photographer: irene suchocki

I was browsing through the current Poppytalk Handmade market, and lo-and-behold, one of the vendors was displaying gorgeous floral photographs. I'm a fan of old-school style photography, where you can see the dust and grainy edges - I guess that History of Photography class in college stuck with me. Anyway, Irene Suchocki is the artist behind these watercolor-like shots, and guess what? You can purchase an affordable print (printed on metallic paper) either on her Esty page or the online shop at her website for isphotography.


"Faithfully capturing a scene is less important than finding that little bit of mystery, evoking a certain mood, or telling a story. Irene creates little poems for the eyes through her explorations of the ethereal, the surreal, the whimsical, the mysterious, and the beautiful. Her work has appeared on numerous book covers, on television, and has been exhibited at the Sundance Film Festival. Her photographic prints have found their way into private homes around the world." -from isphotography website, images from isphotography website

Thanks, Irene, for sharing your beautiful work with us! And don't forget to check out Irene's blog here.

designer, stylist, blogger: chelsea fuss

It seems like blogging is fast becoming the most exciting infotainment medium - I'm just watching The Food Lover's Guide on The National Geographic channel, and it's a whole episode devoted to food bloggers... I never knew about Chez Pim or David Lebovitz, but now I'm on to them! Hey, how 'bout a show on design bloggers?

So, today I'd like to feature the work of a great blogger, stylist and floral designer Chelsea Fuss. Based in Portland, Chelsea writes {frolic!}, a beautiful and inspiring read. Don't forget to check out her portfolio to see more images like the ones below...




Thanks Chelsea, maybe I'll see you in Portland sometime soon. For more floral blogging visit another Portlander, Pam at housemartin, and New Yorker Sarah at Saipua.


Photographers, from top: Evrim Icoz, John Valls, Stewart Harvey, Stewart Harvey.

floral graphics: 12fifteen placemats

Loving these Gocco-printed cotton placemats by 12fifteen with stylized flora (via Bloesom).

art: aesthetic apparatus

Looking for some edgy floral-themed art? Check out these limited edition screen printed posters over at Aesthetic Apparatus. Read their funny bio, and roll on the floor laughing.

aia event: black and white

Here's another one from the archives... I did an event for the Austin chapter of The American Institute of Architects a while back. The opening party for that year's Homes Tour was held at The Austin City Lofts, a building where I designed flowers for the lobby (last photo). The theme of the evening was 'black and white', so it was a fun challenge to make the arrangements interesting and appropriate, but also with an authentic Austin feel.


The above shots are inside two different lofts - two of the featured architects live in the building, and their homes were open for the evening.


The exterior pool area is beautifully landscaped by one of my favorite landscape artists, Big Red Sun, and the building itself is a stunning backdrop, with it's copper and limestone sheathing.


The floral elements included painted curly willow and bamboo, white eremurus, white mums, white orchids and lilies, cotinus foliage (smoke tree) and Purple Majesty millet.



I've never seen a bigger collection of Eames wooden leg splints - love how they are displayed as art. And below is a shot of the lobby of the lofts... I usually did succulents potted in glass cubes with moss and lichen under the photograph. The unique metal and stone table is by Fisterra Studio, a great husband and wife team that live in East Austin. Don't miss their open studio at the East Austin Studio Tour.

color palette: plum, burgundy and brown

It's squally with wind and rain here in Auckland, so today's inspiration board came out moody and richly colored. Though you could still throw an after-dark soiree with this theme in the Northern Hemisphere...


Place setting: Rebecca Thuss, photo by Lisa Hubbard
Lanterns, bouquet, glasses and cake: Love, Luck and Angels, event design by Jo Gartin
Boutonniere: Pollen Floral Art

nyc floral designers: prudence designs

Today, as I was preparing a post on another great photographer, Ellen Silverman, she mentioned a collaboration she's working on with Grayson Handy of Prudence Designs of NYC (pictured above with partner Arturo Quintero). So I thought I'd take a look at their website... and wow, what a stunning representation of floral design - you'll love the opening sequence with the daschund, too.


