and early Sunday morning I'm leaving and won't be back in the shop until Thursday. I will return to a laundry list of things to do because we have a mega huge wedding on Saturday [don't worry, we're on top of it, everything is ordered already and the flowers won't come in until Wednesday] and also another smaller one. I know the shop will be in good hands. The lovely Jessica will be holding down the shop and designing like the ninja she is. You'd have to see her in action. Things get done and you never saw it happen- she's quite mysterious and wonderful to have around.

So, off I'll go- like Thelma without Louise. Just me, the Garmin and lots of cd's to listen to. I'll be back with lots of new ideas and an overflowing imagination.

Lulu Rai Tulip

I couldn't- not -share a photo of the amazing parrot tulip we'll be getting in for the fall season. And what a coincidence that the name has -Lulu in it! Hmmm.. how did that happen? We're so excited about introducing more bulb options for the fall season. We'll also carry supplies for repotting plants. We know not everyone needs a giant bag of potting soil or a whole bag of moss or stones. Well, we will be offering those basic supplies in a much smaller quantity- basically, buy what you need.

We'll also be carrying some beautiful amaryllis which I have ordered in shades of white with a red center and a deep red shade. We're very excited about the new products coming into the shop for the fall season. We hope you'll stop by.

What's Green, Lavender, Purple and Chocolate?

Green..Tequila Lime to be exact. That's the new color our walls will be sporting for the fall season. We love it... it is kind of limey- Key West lime for me, think bright-very bright and perfect for the dreary days that will be coming soon. Our new look is leaning towards urban, contemporary and fun. But don't be worried. We're not going off the deep end and changing everything- just making the space match the new products we're bringing in for the holidays.

Lavender... would be the wonderful new crop of lavender coming from the recent harvest on an upstate Washington peninsula. We've talked direct to the growers about their growing conditions and what makes their lavender the Best! If it's the best, then we definitely want it.

Purple...wait until you see the amazing new Dutch variety of purple parrot tulip we'll have for the fall season. It's very ruffled with deep purple and green toned petals. We just had to have it and will have only 100 bulbs available.

Chocolate...well, this is not what you'd first expect. It's not to eat-it will be chocolate to grow. We have 'chocolate' flowers coming. Again, from the beautiful state of Washington. I don't want to give too much away because there are more 'chocolate' things coming.

This is just a hint of the new thing we're expecting for fall. We'll have a new look for our business cards [the flower on our business cards is a 'Casis Clematis' and yes, it should be available to purchase in the spring season] and all our media materials. We're very excited for our reveal. Be sure to look for our new ad in the September issue of Underwire magazine.

Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks for stopping by.

Just being silly

We're really working the flowers. By that I mean if it doesn't get used within a certain time we don't use them for orders. So today's second post is Jessica playing with the sunflowers.

I know the photos are a little blurred, but cute nonetheless. She plucked the petals so we can hang and dry them for use in fall arrangments.--I told you we try and be 'green' and now we have photos to prove it.

Have a great day!

A kind of weird photo to post

I know on my previous post, I mentioned the flowers we purchase from our wonderful, local grower. Well, the photo for today includes many of their flowers.

Typically I would not post someone's funeral flowers, but I felt I should on this one. When most people think of funeral flowers they have this visual of stiff, two tones-dare I say red and white or some other basic color combination of predictible flowers. And I hate to say it, but they'll look like they belong at a funeral... just not one we're doing.

We try and take a different approach. Our goal for this family was to create a gardeny casket spray. Knowing what we'd just purchased, we knew it would be very natural and less structured. They conveyed they didn't want anything stiff- and that their family member loved the outdoors and gardening. We appreciate the family trusting us with our vision for their family member.

Just keep in mind when ordering flowers for any occasion- be open to new ideas, colors, and flower combinations. There is a huge variety available- think outside the box. You may be very pleasantly surprised.

All the best

'Green' is the new -everything

It's nice to know that we've been 'green' before green was -everything.

I have always tried to keep in mind a saying my grandmother had- 'Take as much as you'd like but, not more than you need.' My grandparents were very simple people- simple in their existance, but not their experiences. I truly loved being with them- they were a refuge to me. I loved hearing about how life was when they grew up..at the turn of the century and in another country none-the-less. They appreciated everything they had..be it a simple possession or friend- everything was to be valued...

So, were is this going in relation to green?? Well, they were from Ireland- the first green. Not that that has anything to do with this, but I figured I'd throw that in for some actual color. But, one thing I always remember is that they reused lots of stuff. Fabric, tin foil and wax paper, boxes, containers and even string. I remember using my mother's crayons-- nubs that they were.. My grandmother just couldn't throw them out.. mind you they were wretched to try and color with, on the occasion we did use them- but we loved playing with them.

They also had a garden and grew wonderful vegetables and flowers. This is where I'm going with the story--- growing your own things-- or for us... Lavender Hill purchasing flowers from locally grown sources. And we're lucky enough to be able to-- and that's today's photo.

Our grower is in Lanesville and he and his wife bring us wonderful seasonal flowers. Our latest crop has been amazing sunflowers, zinnias, sohrgum, pincushions, cox comb and tansey. We love when he stops in because we never know what he'll have or what color it will be in.

When he stopped in yesterday- I had to snap a photo of his van. He and his wife had their grandchild with them on their deliveries so the van was not as filled as usual.. but you can get a pretty good idea from the photo. They have lots of fresh flowers- and they last a very long while.

So, the rest of my green story is.. We will be reusing small boxes for deliveries along with our regular delivery boxes whenever possible-- we're just adding a recycle sticker to let everyone know-- we're not just being cheap. We're also implementing a 'recycle your vase' program. Many people have lots of old vases collected from the times they've received flowers.. we'd like to reuse them. If you bring them in we'll give you store credit for a future purchase. You get rid of the vases- we pass them on to someone else. We're also working on a program to recycle the flowers from someone's wedding or event. Everyone should be able to enjoy flowers and after most events people do not take the flowers home- what a waste. Encouraging a bride or groom to donate their reception decor- centerpieces to an organization that can enjoy them -be it a hospice setting, homeless shelter, group home etc. . We're still working out the details on that but all around everyone benefits.

Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone has a great weekend. I will be off- amazingly- but only because my darling daughter Jennifer will be moving back up to college and into her first apartment. It will be very bittersweet for me and my husband, but I know she's very excited. And she's recycling too-- she's taking the food out of my pantry to stock hers... What a girl!

Have a great weekend-