Top 10 Accent Decor Containers

As flower people, we are always on the lookout for fabulous containers to showcase our designs. Accent Decor is one of the leading companies in creating and providing compotes, urns, votives, and more for all of us in the floral industry. They've been kind enough to share their favorites with us! Take a look at what's hot at Accent Decor.

Video: Photographing Flowers with a Paper Backdrop

This clip offers a sneak peek into the Team Flower How to Photograph Flowers Class. Heather Payne of Heather Payne Photography takes you behind the scenes when choosing a backdrop for photographing a flower arrangement. You’ll learn about using a simple paper backdrop, and how choosing various colors brings out the colors of the flowers in the design. Heather and Kelly discuss lighting, reflectors, and diffusers. Watch to receive tips on how you can take a simple yet great quality iPhone photo.

Leading your Client with Lauren Wiebe

Lauren Wiebe of Stone House Creative joins us on this episode of the Team Flower Podcast. Lauren began working in the wedding industry for a bridal magazine and then moved into wedding coordinator position for a local flower shop. She started Stone House Creative in 2014 after attending the first Team Flower Workshop, and her business has grown exponentially ever since! Lauren launched her sister company, Stone House Consulting, this year where she works with creatives in the wedding industry to help them grow their businesses and reach their ideal clientele.

How to use companion planting with flowers

Companion planting for soil health and crop vigor has been done for centuries, and in the age of high producing monoculture farms, the basics of companion planting seem to have fallen by the wayside. However, just a few carefully chosen plantings can make a big difference in your cut flower garden. Companion planting is generally done for two reasons: pest control and soil health. In this article, I am going to share with you the amazing ability of flowers to improve nitrogen availability, decrease nematode destruction, and that dandelions should be your new favorite weed.

July Wedding Florals Workshop Student Portfolio

The ladies that attended the Team Flower Workshop in July were in for a shock when that sweet mountain breeze turned into a flat out wind, and the temperature didn't rise above 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Sweaters were shared, blankets became an essential clothing item, and the sunshine was sought out at all costs! The weather didn't stop the attendees from learning and creating beautiful arrangements full of color and farm-fresh flowers. May their work be a breath of refreshing mountain air in your dry and arid spaces.

Negative space in floral design

As you work through this exercise, you will develop a sensitivity to sense the profound effects of the presence of negative space. Will you be drawn to it in your first arrangement? Like the way it appears? Maybe not and that's normal. Keep at it. New things can take a little time to adjust to.

The importance of floral design

I believe in the importance of finding the deeper colors and hidden rooms of your soul. One of the reasons why I fell in love with floral design is that it creates space for just that kind of work. It is kinesthetic, engaging your body with your mind and your senses. And because it is creative, it reveals preferences and beliefs you hold subconsciously and puts them on display in the piece you design.

Video: Finding your Why for Arranging

In this video, Kelly shares the story behind her own design philosophy and challenges us to find our own flower story. Something inside all of us drives how we design, and ultimately determines the message that we send when we share our love of flowers with others.

Exercising Imagination with LynnVale Studios

On this episode of the Team Flower Podcast, we are joined by Lou and Andrea Gagnon of LynnVale Studios. Lou and Andrea are sharing their roles on the farm, and how they play into their strengths to run the farm with excellence. Lou is talking about his passion for art, how he uses it to teach others, and the importance of looking at your work objectively and exercising imagination. Andrea is diving into the obstacles she faces as a grower, - both external and internal - and how she’s overcoming them. Whether you’re here to be encouraged in your farming process or to be challenged as a designer, you’ll find it all and more right here on the Team Flower Podcast.

Growing while others are blooming

“It’s ok to grow while others are blooming.” I don’t know if Kelly Perry knew just how much I needed to hear those words when she shared them at the Team Flower Conference in March. For me, the message was two-fold: part invitation to trust that we each grow and flourish at different rates and part cautionary reminder to beware of the slippery slope of comparison.

Fall Wedding Bouquet Recipe

My favorite bouquets always start with a walk in the woods and end at a local flower farm.  It’s there that I find ingredients that are not only unique and special like my brides, but these ingredients speak to the present moment.  I think that’s really special.  Here is a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into a bridal bouquet and the ingredients it calls for.  I hope it inspires you as you plan your wedding!

Organic Farming with Green Door Gourmet

We’re talking with Sylvia from Green Door Gourmet Farm on the Team Flower Podcast. On this episode, Sylvia is giving us an inside look into the workings of the farm - from what is grown to how it’s grown. We are diving into what it looks like to grow organically, and Sylvia is sharing helpful tips and resources for sustainable farming. We are talking about compost tea, trap plants, companion planting, and more! Listen to hear why okra is Sylvia’s favorite part of the farm, and what a day in the life of harvest looks like at Green Door Gourmet.

Choosing Meaningful Flowers

Most florists know and understand that our clients almost never know much about flowers – their season, color varieties, how they hold up in and out of water, mechanics…the list goes on and on! So it’s no surprise that many of the inquiries we get from couples are asking for guidance from us straight off the bat. It can seem overwhelming as a florist when we receive those inquiries – where do we even begin to dig for more information from them?

Where to buy flowers when starting out

When you are starting out in the floral design world, sourcing flowers can feel daunting without a resale license. However, you might be surprised by what you can get without one. In this article, Grace McDonald lists some ideas for where to source flowers before obtaining your resale license.

Understanding the Floral Industry with American Grown

In this episode of the Team Flower Podcast, Kasey Cronquist of American Grown is sharing the history of the organization and more. He’s chatting about the floral industry supply chain and why educating consumers and wholesalers alike is vital to the success and growth of promoting American Grown Flowers. We are talking about the exciting American Grown Field to Vase Tour, American Flowers Week, and how to source Certified American Grown.

Tips on managing freelancers

How do we become a better boss to our assistants? How do we manage freelancers well? I think the answer to this question is to learn how to be an open and communicative manager and to make tools and set expectations for our assistants to feel confident and useful while working for us.