I have loved Françoise Weeks’ work for years. I would look at her arrangements and wonder “How did she do that?” I finally attended her Woodland Design Workshop at the end of January. It was amazing. What made it even better is that Alicia (of Flirty Fleurs and Bella Fiori) attended too! We had a blast!

Françoise has a vast set of techniques, mechanics, and secrets to teach, but encourages you to pursue your own ideas when inspiration strikes. She works through projects with you, and assists with the simple mechanics so that you can focus your time and efforts on exploring designs and creating multiple pieces. I walked out of her workshop with a completely new style in my repertoire, and enough photos of my creations that I am already selling my new style to brides. I was even able to add a new gallery to my portfolio which you can see here.

Her beautiful studio (pictured above) is just bursting with unique flowers, foliage, succulents, branches, mosses and pods. It was hard to know where to start. I was so inspired to create that it seemed as if each day passed too quickly. I left Portland invigorated and hungry for more; even three weeks later I am recording new ideas in my sketch book daily.

Françoise is a passionate artist and a generous mentor. This workshop was not only a joy to take, but a valuable investment in the future of my business. I plan to attend the Botanical Couture Workshop next. Thank you for being so open with your knowledge, resources, and time Françoise!

Here are some of the arrangements I created at the workshop. Woodland centerpieces:

Arrangement on a root structure:

Bouquets:

Boutonnieres:

Flower Girl Basket:

Check out Françoise’s workshops and classes. Maybe I’ll see you at one!

I brought this centerpiece of Phalaenopsis orchids and blush spray roses to the vendor appreciation night at The Phoenix last night. My good friend, Courtenay Lambert was kind enough to introduce me to some of the best vendors in Cincinnati. Laura at Leppert Photography is sweet, and incredibly talented to boot. Check out one of her recent weddings here. Ileana at Sugar Realm has a background in architecture, and creates exquisite cakes. Finally, Glen Goodwin at Goodwin Lighting can transform a venue with his lighting (no kidding). I’ve added links to their websites on the right side of my blog. Please check them out.

I created this bouquet for Nikole and Eric’s wedding in 2009. They were such a nice couple. You can find more pictures from their wedding here, and the professional pictures here.

In 2010 I created a terrarium how-to for the C&B Daily blog. Clover and Bee was a fantastic wedding website dedicated to the Midwest, and is sadly defunct. You can find the terrarium tutorial here.

To see more of my work with succulents check out my succulent gallery.

Photography courtesy of David Kostreva.

2012 has been an interesting year to say the least. I’ve made my third and final move in as many years. Floral Verde LLC is finally back in my home town, Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s so good to be home! I updated my website to show this change last week, and a couple of my florist buddies noticed right away. (Thank you for your support TJ at Garden Party Flowers and Tracy at Park Place Design!)

It’s that time of year again – engagement season – a phenomenon that occurs between Thanksgiving and Christmas. For me it’s a time to renew advertising, blog, and update my website galleries – in preparation for the 2013 wedding season. I had been dragging my feet on these tasks, because they always seem daunting. What got me kick-started was a little malware that someone snuck onto my ancient 2.3.3 version of WordPress last Wednesday. (Yes, that version is at least 5 years old, but seriously, who has time to mess with my blog like that anyway?!) So yesterday I bit the bullet and updated to WordPress 3.4.2. It really wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be, and it should be much less vulnerable to attack. At this point my blog doesn’t look any different, so I obviously still have a lot of work to do.

Now a little about the flowers… A couple of weeks ago, I took a quick trip out to New York with my good friend Corinne at Sebesta Design. I visited some of my favorite stores. I caught up with Lauren at G. Page (thank you for these beautiful flowers!) And I picked up some gorgeous lace at M&J Trimming, which I can’t wait to use on bridal bouquets in 2013. Anyway, we had a blast! When I got back to Cincinnati, I whipped up this little arrangement with my fancy G. Page flowers.

I’d like to thank my awesome neighbor, David Kostreva, for the first two images on this post. He is a sculptor and a photographer, and he jumped right in with his camera when he saw me outside taking photos. I am so lucky to have such lovely and talented neighbors! You can see more of his work here.

Here is the best image I took of the same arrangement. It’s obviously time for a better camera, and photography classes.