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-

This is how we do it...

So, we're busy bees this weekend. We have one wedding today and four on Saturday. So what's the best way to produce?? line up the vases and let it rip.

Jessica---our new singing, perky, smiling, wonderful - thankGodshe'sworkingforme -designer and I have been cranking out corsages and bouquets.

So we snapped a couple of pics yesterday, just to show everyone our colors for Friday's event- Adrienne, our bride, wanted bright summer shades, fucia, raspberry, coral...and loved the best of the season. So, we selected roses, stock, mini calla and zinnias for some very saturated color. We think she'll like it.

The rest of the weekend is also summer themed. Lots of daisies, gerbera and the traditional ones too. We'll try and snap some pics ans post next week if not sooner. Have a great weekend.

All the best-

Carolyn and Lulu

PS Lulu has been taking 'dirt naps' literally...we'll try and get a pic the next time we find her in the soil containers... she looks at us like we're the ones with the problem. ;)

A n email I received

This morning I opened my email and this is what I received:


This is the executive summary;

Boeing 747-200 carrying almost 5000 full boxes of flowers took off at 3 am on Monday morning bound for MIA. Upon take off there was a catastrophic engine failure which disintegrated an engine. There was fire. Plane declared an emergency but was already in the air as it had reached V1 or point of no return. It started fuel dump maneuver but very quickly the situation escalated and the pilot was left with no other choice but to crash land the plane in the nearest cleared piece of land available. Almost all flowers contained in the plane were Elite.

Attached pictures!!!!

All 8 crew members managed to live thru this one... 7 american pilots and 1 dominicano chico!!!

2 people on the ground who lived in a house died when the plane landed on top of their heads. They were the ones who looked after the cattle who I assume managed to run when they saw the plane coming in.


Wow!! most people would have never heard about this. Or even cared about the cargo--- but what about the florists and clients waiting for the cargo--- maybe flowers for their party or wedding. 5000 boxes is a lot of flowers to lose- and by the looks of things I can't believe anyone survived. That's amazing.

Our website is back up!!

Finally..our website is back up. We've been experiencing 'technical problems' with the website and our email, and we apologize. If you've emailed us with no response that's why. If you've never received our emails- again, we're sorry.

Our website is back up with a new look. We will be continuing to add more information for pre-appointment planning, photos and some other community minded projects. So, please be sure to check it out.

Remember... our blog is where you can get the best info on what's going on in the shop.. new arrivals, sales, classes etc. We have some neat things planned for the late summer and early fall. Stay tuned.

All the best!

Check out a beautiful blog

The weekend of June 20th was very busy for us. A Friday wedding- HUGE, 2 weddings, a 50th anniversary party, and flowers for a wedding shower -all on Saturday and then.. another wedding on Sunday... with LOTS of details. Sunday's wedding is the topic of today's post.

So, why am I just now posting about this ? Well, because the photographer has posted some amazing photos of the wedding and reception. Her blog is www.neysaruhlblog.blogspot.com

Unfortunately, she is not a local photographer but she obviously travels. From the few photos she's posted, I'm truly anxious to see the rest. They are just as beautiful as the ones you'd see in the wedding magazines. Of course having a beautiful bride, handsome groom and an amazing wedding location with lots of details should be a snap to shoot. Right? Well, one would think so.. We've done them before.. beautiful flowers for beautiful weddings- unfortunately, not all photographers capture the essence of the details. Happily, Neysa Ruhl did. Please check out her blog, I think you'll enjoy it.

All the best-