The business was originally started by Arturo in his basement in 1993, but through hard work, Prudence Designs arrangements have graced the pages of magazines like House & Garden, Domino, and Elegant Bride, as well as the tables of some of New York's top events. This tall tulip arrangement was for The Horticultural Society of New York's 11th Annual Flower & Design gala, read more about that event here (image from New York Social Diary). The bouquet of fern curls, lady slipper orchids, chocolate artichokes, and scabiosa pods wrapped in coconut bark was featured in Elegant Bride (Fall '05).

Stay tuned for more delicious images from Ellen and Prudence Designs!

photographer: janne peters

Pam over at Housemartin posted about photographer Janne Peters awhile back, and I also showed some of his work on my old blog, but I was looking at his website again today, and wow! Who wouldn't like this set of clematis prints framed in their living room?

designer interview: katie elfers

I'm so happy to introduce you to Katie Elfers of Inspired Floral Design from Ft. Wright, Kentucky. Katie's path into floral design and owning her own company is similar to my own, but, judging from the picture below, she obviously has way better taste in shoes! Thanks for answering some questions for crosspollination...

How did you first get interested in flowers, and come to own Inspired Floral Design?

I was a DIY bride in 2004 and flowers were a big priority for me in my wedding. I really wanted something a little dramatic and textural. I ordered a ton of flowers from an online source and scoured the side of the road and creek beds for weeds, for lack of a better term. When I saw the buckets and buckets of flowers and the different personalities of all the blooms, I was just smitten! It truly was my favorite part about planning my wedding.

Over the next few years I helped a few friends with their own weddings. In January of 2007 I lost my 9-5 desk job and thought it was time I decided what I wanted to be when I grew up! I always called my desire to work with flowers a "pipe dream" and with a little bit of inspiration and a ton of support from my family Inspired Floral Design was created with little more than a name and a desire to work.

Today I take great pride in working mostly from word of mouth referrals and being able to bring the passion I have for flowers to such an integral part of a couple's wedding day. Every event is a labor of love!

What flowers or foliages are you loving right now? What color combinations?

I'm loving the way bride's seem to be getting more comfortable with infusing their own personalities into their wedding details. I'm really drawn to dramatic colors and textures. I love the moodiness of purples and reds, the cozy effect of browns and blues on a white color palette.

I like using small flowers with big personalities in with more traditional flowers... blue tweedia has this rustic, woodsy friendliness; berzelia berries and fern curls add an exotic elegance to an otherwise traditional arrangement.

What trends do you see emerging this season in floral design?

There's a big draw toward the vintage feeling. This can range from the glam addition of feathers, rhinestones and other art deco elements to the more subtle additions of soft foliages like dusty miller and geranium leaves with yellowed or antique-toned color combinations.

What designers, creatives and artists inspire you?

I really gravitate towards the work of a lot of UK floral designers like Jane Packer and Paula Pryke. I feel like there's this preservation of the sense of charm in their arrangements. I also look to a lot of custom/hand made artists on sites like etsy.com to find inspiration in the form of stationery, jewelry and other accessories that marry that sense of character and beauty.

What would you do on your perfect day off?

I love this question! I'd bake cupcakes and play dress up with my daughters, take a hike in the woods with my son and spend the evening on the porch with a bottle of wine and the company of my husband watching the lightening bugs wake up... :)

color inspiration: kris's color stripes blog

Have you ever wanted to plan an event but didn't know how to choose the color scheme? Or needed inspiration to decorate a room with a unique and complex palette? Well, fear not, I've got just the blog for you... kris's color stripes is a riot of color inspiration! This talented Italian lady snaps images of beautiful Italian architecture, vintage children's illustrations and much more, then extracts the pure colors and puts together an easy-on-the-eyes swatch palette. I love the juicy colors in this shot of anemones.



