INSIGHTS + TRENDS | WINTER 2023
IN THIS
FLORI COGNOSCENTI DESIGNING WITH HELLEBORES
MUSIC x FLOWERS
BOTANICAL STYLE
FLORI COGNOSCENTI DESIGNING WITH HELLEBORES x FLOWERS STYLE
EMERALD DESIGN IS WHERE WE BLOOM
EMERALD DESIGN IS WHERE WE BLOOM
SPECIAL SECTION 2023 SLOW FLOWERS
FLORAL INSIGHTS + INDUSTRY FORECAST
SPECIAL SECTION 2023 SLOW FLOWERS INSIGHTS + FORECAST
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Debra Prinzing
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Robin Avni
COPY EDITOR
Brenda Silva
IMAGE EDITOR
Heather Marino
ILLUSTRATOR
Annette Kraus
CONTRIBUTORS
Emily Ellen Anderson, Janice Cox, Carolyn Kulb, Lori Poliski, Tom Precht
PHOTOGRAPHERS
EE Berger, Niesha Blancas, Kristen
Caldon O'Neill, Sharon Cosgrove, Lynda Gamroth, Latisha Hale, Mary Kalhor, TJ McGrath, Kyle Alexander Meeks, Elizabeth Messina, Tammy Myers, Missy
Palacol, Modernlalaland Creative
Services, Tom Precht, Krista Rossow, Urban Row Photography, Kate Watters, Savannah Thompson
ON THE COVER
Carolyn Kulb’s exuberant botanical couture, designed with Washingtongrown hellebores for American Flowers Week 2021, showcases the luxury of this winter-blooming perennial.
Production support provided by Pamela Youngsman, PoppyStarts poppystarts.com | INSTAGRAM
COVER PHOTOGRAPER Missy Palacol
COVER MODEL Tasia Baldwin
HAIR/MAKEUP
DeLeana Guerrero, Luxe Artistry Seattle
©2023 by SLOW FLOWERS JOURNAL and BLOOM Imprint. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.
Are you as ready for 2023 as we are? As our Slow Flowers Community enters this new year, we feel the positive energy you bring to your floral endeavors. Honoring ethical values with a sense of purpose is as important as achieving entrepreneurial success. One writer recently said of our movement, "They have found their calling, and they are providing the flowers for life's most important rituals. They've been given a voice. I am in awe of their sincerity and passion."
Cherish this beautiful affirmation as you proceed into 2023.
Our features will inspire you, too. Learn how Postal Petals' Talia Boone teamed up with Abra Lee of Conquer the Soil to produce Music x Flowers, a celebration of Black florists, and the power of flowers and music to connect. Meet artists Chantal Aida Gordon and Ari Wells, whose Heavy Petal collection splashes graphic plants across T-shirts. Tour Emerald Design, Whitney Muncy's new retail space in Evansville, Indiana. Celebrate hellebores in botanical couture and floral design, and seek "inner congruence," with The Business of Flowers contributor, Emily Ellen Anderson.
Our 20-page bonus section is a keeper. Check out "Botany Lessons," the 2023 Slow Flowers Floral Insights & Industry Forecast. Draw from its pages as you launch your new season in the studio and on the farm. Wishing you the best!
take a deep breath.
EMILY ELLEN ANDERSON A business (& bravery) coach for artists. She helps creative entrepreneurs sell art to support their life, be willing to be seen and heard, and expand their own creative impact. She developed "Make Art. Make Money," an online course for creatives, and hosts monthly group coaching with like-minded artists. emilyellenanderson.com
JANICE COX. An expert on natural beauty, and creating body-care products at home using kitchen and garden ingredients. She has written six books, and teaches workshops across the country. She lives in Southern Oregon, and is currently the education chair for The Herb Society of America. naturalbeautyathome.com.
