Week 7

We started out this week with a lot more prep work for the Zachary wedding this Saturday. I spent the day cutting foam squares and taping them to plastic dishes that we use for a lot of the wedding arrangements we make. I made so many that I made a wall of Aquafoam with the extra pieces I had!

The Aquafoam Wall:

I also spent quite a while filling up a water bucket full of water tubes. It’s crazy we use that many water tubes for just one event!

So Many Water Tubes:

For the table structures with curly willow we needed bamboo to pull through the long pieces of curly willow to make them stable enough to load flowers and hang bubble bowls from them. Luckily our neighbors across the street just happen to have 15 foot bamboo bushes that needed some trimming. So I helped trim their bamboo and carry it back across the street to the studio. We got quite a few looks hauling that across the street. I think all people could see was bamboo with legs. We then trimmed down the bamboo shoots and threaded them through the curly willow.

In between all the prep work for the wedding we went to the Oxford Exchange and changed out the orchid cubes for the restaurant area. The Oxford Exchange has been open for about a week now and it is so busy. We were able to get a tour of the offices upstairs and it was just as amazing as the main floor. One of my favorite rooms was one of the largest meeting rooms. All of the walls were mostly exposed brick; the bricks are actually covered in horsehair tar! Apparently this building was originally an old stable, possibly the stable where Teddy Roosevelt’s horse used to stay. This place has so much character and it’s great to see the entire building and the design through the whole building.

Inside The Oxford Exchange:

I also went with Janet this week to deliver our weekly arrangements to the Sand Pearl Resort in Clearwater. This is another location that we use as a venue for Botanica weddings. The hotel is right next to the water and has some amazing views near the ocean.

Sand Pearl Resort:

The day before the wedding we were busy making all of the bouquets, boutonnieres, and reception arrangements. I got to make three boutonnieres for the fathers in the wedding and the groom’s boutonnieres.

Boutonnieres:

  

Once I finished with the boutonnieres Ian had me put together a sample centerpiece for a bride. The sample started with a Manzanita tree with orchid blooms scattered through the branches. For the base we draped orchid branches with some monstera leaves, and covered the rest of the exposed base with some sheet moss. It really looked great once it was finished. Ian has so many great ideas, I've got a lot to learn from him.

Sample Manzanita Tree:

Saturday everyone came into the studio and starting packing everything into the vans for the wedding! This is my first wedding setup that I’ve ever been to so I was really excited! The wedding reception was inside one of the gorgeous ballrooms at the Don CeSar in St. Pete. We made all of the curly willow structures on the side of the ballroom, and placed them on the tables when they were done. The next step was hanging the bubble bowls from the bamboo pieces. The ballroom was so large and the curly willow arrangements were the perfect scale to balance out the size of the room. For the finishing touch we placed rose petals on the steps the bride would go down for the main ceremony. There are so many details that went into the all the tables that ended up taking the most time. It’s really all the little things that can make the difference for these weddings.

I can’t wait for the rest of our weddings coming up in the next few months. Each one is going to be so different. It will be great to see all the different projects I end up getting to do in the next few weeks!

Zachary Wedding At The Don CeSar:

Making Mercury Glass

In the studio we have a lot of mercury glass that I am really in love with. So I did some research and I found out how you can make your own mercury glass containers for a lot less than buying them in a store. All you need is a glass vase, Krylon Looking Glass spray, and a water/vinegar mixture. So here are some pictures of my little experiment with making my own mercury glass vases.

Mercury Glass Experiment:

Week 6

This week we have been pulling more products for upcoming weddings and organizing them on the back shelves. Next week is the Zachary wedding and I am so excited! This will be my first wedding with Botanica and I can’t wait to go set up at the venue. I never realized all the details that go into the preparation for a wedding until now.

On Wednesday and Thursday we got in a ton of orchids and succulents for the Oxford Exchange opening.