The color palette below would be a great starting point for a baby shower. As a floral designer I'd love to have a client bring in these images, so I could put together a unique arrangement... Maybe pink peonies with dusty blue tweedia and yellow craspedia balls, green sage leaves, blue-gray succulents, and fluffy dusty miller in a vintage brown stump vase like this one. I'd use brown kraft paper instead of a table cloth, and let guests leave wishes for the baby in (color-coordinated) crayon! These votive candles would look great dotted around the table. Sophisticated but soft.


You can also see Kris's color palettes without the photographs at kris's color dots. Enjoy! And thanks Kris for such a well executed idea.

color palette: blue, white and black

Abby's running a great contest over at Style Me Pretty, which inspired me to compile a few images and submit an entry. She'll post the best inspiration boards the week of Monday June 30th - go check it out and vote for your favorite. I'll post my colorful entry here after the contest!

The collage below was inspired by the image of the couple getting married beside the sea in Italy...


Ceremony photo: Brides
Bouquet and Boutonniere: Pollen Floral Art
Invitations: MS Weddings, styling by Rebecca Thuss, photo by James Worrell
Candy favors: The Knot, photo by Under Grace Photo

floral textiles by creative ladies

Lately I've noticed some awesome textile designs, which all seem to be originating in the Southern Hemisphere. Maybe the flower and leaf shapes down here are particularly inspiring? Whatever the reason, I'm loving these graphic screened and block-printed fabrics by a bevy of creative ladies. The images below are from Jesse's great blog, Jezzeblog. Check out her Etsy page to purchase yardage. Sample swatches shown below...


Love the patterns juxtaposed on these fabric buckets... hmmm, would be great for storing yarn.


I particularly like doing floral designs with proteas, so this green print is my favorite of the lot, I think.


I've also been reading Kirin Notebook for a while, ever since getting really interested in Melbourne. Lara has a great eye for color - and this print of ginkgo leaves looks super cool in aqua on a bag by Mattt bags.


Lara's even applied her illustrations to letterpressed cards, below. Check out her beautiful website to see the whole range of current products (looks like a lot more coming soon, too!) It's way cool that she uses hemp/organic cotton and cotton/linen blend fabrics screen printed with environmentally friendly, solvent free inks.



And last, but not least, is Heather from Skinny laMinx. Shop for tea towels, aprons, bags and fabric on her Etsy page (while admiring the photo styling), or see more of her illustration work on her website.


Thanks, ladies, for inspiring all of us! And if you've got a design that would be perfect on fabric, I just found out about a great new company called Spoonflower that will print your designs on fabric in small runs. I'm definitely going to give it a try when they open up to the general public (still in beta right now, printing is by invitation only).

And in case you don't know about Spacecraft, hop on over to their website and check out their funky fabrics - looks like they use realistic flower shapes in some of their designs (is that purple agapanthus I see laying on the floor or their studio?). See shots of their Melbourne shop on Gertrude St. at The Design Files here (best shopping guide to any city I've seen, Lucy you're a genius), or read this post on modamuse, or this one on Studio Home Creative.

Just noticed Design*Sponge has a great feature as well on textiles using floral motifs from a company called Three Sheets 2 the Wind. Looks like it may be time for some new bed linens around here.

floral sculptress: krislyn design

I used to love watching Designer Living with host Sheila Bridges. In one episode she visited a floral design shop in LA that I've remembered for years... turns out it was Krislyn Design. I love how sculptural the pieces are, using both ordinary and unusual natural elements. All images from their website.


Apparently Krislyn Design provides the floral decor for the LA W Hotel... pieces like these pods stuffed with leaves.




Check out the jeweled trees that are Krislyn Komarov's signature sculpture, in the Objects area of the website. I'm loving the version of them with cotton/wool in the all-white shot on the home page.