CAROLYN KULB. Founder and lead artist of Bloom Poet, a full-service wedding florist and event design company based in Seattle, Washington. Carolyn also offers education and coaching to fellow florists and wedding professionals. Through online classes and 1-to-1 coaching, Carolyn helps floral entrepreneurs learn proven methods for streamlining their wedding businesses, as well as mastering sustainable floristry methods with less stress. bloompoet.com
LORI POLISKI. The owner of Flori, she is a gardener and florist committed to sustainable floristry and organic growing practices on her small farm in Woodinville, Washington. She grew up on a farm in New Jersey, and comes from a long line of farmers who used organic methods before it was a certification or credential. In her former professional life, she was a journalist, a technology marketer, and a teacher. Lori won one of three writing grants from Cultivated: The Elements of Floral Style by Christin Geall; Cultivating Place (Jennifer Jewell); and the London Flower School, on the topic of Sustainable Farewell Flowers in 2022. flori.flowers
TOM PRECHT. The co-founder and vice president of Grateful Gardeners, he has been a research scientist for the majority of his career. He obtained a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. Tom's mother, Diana Precht, has been a lifelong gardener and avid dahlia grower. Tom had no idea that he would one day follow in her footsteps to become a full-time flower-farmer with his wife, Sarah Daken. He brings a scientific, technological, and innovative aptitude to Grateful Gardeners, focusing on constantly improving their organic practices and sustainability. gratefulgardeners.co.
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SLOW FLOWERS 2023
FLORAL INSIGHTS & INDUSTRY FORECAST botany lessons.
Our ninth annual Slow Flowers forecast adopts the concept of being rooted, of sinking our roots deeper into nature and the plant kingdom, and in the healing qualities of both. We examine the emerging themes, topics, and categories in the floral marketplace that will influence your coming year .
SPECIAL REPORT farewell flowers.
Green "farewell" flowers represent a major new opportunity for florists
Q: how do you hellebore?
Slow Flowers members give hellebores a starring role in their designs
MELISSA FEVEYEAR
TERRA BELLA FLOWERS | SEATTLE, WA WEBSITE INSTAGRAM HERMON BLACK HB FIORI FLORAL STUDIO | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA INSTAGRAM“Super-hardy in the garden, hellebores are my favorite January bloom. They are so whimsical, and the soft, garden greens convey a fresh transition into spring— especially after all the jewel tones and dark colors of December. The fiery orange hues of the pincushion proteas deliver an intriguing and bold counterpart to the hellebores. I wanted this arrangement to be seasonal, long-lasting, and to provide something soothing amid the stress of a New Year. This combination takes on winter with boldness. It's just what my private client, a monthly subscriber, needed — something dazzling and modern.”
“With so many forms, colors, and patterns, hellebores work for both modern, minimalist designs, and romantic, woodland styles. I particularly love using them in handwork, such as for flower crowns. As small as they are, when clustered together, they create a strong visual form. Small seeds and berries add texture and depth in my floral crown fit for a fairy-tale bride.”
Team Flower's Kelly Perry designed a textural spring arrangement with botanicals grown by Pharsalia Events (and flower farm) in Tyro, Virginia. "Hellebore come in so many fun varieties, and as you can see — I hellebore with them all! That’s one of the benefits to having a robust garden patch. Not only do I have access to the varieties I started the garden with, but they are always dropping seeds with new variations," she says. This sweet arrangement also features arum, pieris, and eleagnus foliage, and pussy willow and contorted filbert (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') branches.
REMY BRAULT
“Hellebores bloom in winter, but embody the elegance of spring. When I use these flowers in my arrangements, they always prompt that ‘oh, look a garden flower!’ moment. With their sweet, bendy heads, and wide range of moody petal colors, hellebores are some of my favorites this season. They can be considered old-fashioned, but I used multiples, en masse and tightlypacked for lushness and impact (not to mention providing support for their sometimes downward-facing form). The unglazed vessel was the perfect container to use, paired with soft-pink larkspur that emerge from the hellebore base.”