Orchids and Succulents:

The design style inside the Oxford Exchange is amazing! Coffered ceilings, exposed brick wall, furniture I want to bring home, and little antique pieces all over the store.

So Pretty:

They gave us pots and huge glass vases that we are going to decorate with the orchids and succulents.

Here is the terrarium from the glass vases:

Once we were done transferring all the plants we headed back over to the site and delivered them inside and placed them all around the store. They told us that they were still rearranging things in the store before the opening so they will probably be moved again. I’m hoping to make it back for the opening to see where they place everything. I’ll post more pictures when they open!

I also made another little arrangement this week for the salon that we regularly deliver to. I just did some pieces of curly willow and a stem of orchids.

Sometimes simple is the way to go:

Week 5

This week we have been busy pulling chargers, vases and other props that we are going to use for weddings coming up next week and for the Vinny event we have on Friday. We got out flowers in on Tuesday and made sure that they were all processed an organized in the cooler for our events.

We have a few consultations this week also so I got to make an arrangement for the front room where clients will come in.
This was so heavy once I filled it with water:

Since we had quite a few arrangements to make for the Vinny event we started making them a couple of days early.
Putting together the first set of arrangements:

 

Friday we were busy loading up the trucks to leave for the Vinny event. We got there and set out all of our arrangements and waited for the furniture to be placed for us to put our flowers on. The furniture pieces that were being used for the event were really interesting. The feel of the event was a gambling casino environment.
Inside the ballroom during setup:

I also got to make an arrangement this week for a salon that Botanica regularly delivers to. It was really fun being able to make whatever I wanted to with the extra flowers we had left in the cooler. 

Salon Arrangement:

I also made one of the small arrangements that were going to be used to show some styles of Botanica. We used some flowers that were focused more towards fall

Here is what I made:

Week 4

After a nice break from the RNC week we are back at the studio cleaning up and trying to get everything organized again. A lot of vases and rental pieces have come back to the studio so I have been helping to clean and put them back on the shelves. The Styrofoam squares that we used for the mosaic wall came back and we have been taking off all the moss and putting it away for another big mossing project. One big job I was had to tackle was cleaning buckets from all of the flowers that we went through. I don’t think that I’ve ever cleaned so many buckets in my life!

Buckets, Buckets, and more Buckets:

We also had a bride come in for a consultation this week so I got to make an arrangement for one of the consultation rooms.

Here is what I made:

This is it in the consultation room:

When a bride comes in for a consultation usually one of the designers will make a sample of what the table setup will be like for their upcoming wedding. Tiffany made this amazing sample for one of the brides. I loved it!

Bamboo Structure Design:

We got in a flower this week that I hadnt ever seen before that I thought was really cool looking its called crocosmia. It came in a nice bright orange color. 

Here it is: It also comes in just seed form!

An orange mini rose we had in this week that I loved:

It was a really short week but things are back together at the studio and we are ready for it wedding season to start up in the next couple of weeks. I can’t wait! 

Week 3

The RNC is finally here: A nonstop week of flowers, government security, and no sleep!

Sunday:

The Huffington Post Party is today and I’m so excited! This will be my first install with Botanica. We loaded up all the trucks and headed over to AJA, (the venue for the party). It was amazing to see how much the nightclub had already changed with the news walls and carpeting. By the time we arrived all the furniture and tables were there waiting for us to place our arrangements on. I helped to load the arrangements in and carry all the pots of pentas we were going to use for the outside planters. Unloading and installing all the small pots kept everyone pretty busy. I loved seeing the end result in the venue. The flowers really helped to make the finishing touches and complete the feeling of a spa.

Here are some pictures from the venue:

Monday:

The first day of installs started today and everyone got into the studio bright and early at 5:00 am. We loaded up the trucks and headed out for installs around town and the Convention Center. Eric and I went to Clearwater Beach to drop off dining and cocktail table arrangements.  We then drove to a hotel to drop off a couple of arrangements for a hotel guest.

