I get a special kick out of watching people interact with our flower arrangements. We don’t get to see it too often since we are typically long gone when the event’s guests arrive. This is especially fun when they see something unexpected- like something they are usually seeing on their dinner plates. That’s why I was so excited when Ravishing Radish asked us to set up a unique “farm to table” themed set for their April tasting at the yacht club on Lake Union.

Vintage Ambiance let us ransack their cave of vintage treasures. We picked up some pieces from their new stash of milkglass vessels and some old crates.

We chose to stick with oranges, reds, and yellows mostly because the daffodils look so freegin’ delicious. They are truly the happiest flower I know. After heading to the flower market we stopped by the grocery store for some kumquat, peppers, parsley, chard, lettuce, artichokes, oranges, lemons, and strawberries….  and asparagus…. and tomatoes… oh and grapes. Maybe I should have had a snack before heading to the grocery store.

aside from the produce, we also incorporated ornamental artichoke foliage and scented geranium.

We coated the lemons, oranges, and strawberries with a thick layer of decorative sugar. Yummm.

Why am I acting like a freak? No, we haven’t been burgled. I stayed up all night reading the Hunger Games and now I’m obsessed. Tired and hungry, too. That just makes it all the better to feel like I’m on some sort of quest.  A bird flies into the understory and I think, “Ya, you better get out of here… or I’ll eat you.”

I don’t read fiction often because of the life disrupting effects. Not only have I not eaten, slept, or completed any urgent work, this morning I have an overwhelming need to go to the metal scrap yard. Work will have to wait again. On the drive down, each person I pass is a competitor, and I throw them a glance as my Korean hot rod passes them at a cautiously fast but clearly superior speed. Breakin’ the rules. Stickin’ to the… well, I guess I don’t really have a point in passing everyone. To win, I guess.

I haven’t been to Pac Iron since I was a sculpture student in college and now I have a hankering to see what types of junk can be remade into cool stuff. I need fodder for a post but more importantly, I can’t help but think this place would be like a treasure world for a survivalist. So I’m off to Pacific Iron and Metal.

A whole bin of machine screws. Like candy.

Hefty sheet metal- protects from all sorts of elements including poison fog.

These are cool. I almost brought some home, but the face on the container was a little scary.

Nothing jumped out at me to take home and remake, though I may go back for some of these chains for a chandelier project we’ve got coming up at Lola Floral (stay tuned for that!).

I had forgotten how much I like the smell of burnt metal, but overall I was underwhelmed. I remember this place having a lot more cool junk- from boats and stuff. But then it hit me. Of course. The rebellion. It’s all being melted down to support the rebellion.

And since I didn’t find something I wanted to remake into something else, here are some great uses of repurposed materials from the nation’s rebels.

Sewer pipes from Sunset.com

wood wall from Design Sponge

salvaged wood for a fence by Valle de Verde via Sunset.com

Wagon Shelf from Ki Nassauer

Succulent planter from Small Space Gardening

Wishing you all a mental vacation and some salvage inspiration.

]]> http://flowerbrained.com/2012/03/29/salvage-and-survival/feed/ 3 metal stuff Flower-Brained tower screws sheets rods pots metal stuff letters grates chains ww-sewer pipe ww-wood wall ww-plank-fence-l ww-wagonsow-clever_1 ww-succulent wall ww-shelf http://flowerbrained.com/2012/03/16/lucky-psssht/ http://flowerbrained.com/2012/03/16/lucky-psssht/#comments Fri, 16 Mar 2012 07:36:16 +0000 Emily Ellen Anderson http://flowerbrained.com/2012/03/16/lucky-psssht/ ]]> Occasionally I attend a free lecture at the Seattle Design Center. They are always fantastic. Today’s lecture by author David Shepherd was especially fantastic because it hit on a particular issue I’ve been fretting over. Prosperity. What’s that, right? Okay so I have an image… now how do I get there? Not sure but I think maybe my curiosity and creativity will get me there… but it could also just get me a really well designed wigwam when I get lost in the wilderness.

And why are designers dressed so lovely all the time. Why is their hair so nice? Does nice shoes and hair come in lieu of prosperity or does that come after prosperity happens? Is my slightly less prosperous look keeping prosperity from happening, thus continuing the less than prosperous look cycle? Please, can prosperity and shoes live together?