KATE WATTERS
“Hellebores are a stunning focal flower, producing double and single varieties in subtle, muted colors. When picked at peak and properly hydrated and cooled, they can last out of water for several days, or can be dried in silica, or pressed for endless creative uses. These hellebores came from Happy Vine Flowers, gardener-florist Terri Schuett's garden. To make the demi-crown, I wove a length of ivy around a bind-wire base, and added bundles of accent flowers (Astrantia) and sprigs of juniper with berries. The hellebores can be glued or wired onto this base.”
“One of the first flowers of year, hellebores have stunning bloom colors — from white with freckles to the deepest mauve-purple. Their shapes and textures complement almost any other flower or foliage. I love pairing them with tulips, daffodils, and other spring varieties.”
ERIN SHACKELFORD
“For those of us who derive abundant joy from flowers and nature in general, winter can often seem like a long, dark season. Just when I think winter is here to stay, hellebores arrive. They come in myriad colors from whites to deep burgundy and black; some with freckles, some with ruffles and they invariably make me smile. In this arrangement, I embraced the feeling of spring and what lies ahead. It showcases bi-colored hellebores grown by Jello Mold Farm in Mt. Vernon, Washington, which remind us that winter is beautiful, too. Other ingredients, all sourced from the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, include sarcococca and dusty Miller foliage, stock, roses, rice flower, and isopogon and berzelia for added texture.”
“As a flower-farmer and studio floral designer, I adore the array of colors and forms hellebores bring to the winter garden and to my design work. In this design, I chose 'Ivory Prince’ for its red stems and the pink flush of an unopened blossom. They compliment the pink edges on the specimen of the succulent echeveria. This centerpiece was created on a base of foraged driftwood, with rabbit foot fern as greenery.”
New Year’s is one of those times to blow open all the nooks and crannies of our life and business, take a peek inside, and ask: Do I choose to have this anymore? What is just accumulated stuff? What are accumulated thoughts that I don’t even know if I believe anymore? And, Is there anything that I want that isn’t here yet?
There’s a perception that when you choose to be a Flower Business Owner, you choose a path, you do the thing, you make some tweaks, and your business will just grow into this beautiful thing you love forever. I certainly thought that was the case and felt frustrated with myself each time I was compelled to make bigger and bigger changes in my business and lifestyle. After all, it seemed like people who could just stick with their decision long term…were more successful.
So I worked hard to stick with things and convinced myself that those internal compulsions were flights of fancy. But when I pushed down those feelings toward change, the frustration grew into something more gnarly: Resentment.
Now I know that the reason I couldn't keep ignoring the instinctual nudges is because with each pivot, I was making adjustments that got me closer and closer to inner CONGRUENCE. I wanted my business and life to be a reflection of what I wanted to see in the world — and who I wanted to be.
There’s only so long we can be out of congruence with how our body and brains and spirits need to be in the world and how we are doing things. When we ignore the desire to change our businesses, the negative effects are burnout, resentment, or maybe just feelings of — meh.
I’ve been known to be a master pivoter. Something I used to be ashamed about. After being too scared to be a sculptor, I chose
WISHES + DESIRES
Let 2023 be the year that you open up to all the ways your brain, body, and spirit are urging changes to be made in your business.
The desire to deepen your sustainability practice and claim it publicly. Imagine saying "no" to work that will not align with those beliefs.
The mixed resentment and desire to be seen on social media as you are — with all your courageous weirdness, authority, humanity, and empathy.
The desire to lead a more artful practice mixed with the fear of judgment in calling yourself an artist.
The desire to contribute financially in a big, big way and the anxiety of what that mean in terms of your life balance and integrity.
The desire to hire regular help mixed with the terror of managing people and making a consistent income big enough to support them and you.
If any of this resonates, you have a call toward inner congruence.
TRY THESE STEPS
Ask yourself, “What am I all about?”
Is there a way to express that in a way that addresses these calls for inner congruence?
Are the things I’m doing express what I’m all about? Are they opening the path to more congruence or forcing it closed?