Clearwater Beach Location: 

Eric and I made it back to the studio and everyone was busy designing for more events going on Tuesday. I was able to help with some of the arrangements. We used some beautiful blue hydrangeas, roses, and some hypericum berries. We made about seventeen of the arrangements and packed them up and got them ready to go out for installs the next day.

Here they are:

Tuesday:

I came in the studio around 9 and processed even more flowers that came in that morning. All the flowers were arranged in a line and tagged for each event. All the buckets of flowers really filled up the studio, but it smelled amazing! 

Processing flowers:

After tackling that job I went in the back and helped Eric paint some white boxes for another event. More tables had been added and the budget adjusted which meant more white boxes.

Here’s a picture of some of them drying:

About when I thought I would spend all day covered in paint and filling buckets I got to go with Athena to drop off the blue hydrangea arrangements we made the day before. It was really fun seeing where they were being used. It’s amazing how much flowers can change the environment and feel of a space. One of the reasons I love this job!

Right in the middle of all the tables:

We were on the news again tonight! Here is the clip of the team working away for the RNC. http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/19401543/2012/08/28/business-is-blooming-for-rnc-florists

Wednesday:

 Today was definitely my favorite day of the week. I was able to go the Tampa Bay Times Forum where all of the main RNC events were happening. Tiffany, Lorraine and I had to go to the forum to replace some dahlias in the senate cloakroom. Just to get to the Forum was one big job! We had to make it though a couple checkpoints before you could even see the building. I’ve never seen so many forms of police and government officials in my life. 

Once we made it through security we were escorted by police to the Forum. We all felt like celebrities with the police blocking traffic just for us! Finding the senate cloakrooms was a little more difficult than we had expected since it was on the other side of the building. But we eventually found the room and replaced some of the flowers that had wilted in the past couple of days.

Senate Cloakroom:

After we were finished replacing flowers we headed back down to our car and made it about halfway though security when we got a call from Ian to turn around and head back to the forum. After a little bit of maneuvering back through security gates we met Ian and the rest of the team in the RNC walkway. The walkway connected the forum and the convention center together. When we got to the walkway it was lit with red, white and blue IKEA lamps with a lot of draping all the way down….let’s just say it needed some help. 

Here is what we started with:

We took some measurements and then headed back to the studio to get started on the floral designs for the walkway. It was about 3:00 when we got back to the studio and made over 30 arrangements. We made them in hanging planters so that we could hang them from the walkway ceiling. We packed the trucks and headed back to the forum around 5:00. We were on a tight schedule to get the arrangements up and ready to go before Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan went down the walkway later that night.

Once we made it through the checkpoint security again we started unloading the arrangements, ficus trees and couches for the walkway. We took the hanging planters and hung them upside down from the ceiling to create a long dramatic effect down the hallway. We also took some of the white boxes we had been painting earlier and placed fig trees down the hall on the sides of the aisles in-between the TV’s. Overall it took us about three and a half hours to get everything installed and cleaned up.

It was a great experience being able to participate. It was helpful to see how Ian and his designers deal with large last minute projects.  I loved watching people come into the walkway and see their faces change once they noticed the difference in the walkway.

This was the end result:

Thursday:

Things were a lot calmer in the studio today. All of the arrangements that were made had been delivered to all of our events and parties for the RNC. We did get some more flowers in today though so I got to process more flowers! Most of them will be used for a wedding we have scheduled for this weekend.

Some smaller arrangements for various tables needed to be made for the wedding so I used some celiosia, African sunset, roses and hypericum berries for these arrangements.

Overall this week was really crazy but I loved it! Its weeks like this where I learn the most. Having so many skilled and experienced designers gave me the chance to watch and learn their design methods. I saw so many things that made me realize areas that I need to improve on and how much more I have to learn! Luckily I’m here in a job where I can do exactly that. So as much as it might surprise people I can't wait for another crazy week like this.

Inside the Forum: 

A little arrangement I made from leftover flowers: