Bouquets and Boughs

Nicole

2011-02-05T15:59:00.001-08:00

Nicole came to her bridal appointment and knew exactly what she wanted. In fact she was so completely certain I knew very little details about her dresses and colours until I saw the finished photography by Ruth Stenson Photography... I must admit- although I'd like to take credit for the entirety- her choices were amazing and I was pleased that we could accomodate her requests.

Her colour palette was composed of orange and lime green for her bouquet and the rest of the bridal party. The maids' pomanders hung from a broom handle across our backroom door on a beautiful fall afternoon.

Nicole wore a couture dress with an ostrich feather detail on the bodice and we added some creamy ostrich feather accents to the pomanders which were composed of green viking or button mums and orange flat daisies.

Nicole's bouquet featured mango calla, orange dahlia, orange cymbidium orchids lime green flat mums, queen anee's lace and more ostrich feathers.

The table centres were contemporary cubes filled with orange lily and gerbera daisies, green hydrangea and fern fronds wich echo the movement of the ostrich feathers...

Two large vase arrangements of orange gladiola flanked the stairs of the Montrose Inn which looks remarkably like a southern plantation in the photography from Ruth Stenson which I will post next.

Amanda

2011-01-19T17:32:00.001-08:00

The same evening we hosted the Artwalk we also prepared for Amanda's wedding. The September date of her wedding conflicted with her desire for peonies...We felt the best option to create the same soft pink romantic feel would be garden roses- a product we didn't have much experience with. With some research and a lot of communication with Alexandra Farms (the grower) we settled on a couple of varieties that could provide a complimentary tone to her colour scheme while providing a lovely fragrance and getting close to the shades of pinks and fuschia of peonies.

The bridemaid's bouquets were composed of white spray roses the 'Marietheresia' and 'Yves Piaget' garden roses with a small collar of variegated pittosporum as well, but were somewhat smaller than the bride's.

Her 2 year old daugter would be her flower girl and we decided to try something slightly innovative, modern and yet easily carried and fun for a little one. We dressed a series of concentrically smaller styrofoam balls which we selected because they are lightweight; the smallest ball was woven with bear grass, the next variegated pitt and dressed with pearl head pins, and the largest ball with a sage green moss. The balls were tiered together and pink cymbidium orchids were the cherry on top!

The wedding and reception took place at the River Inn Corbyville - a venue that provides a fabulous, substantial solid wood bar. Amanda envisioned a collection of 3 glass cyclindrical vases with a modern treatment. We anchored some cymbidium blooms at the base of this vase and submerged them, a tai leaf with pink striation circled the interior of the glass obscuring the stems of the sedum which were angled jeff leatham style, folded aspidistra leaves and more garden roses.

A saucer dahlia provides a dramatic focal point in contrast to the shape of the roses and submerged rose petals add textural interest.

The lenth and curve of these calla ideally suited the largest vase- we based the cylinder with tai leaves a white hydrangea and another calla nestled in to draw the eye. Mirror covers the wall behind the bar creating the appearance of even more cylinders and a grouping was placed at each end of the bar

The tablecentres were inspired by the Ellen Degeneres show and as I'm not a regular viewer I had to go online to determine what that style enveloped. We had some beautiful green moss which we lined the low glass oval cylinders and pink ecuadorian roses in rows stood at attention interspersed with rose buds.

They're all tucked in and ready for bed and so am I!

Gorgeous Holiday Urns and Swags

2011-01-18T04:40:00.000-08:00

We had anothere series of extraordinary classes this holiday season. Each urn was as unique as it's designer and I am once again suprised and impressed!

You can't beat the smell of fresh pine, cedar and fir! Each urn was accented with magnolia, ilex berries, dogwood, curly willow and a variety of holiday greens.
With some reorganization of the back room we were able to host more guest designers comfortably this year and we'll definitely keep that in mind- maybe a floral design class in March would be fun!

We used the left over tips to create some lovely door knockers or swags with a few cones and some wonderful ribbons to choose from that each designer could personalize to their taste.

Make Your Own Designer Holiday Urn

2010-10-28T12:39:00.001-07:00

Please join us for one of three design classes we are offering
Wednesday November 24th 5:30pm -8
Saturday November 27th 2:30pm-5
Tuesday November 30th 5:30pm-8

OUTDOOR URN DESIGN CLASS
Create your own customized holiday urn with fresh designer foliage and unique accents! Even bring your pot (if you can lift it!)
Pine, fir cedar, magnolia, ilex and more
Cost is $75.00 per person and includes all materials, complimentary glass of wine, snacks and a lot of fun!

Class size is limited so call or email to reserve
613-966-5555
flowersbydustin@on.aibn.com

Katie

2010-10-25T19:22:00.001-07:00

Katie is the first bride I've done flowers for that I've known for most of my life. Our parents worked together for the federal government for many many years and despite their respective retirements a special relationship exists between our two families still today. So, not only is Katie gorgeous, she has a fabulous groom (also handsome)a wonderful family, she has great taste and I couldn't be happier to get to do this work for her!
We packed up the car and headed over to Fields on WestLake where the ceremony and reception would be taking place.

This amazing rural setting is ideal for what Katie had in mind for her flowers- she spent a lot of time with images she found from The Knot and sent me a few of her favourites. They all had what we decided was a 'hot busy mess' quality that incorporated oranges,yellow and blues and most importantly forget-me-nots which have a special significance to her and her family. Because her wedding was in August we had to use faux forget-me-nots, but I suspect it was difficult to notice to the average person. Dahlias,queen anne's lace, yarrow, santorini daisies, mountain ash berries, and blue globe thistles all provided texture and by tucking the sunflowers in low the petals furled inward giving their signature bold yellow petals the emphasis rather than the darker centres.

Her sister, and maid of honour, Sarah dressed in a soft flowing orange dress and we used a similar style of bouquet composed of primarily blues and yellow to contrast her gown but differ slightly from Katie's. The bouquet is based with blue hydrangea yellow gerbera, solid yellow sunflowers and blue globe thistles, yarrow and solidago peak out amongst them.

The flower girl dropped petals from a galvanized tin with pearl handle and floral accents on each side as she made her way down the aisle.

Two larger arrangements flanked both sides of the gazebo where they were married overlooking the water.

The centrepieces all neatly tucked in place were arranged in vintage mason jars that Maribeth (the bride's mom)collected.

Wait until you see the images from Marc Polidoro photography-AMAZING!

Artwalk 2010

2010-10-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

We were once again thrilled to have Sharon Bower join us in the shop this evening with her gorgeous and vibrant watercolours. It is completely fascinating to listen to Sharon describe the various techniques she uses to create her work. Her barn series particularly interested me... she brushes or rolls colours on to the page and allows the paints to run and move of their own will. After determining which orientation of the page she's going to use she then uses the coloured spaces as a backdrop for the barn that she paints on the top. That is only one of the many techniques she uses and it was really wonderful to see a small glimpse into the talent that is required to become proficient in this medium. Her colour palette emphasizes hues of greens, oranges, and reds and fits into our space beautifully.

We took the opportunity to display some bridal work we had had photographed by Bob House earlier that day and were pleased to give away all 4 bouquets to randomly drawn visitors we had throughout the evening.

Mike Malachowski and Sherri McKinney dropped in and were familiar with Sharon's work through a painting of hers in the family cottage and Mike was gracious enough to share with me this photograph he took that evening (we didn't plan on being arranged according to height!)

from left: Sherri Mckinney, Sharon Bower, Rebecca Burlington

Sarah

2010-09-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

Sarah came to me after a hair consultation from Studio 237 (thank you Darek). She presented me with the concept of her woodland fairy style wedding taking place at the Batawa Ski Hill Lodge. We designed her bouquet based on an image she had found in creams, whites,and browns woven with fabulous tendrily vines. Her attendents would be carrying lanterns so we could focus soley on recreating this soft and romantic bouquet.

The end result was breathtaking and I think due to its unusual elements was my favourite bouquet this season. We had to test several products to find an appropriate vine that would create the same look as the photo, but that would also hold up in the warm summer sunshine. We settled on bittersweet and it certainly captured the look and feel we were going for. Creamy lisianthus- with it's own tendrily buds, white bouvardia, phlox and soft velvety dusty miller played off the textural elements of the echinops, clematis whorls and blushing bride leucadendrons.

Please see the stunning photography below of her georgous wedding from Maryanne by Farrow Photography-contact information: manne.farrow@gmail.com

Thanks Kristen!

2010-06-17T06:22:00.001-07:00

Today we said goodbye to our special Co-Op Student Kristen Loveless...
we thoroughly enjoyed having her here with us and hope she has a fabulous
summer and will join us again in September...

Jameson obviously adored her...

The Torch Run

2010-02-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

With great anticipation we waited outside to cheer on the torch runner for our section of Front St. It was a chilly day but we bundled up and joined in!
Jameson and Debbi waved their flag...

Make Your Own and Take it Home 2

2010-02-02T07:51:00.001-08:00

During this class each student received enough ontrio pine and cedar, bc cedar, magnolia,fir, oregonia, ilex berries, curly willow and large pine cones to create an insert for their outdoor urn and a small door charm or swag.

Our second design class was a lovely evening with lots of laughs and some great finished projects by our students.
Each urn was composed of the same ingredients but took on the individuality of the designer and their own style of urn.

Florida weather affects floral greens

2010-01-21T11:59:00.000-08:00

The above photos were sent to us from one of our wholesale suppliers John G.Hofland.

Florida frigid weather affects more than our food supply, it is possible that we may not be able to obtain some our standard and exotic foliages such as aspidistra leaves , leather leaf and foxtail fern.

Grand Re-Opening and 25th Anniversary Studio 237

2009-12-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

This shot was taken from the loft space above and it almost appears as though the arrangement is floating....

Beautiful extra- large philodendron leaves provide a rich green contrast to the amazing white on white magnificance of the studio...

Darek asked that we incorporate some more natural elements in order to reflect the environmental position of Matrix/Biolage. The curly willow, pears and the cotton stems add some earthy tones and textures, but are still unique enough to work with Darek's overall vision.

Cymbidum orchids in green and white, safari leucadendron, green amanaranthus, white peony, green dendrobium orchids, sago palm, ornamental kale, magnolia, green trachylium, green fuji mums, potted phalaenopsis orchids, and variegated aspidistra compose the displays in the colour palette that is the first Matrix Biolage Salon in Canada!

It was an extroardinary privelege to be involved in this work for Darek, I was thrilled to gain a small glimpse into his overwhelming talent and his many tremendous accomplishments. The Belleville studio illustrates only a tiny fraction of what he is capable of and I think all will agree it is most definitely stunning!

The Santa Clause Parade in the Village

2009-11-16T15:58:00.000-08:00

'Scully' waits patiently (well somewhat patiently)

I generally take a horrible picture, but I thought this one was quite precious!

This evening was absolutely gorgeous for an evening parade!!! All those who attended were entertained by some fun floats, great music and of course... Santa (except Jameson of course who couldn't stay awake for the big guy)

3/50 Project

2009-10-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to this initiative through facebook of all things... what a phenomenal impact technological social media offers to our world today!

The concept is fairly simple... what 3 independant local businesses would you miss if they closed today? If 1/2 the population spent $50.00 monthly with a local business imagine the possible revenue that could be generated! Without question more dollars are put back into the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures as compared to those purchases made through a national chain.

It occurred to me that I may not be doing my part to really expect others to support this initiative, but thankfully after jotting down some notes it became apparent that it's easy to spend at least $50.00 in this community monthly,

here's some incite into our 3/50 spending in no particular order:

Miss Priss- bling and fashion accessories (199 Front St)
The Dressing Room- work wear (Rednersville Rd and Hwy 62 South)
Cafe E -chai latte- caffeinated beverage of choice (357 Front St)
The Empire Theatre- catch a movie or concert (www.theempiretheatre.com)
Four Seasons Sports- athletic gear for the men in my life (www.fourseasonssports.ca)
Jutta Shoe Boutique- shoes, enough said (221 Front St)
Bren's Bakeshop- afternoon tea (www.geocities.com/brensbakeshop)
L'Auberge de France- saturaday morning croissant, dinner with hubby (www.aubergedefrance.ca/index.html)
Belleville Farmer's Market- fruits and vegetables for home(www.quinte.on.ca/farmersmarket/index.html)
Studio 237 and Glo Day Spa- hair, aesthetics and inspiration (www.studio237.com)
Mindful Movements- yoga, bosu and pt (www.mindfulmovements.ca)
Cucina Freemans- vino (www.freemans.ca)
Gilmour's Meat Shop and Deli- the perfect striploin every time (5503 Hwy 62 South)

Belleville General Hospital Foundation's ~A Night at the Gin Joint~

2009-10-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

The Foundation committee presented us with a specific concept and a budget to suit their fabulous theme... we spent several harried days in the "penalty box" at the Sears Plant putting them together. When we outgrew the room we were working in we ended up designing in the plant pack/sort area!
The committee did a fabulous job and we were very pleased to play a small role in the decor of this event.
Here are a few shots of Susan and the prep work, the finished product on the tables and our costumes for the evening.

Art Walk September 2009

2009-09-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

We welcomed artist Sharon Bower into the shop this evening as we participated in our first ever Art Walk... Her vividly coloured floral watercolours were a pefect fit in our space and inspired us to create some designs of our own to display alongside them. Sharon did some preliminary sketches and colour work during the evening while interacting with the many visitors who stopped by to view her work.