Dive into the new year with a fresh vision and cultivate congruence
the safer route of a landscape architect. That didn’t feel as right as shifting to being a floral designer. Then I leaned into artful floral design. Then grew into full event design. After finding the courage to move into sustainable event design, I then became an online business educator for floral designers, ultimately evolving into business (and bravery) coaching for artists.
The changes toward your own congruence may not need a business overhaul. If you love a New Year’s resolution, here are some that will cultivate congruence:
I resolve to never make myself feel wrong for wanting what I want.
I resolve to take time to listen to my desires as though they are filled with sacred clues that will lead me and my business to our next evolution. Toward congruence.
I resolve to trust my own authority first in all things involving me, my body, and my business. I resolve to stand by and enforce any decision made honoring that trust, even if other people don’t understand.
I resolve to claim what needs claiming in my life and in my business. I resolve to take the steps, however wobbly, toward operating my business and living in a way that is in congruence with what’s inside of me that needs to be seen.
If a compulsion to fulfill a creative vision, desire for a way of being, or any business idea that feels like a full body YES arises, I resolve to put a pause on my tendency to pile on the reasons why it won’t work.
Instead, I resolve to give my brain the job of finding all the ways I could make it happen, as if everything in my life is flexible, and I have the power to influence the change I want.
(Psst, it is, and you do.)
Music x Flowers. INSTALLATIONS + ARTISTS
Celebrating stories of African American voices in floriculture through botanical displays, music, fashion, and wellness workshops
On September 10, 2022, Music x Flowers showcased the floral art of six Black designers who created large-scale floral installations inspired by favorite music genres and popular Southern California themes like beach bonfires, and old-school, neighborhood block parties.
Slow Flowers member Talia Boone, CEO of Los Angeles-based Postal Petals, and author and historian Abra Lee, who wrote Conquer the Soil: Black America and the Untold Stories of Our Country's Gardeners, Farmers, and Growers, developed the floral show after the women met at the 2021 Slow Flowers Summit, where Abra presented the capstone lecture about the history of Black-American florists.
In her talk, Abra quoted pioneering African-American florist Bessie Weaver (1882-1968), acknowledged as once saying, "Be it said to the credit of our race, our people have always been lovers of music and flowers."
According to Abra's research, Weaver gave her inspiring remarks in 1915 at the National Negro Business League Convention, the business conference founded by Booker T. Washington in 1900. Abra believes that Weaver's historic quote is equally relevant today, viewing flowers as an artistic medium that uplifts women's economic independence, nurtures financial success, and provides an ability to make a living while also perhaps caring for children.
Talia’s strong response to Abra's Slow Flowers Summit lecture led her to later introduce herself. "It felt very much like kindred spirits coming together," Talia recalls. "I wanted to use Postal Petals as a platform, and produce floral installations as a way to
'BEST COAST' BONFIRE
Kimberly Jacob, K. Jacob Events Vallejo, California
kjacobevents.com
@k.jacob.events
CALIFORNIA LOVE #TENACITY
Rose Study, Roses Say Chino Hills, California
RosesSay.com
@rosessay
FLOWERS FOR NIP
Amorette Brooms
Queen Los Angeles Inglewood, California
queenlosangeles.com
@queenn_losangeles
HITTIN' THE STREETS IN FLORAL CHIC
Ashley Robinson
12amsunshine
Oakland, California
12amsunshine.com
@12amsunshine
IT'S A VIBE! PERIODT. . . Nia Black
Xquisite Floral Design and Events
Riverside, California Xquisitefloraldesign.com
@Xquisitefloral
LA CR(E)ATES
Kristen Gordon
Kristhetic
Los Angeles, California kristhetic.com
@kristhetic_
WESTSIDE OVER EVERYTHING
Amber Mayfield, designsbyher floral + event design
Los Angeles, California designsbyher.com
@designsbyamberm
help designers expand their work. Before going to the Summit, I had a vision to produce large-scale floral art as a way to uplift and celebrate Black florists, but I hadn't been thinking at all about historic Black florists."
The women began to brainstorm about developing a public exhibition to feature flowers and reflect the impact of flowers and music in the Black community of Los Angeles. Abra and Talia pitched the idea of hosting a Music x Flowers event on the grounds of South Coast Botanic Garden in Los Angeles to MaryLynn Mack, the garden's COO. As president of the American Public Garden Association, and one of the top leaders in the public-garden arena, Mack knew there was something special about Abra and Talia's idea.
"Our mission at South Coast Botanic Garden is that 'we are a garden of experiences for ALL,' and that's in all-caps," Mack explains. "What intrigued me about this idea was that it spoke
to welcoming and engaging with a demographic we might not often have at the garden. It told a rich story about Black floriculture, about flowers and music in Los Angeles, and was a perfect way to bring the African-American community to our garden."
With South Coast Botanic Garden as Music x Flowers' host venue, and with seed funding from the garden, Talia and Abra curated an exhibition that combined immersive botanical and wellness experiences with floral installations. They partnered with Valerie Crisostomo, founder of Black Girl Florists, inviting several Los Angeles-area and California-based florists to participate. Each designer received a stipend for floral supplies and materials, contributing her design talents to the project.
Receiving financial support from South Coast Botanic Garden was priceless, the co-producers say. "MaryLynn Mack was such an unwavering ally for us," Talia says. "It's a privilege that we don't get to experience often, having a champion behind the scenes who made sure we had all the things we needed to make
"Our mission ... is that we are a garden of experiences for ALL."
this event happen." Adds Abra, "In true form, it was a Black woman who gave us a chance. We have ideas, we have culture. That's what we do all day long. But when people like MaryLynn and public gardens like South Coast Botanic Garden invest in an event like Music x Flowers, that changes everything."
The educational component of Music x Flowers included three Wellness x Flowers workshops for attendees, including gentle yoga, guided meditations, and floral-arranging activities.
Floral storytelling told through the lens of Black Californians infused the exhibition, both visually and through music. The beautiful, vibrant floral installations "took guests on a journey through the streets and neighborhoods of Los Angeles, through the lens of music and flowers," Talia explains. Each display was paired with an album cover as its musical inspiration. For example, Amorette Brooms of Queen Los Angeles portrayed "Flowers for Nip," featuring a flower-bombed 1964 Impala to honor Nipsey Hussle, the late hip-hop artist, entrepreneur, activist, and Grammy Award winner. Kristen Gordon, owner of Kristhetic in Los Angeles, enclosed her installation with a wall of colorful milk cartons, a nod to DJs who carried their vinyl albums in similar crates, suggesting a festive summer block party, complete with lawn chairs. K. Jacobs Events, owned by Kimberly Jacobs, created a floral bonfire to reflect gatherings on LA's beaches, inspired by a Red Hot Chili Peppers album cover.
Nia Black, of Xquisite Floral Designs and Events in Riverside, is known for her red-carpet events. She designed the green "Cali Carpet," featuring familiar Los Angeles street signs and a nod to the famous Hollywood sign, complete with palm trees and sand.
Ashley Robinson, from Oakland's 12amsunshine, brought her botanical couture talents to the exhibition with "Hittin' the Streets Floral Chic." Her display incorporated wearable floral fashions with amaranthus, craspedia, lily turf, and other blooms, drawing from LA fashion culture and street wear.
"This was the largest event that Postal Petals and Conquer the Soil have ever done," Talia notes. "For a lot of our florists, it was also their largest installation ever. So in a beautiful way, we all worked together and stretched each other. We honored these female floral artists, and gave them as much space as possible to fully express themselves."
Talia and Abra plan to revive Music x Flowers as an expanded event and installation at the South Coast Botanic Garden on June 4, 2023, scheduled to coincide with Black Music Month. "The connections between flowers and music are real—they are probably the two most powerful communication tools for joy or for grief," Talia says. "For our designers, flowers are not just a way to express the artistic narrative that they were given, but an expression of their culture."