And does prosperity even happen? When do you know that you are prosperous? What markers tell you that prosperity has happened? How many lifelong goals actually happen anyway?

Well I know it doesn’t happen. I know it’s a process, it’s consistency, it’s discipline. But even still, where does one start? And even after starting, isn’t it still just a guessing game?

Sometimes I hear people mention luck. As in, “That business or person is successful because they were in the right place at the right time.” I’m not sure I buy that.

A cartoon that David showed today summed up my feelings on the subject

Well today things fell into place for me. It was presented well visually, which I think helped the lego parts move around in my head a little easier. And like any simple, good message, as soon as you try explaining it to someone else, you feel like an idiot because it is so obvious….

….so I won’t explain. But you should check it out for yourself.

AND to celebrate the luckiest day for some of history’s unluckiest people, we are giving away an amazing green arrangement. So if you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, you will walk home with this very lovely arrangement. Keep an eye on our facebook for updates on our location.

I’m so happy that I can move my feet. So that when I want to touch raindrops or sun, I can just move out from underneath whatever is blocking me.

The light, this day, was amazing. It waned slowly from buttery yellow to grey and back again. I found myself holding my breath waiting for the glow of sun through clouds to come back as if the sun demanded silence in order to return. The breeze was also surprising. It wasn’t strong but it was steady and made me wonder how it could sneak through this wooded area and still be so consistent or what the wood was protecting me from on the outside.

Oemleria cerasiformis: Indian Plum

Is that sunshine behind me?

I love elevated boardwalks through forest. It allows you to look around more without worrying about stepping on a banana slug.

This willow positively glowed. The fact that it came out in a photo glowing is just that much more amazing since subtleties in light are so difficult to capture (for me anyways) with a camera.

After about a mile of walking through woods and meadow, I walked out of the forest to get this glimpse of the French château inspired home. Hopefully the lawnmowers have an easier time getting here.

Paulownia tomentosa: Empress tree- one of my faves

 This Empress tree has such a wonderful structure. I recommend it if you have a lot of room- or a château lying around that needs that extra something.

Corkscrew hazelnut!!!

Corylus avellana 'contorta': Corkscrew Hazel (I think)

Those catkins look good enough to eat!

I love this arrangement made with clippings from the reserve.

Acer griseum: Paperbark maple

Hellebores surrounded banks and were planted high enough that I could enjoy the blooms. Thank you Bloedels for thinking of that.

Violet and Chartreuse- so lovely.

Somehow I don’t think this vista is an accident. We are approaching the Japanese garden.

I love the mounding and massing of earth and plants here. I love the depth and movement.

Moss Garden

Rhododendrons taking off. Like pretty UFOs.

This reflection pond is iconic and one of the spaces that drew me to visit this space. Unfortunately, by the time I came to this, I was running through to get to my appointment. Serenity and reflection will have to be postponed. 2 hours are just not enough time here. I would say 3.5 would’ve been perfect. Visit sometime. The reserve is now open to the public on consistent and reliable days and times.

Them: “This is Emily of Lola Event Floral & Design. Their designs have this great earthy, organic, handmade element.”

Me: ”Great.”

Them: “This is Emily Ellen. She does these amazing sculptural creations.”

Me: “Totally!”

Them: “This is Emily. She does these bold, modern arrangements with dramatic shapes.”

Me: “Yup.”

Them: “This is Emily. Her designs club you over the head and drag you by your hair back to her creepy plant cave.”

Me: “Whuh?”

Them: “This is Emily. She stole my socks.”

Me: “Well, why did you leave them by my croissant?”

Well, I’ll have you know, we are planning a little marketing photo shoot this weekend. It’s gonna be romantic. It HAS to be romantic. All the other participants’ work ooze romance.

Vintage Ambiance? Hello!? The bones of romance.

Alante Photography? Capturers of wistful glances.

Victoria’s Couture Bridal? Anybody who makes dresses this exquisite and customized can only be of the Fairy Godmother variety.

Kerry Efendi? A treasure maker.

Lilli-Pilli Patisserie? Dreams to eat.

Oasis- Herban Feast? Earthy wonderland.

Mollie McGrath of Pinup Salon: Expert of dewy skin, touchable hair, and kissable lips.

Until recently, I thought, “Ya, no problem. Weighty, drippy pieces, graceful sweeps, soft textures, fluffy something, soft lighting. Got it.”

Then, something started happening.  My thought process went a little something like this…

“Well this is all too much texture.” I thought, “How is anyone s’posed to see the shape?  It’s so blobby? The flowers look like a junior high cheerleader pyramid. That’s it. Cut out the flowers- just grasses with some flowering branches. Readable. But that’s not country estate in Northern France romantic. (sigh) What mademoiselle wants a load of grass and sticks on her  table…?”

“Hmmm. Is there a way to incorporate rocks? Oooh, a pile of jagged rocks in a dark corner with desaturated blue light and a piece of driftwood holding one of Vintage Ambiance’s candelabras… Moody.”

“Bah! Moody does not equal romance.”

“I couldn’t get peonies in the right color. Can I even have romance without peonies? What are romantic flowers.”

“Gasp. The colors. All muted tones. Without the contrast, without the massing, won’t they all resemble the approximate color of undercooked pork?! This is a mess, what am I doing? Can one who drops food on herself daily truly be responsible for creating a romantic arrangement?“

…

Why is suddenly trying to be romantic so damn strange? After all, I have done this before.

I’ve temporarily regained composure. As for romance, we shall see. I’m sticking with my original recipe for romance: graceful shapes, naturally weighted elements, effortlessness, abundance. I’ll keep you updated from the shoot.

Candles are romantic. Thank you Beeker, you always know what to do.

So how about a little show and tell?

This happy shindig was the brainbaby of Bamboo Beats DJs- as a thank you to their past and present clients. They wanted a futuristic themed night: tron, glowey things, that sort of stuff. They asked a select bunch of people to help throw a great bash. Part of that bash was a fashion show. Of course, I freaked out at the chance to do flowers and decor for an unusual theme. Halfway jokingly, I told Jojo that I would only do it if I could make a mohawk for one of the models, but after meeting with Carlisia Minnis of Mac Fashion House, the mohawk was ON!

We began the sequencing with a bold entrance piece that consisted of a wall of tubing to tie in the existing piping. Glass cylinders filled with green acrylic and that goo stuff were up-lit and side-lit. Yucca, Phormium, and tulips were placed, roots exposed, atop the cylinders and fixed by an acrylic cap. Some of the plants were upside-down. The effect of the bare root silhouettes was eerie and very cool.  The plants are now in a less exposed/ tortured state in my yard and are still looking very cool.

I’ll post some more photos on my Facebook page later this week that really show the roots a lot better.

We placed a luminary on each bistro table. The vase was wrapped with a paper cutout designed and cut by yours truly to mirror the Soundtrek logo. A submersible, teal LED light was placed in each vessel.

I had an urge to make an acrylic chandelier. We designed and cut this piece for this event. It hangs from a painted hula hoop. Acrylic does amazing things with light. The edge is like a fiber optic light transmitter. It glows even in low light. We kept all the pieces if you would like this funky thang to hang at your event. The best part of this chandelier?…..

… the fashion designer liked it so much that she routed her models runway to end under the chandelier…. Did I mention there was a fashion show? There was a fashion show! A futuristic fashion show! Mac Fashion House  put on a seriously good show and even let me make a few things for the models to wear.

This model is holding our metallic cone bouquet with carnations.

This model is holding our Calla Lily spray. One of the Lilies are wrapped in a cut-out neon green wrap. The Stems are wrapped with two metal bands.

I love these clothes. this guy is wearing our epaulets and funky succulent boutonniere. You can see a closeup if you scroll down.

This model is wearing our wrist cuff and acrylic boutonniere.

I will never forget the reaction to this look. The curtain opened, and everyone gasped. Maybe because the model and look is gorgeous, but I like to think it’s because my bouquet is so fierce it’s dangerous. She is also wearing our custom designed and cut acrylic necklace.

This model is also wearing a wrist cuff.

yes, the suit is lined with glowing line. He’s also wearing our kickass boutonniere.

I thought I’d throw in a bouquet that was halfway normal so that people don’t think I can only do weird designs. It kind of stood out in a bad way in my opinion when compared to the rest, but looks pretty good on its own below.

And here’s the final look with our helmet, tulle mohawk veil. She is also holding our Saturn ring feather bouquet.

I love it!

This simple bouquet is made of three metal cones each fixed with two metal fasteners. The flower is the unfussy and fragrant carnation.

The feather Saturn ring bouquet’s middle is composed of carnations.

Danger bouquet! Sharp. Lethal. So cool it needs two photos! The ball is ribbon with ends cut at a sharp angle.

Calla lily spray with metal bands.

Unusual boutonnieres!

And here’s our halfway normal hand-tied bouquet with fern, yucca, succulents, lisianthus, and hydrangea.

This is a detail to another truly spectacular floral piece that I will have to upload more photos to my Facebook later for you to see.

My tissue paper pouf light made an appearance and shed some light for Valentine to prune the landscape on this guy’s head. Valentine is amazing. The words meticulous and precise don’t quite cut it. The guys coming out of this chair were transformed. Check it out at Valentinesseattle.com

My fabric chandelier also made an appearance.

Other amazing people who contributed was Kim of Alante Photography- obviously talented by the work you’ve seen here. Rochelle, my awesome assistant who will not enjoy my usage of fragmented sentences. Ravishing Radish Catering who I am personal fans of and friends with. I like to eat their food. Baked cakes who did this amazing creation…

Ummm…. this is a cake. Judy of ItsJudyTime renewed my love of fake eyelashes and taught me some makeup tips. The Invisible Hostess crew kept a drink in our gyrating hands, Blue Danube who is behind the scenes with design and production but it SO makes a difference when the lighting, audio, etc is perfecto. Blue Elephant created some neat dangely banners in the entrance, 321 foto took some hilarious photos in their booth. Like this one of me and my friend Kate:

Finca Filidelphia has been a coffee plantation since 1874, part of a plan to bring the region out of economic hardship at the time. I think before then it was avocados. It sits about 20 minutes outside of Antigua.

Just Birds of Paradise… as a foundation plant…. no biggie.

One thing that surprised me is this whole ta-do about ‘shade grown.’ Turns out it doesn’t mean anything important. Arabica coffee plants (except new engineered varieties) need shade to optimize production. So any farmer wanting to produce the most coffee berries is going to grow their coffee in some shade. How that shade is achieved is where farms differ. And there’s really no ‘shade grown’ certification or stamp of approval to determine which is which.

Some smaller or family run farms can plant coffee into existing forests, preserving the native trees, understory, and multitude of other plants and epiphytes living there. The benefit of this is that it is low-cost for the producer, habitat is most preserved, water use and pesticide needs are minimized, and erosion is minimized because trees aren’t removed. Coffee grown in these situations can be certified ‘Bird Friendly’  The downside is that coffee berry yields are lower because the shade is too dense. Production oriented larger farms clear out the existing forest, and plant trees that can be managed easily to give the coffee plants the optimal light levels. The bummer here is that part of the forest is clear-cut which would lead to erosion. Non-native trees are brought in, and there is the potential for more water use and possibly pesticides/ fungicides. Once matured, these plantations can provide some habitat. The non-shade grown use no trees and is typically high in water and pesticide use, low in habitat viability. These are usually robusta trees instead of arabica bushes.

Filidelfia includes coffee fields in dense forests on the accessible-by-foot hillsides, and managed non-native canopy coffee fields in the more accessible valleys. The trees are from Australia and can take a heavy pruning to achieve the optimum canopy cover percentage. The wood from the trees are sold as firewood and the clippings and branches cover the coffee fields in a rich, thick layer of duff- an excellent mulch. With this much thick duff on the ground. Filidelfia only has to water for a very short period in the hottest months, and doesn’t use pesticides/fungicides. Yay.

And you thought this post wasn’t flower related. Here’s a coffee flower.

That ONE coffee berry is almost ready for picking. Coffee picking is CR-AZY. All arabica plants are hand-picked. As if that weren’t difficult enough, the berries aren’t mature at the same time and each individual berry has to be carefully removed from its tiny petiole, the little branch attaching the berry to the main branch. If this little guy isn’t still attached to the branch once the berry is removed, it will no longer produce berries. Ever. So imagine a coffee berry picker wants to fill their baskets fast (they are paid by weight) and strips all the berries off in one swipe… dead coffee bush. For this reason, the same berry pickers are typically hired year after year. Here they are mainly women since the fellas go off to harvest sugar cane near the coast. The ladies bring their kids, the kids learn to correctly harvest the berries, and they often take over for their parents.

Here’s the inside of a coffee berry. Apparently I had a freak berry (figures) that had three beans. Usually they have two.

The protective casing or parchment of the bean is sweet.

Arabica bushes are finicky and susceptible to rot. Here is where they graft arabica beans onto hardier robusta root stock to make for some stronger plants.

This process is amazingly low tech. I thought grafting necessitated lab coats and furrowed eyebrows…

…but the process only involves a deft, razor-wielding woman and wax.

Here are the arabica bushes with the severely hacked Australian canopy tree. Guatemala is especially well suited to grow good coffee given its elevation, climate, and super rich, volcanic soil. This wood is piled by the road and carted off by truck, or on foot to be sold.

Tillandsia!

Avocados! Did you know there are over 20 different varieties of avocado?

Here’s where the beans go to dry.

Grey beans ready to roast.

Here are three sizes of beans. Before roasting, the beans are sorted. The middle bean is just right, and the other beans are either tossed, or sold cheap. Remember the three beans that were in my berry? Only the one bigger one would have been allowed into this farm’s cup of coffee. If the beans are all about the same size, that ensures that they will all roast consistently, so some won’t impart an over or under-roasted flavor.

This is where beans go to roast.

My Americano. Muy rico.

And here’s a window with a wheel in it. Neato.

And a happy canna. One that probably doesn’t turn to black smoosh in the winter like it does up here.

So in summary, shade-grown schmade grown and go to Antigua, Guatemala.

Here’s some more info on shade grown coffee from Wikipedia

Shade-grown coffee – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This event was held at Pravda Studios on Capitol Hill and was catered by Lisa Dupar Catering. Red Sparrow Photography kindly came by to shoot some pics of our lovely arrangements pre-event.

Intermingled driftwood branches! You really don’t need much else for a striking shape and focal point.

Have I mentioned how much I love Pravda Studios? The light in here is amazing.

We used local water-lily dahlias in lieu of more costly and less available lotus blossoms. Bamboo stands in and outside of the water basin and mimics the Seattle skyline. The bamboo is painted in red enamel.

Half of the tables had the bamboo and half included these shiny black stones. This is the mountain part.

We always have a hard time staying inside the container.

Each table had one black napkin. That was the groom’s idea.

Hooray!
Another great thing about these event arrangements? No waste- well, maybe the candles. Everything is either a reusable, or a compostable.

PS, check out Lola Floral in this season’s issue of Seattle Bride in the “Paper Parade” article.

As it turns out, the entire trip along the 10 or so miles of the Ozette Triangle was a joy. Surprise, surprise. The Ozette Triangle is three segments of looped trail. the first leg through forest and wet meadow, the second along the beach, and the third back up through the forest. Not only did it not rain, the wind was at our backs, the sky was blue (a strange sight anywhere in Washington this time of year), and the temperature was downright pleasant. The trail is easy to walk with not a lot of grade change. Not sure if this beautiful day on the coast was a reward for slogging through 2011 or the forecast for a sunny 2012. Maybe both… probably both.

Deer Fern: Blechnum spicant

I love these happy, floppy ferns.

Confined, sheltered places into large a large open expanse… It has that light through the clouds- choir singing effect. Also one of my favorite design tricks to create a sense of arrival into specialness.

Evergreen Huckleberry: Vaccinium Ovatum

Seaweed is so cool. Unless it’s in the water touching you. Then it’s disgusting and scary. But here, interesting.

Heh, Triangle, get it?

dreamy.

and back up into the forest.

Sneaky mushroom

Soft white underbelly

And the lichen encrusted  bridge brings us back home.

Thank you Cedarbrook Lavender Farm for the stay in your lovely Vacation Rentals.

That is until my beloved bro moved with his family of huggable ragamuffins to Franklin, Tennessee. I’ve been a few times and now love, love, love it.  One of the big delights? The people are so nice. Downright neighborly and helpful. Unbelievably more than keep-to-yourself- observe-and-assume Seattleites. Another delight? Decorating is kind of a big deal.  Here are a few decorations that caught my eye while walking down Main Street and around downtown Franklin.

Gallery 202 has an amazing display featuring luxurious swathes of fabric, and simple evergreen garlands adorned with lemon chains and antlers. Beautiful.

I squealed when I saw these velvet pumpkins with real stems at Avec Moi.

I love the comfy elegant feel of Lulu with this leaf garland made from old books, and a woven felt christmas tree.

This fruit wreath adorned someone’s house just outside of town. So lovely!