Open Studio Session at Local Color Flowers

By Carling A. W. Elder
Learning a new skill can be intimidating, time-consuming, and expensive – all things we don’t want floral design to be! We love local flowers (all the flowers at Local Color Flowers are sourced within 100 miles of Baltimore), and want everyone to have access to them! A few months ago, as our team at LoCoFlo was brainstorming about new ways to give more people more access to local flowers, and we came up with the idea of Open Studio.

The concept/dream/ end goal of Open Studio is to facilitate a space where people can come together and experiment with floral design at their own pace. As a supplement to our formal design classes, which are perfect for the beginner student , Open Studio is aimed at the intermediate floral designer who wants to hone their skills and practice ‘til they make perfect.

We will instruct you individually as needed. It’s kind of like a yoga class where you can either ask the teacher to adjust your poses, or tell them to keep their hands off! Chose out your favorite flowers from our selection of locally grown flowers and your favorite vase from our collection. Make a floral design you actually like (instead of buying a premade one from the grocery store) and take it home or give as a gift!

We know you like to kick back at the end of a long day. We do too! However, we can only go to the bar so many nights a week… That’s why it’s great to try an activity like Open Studio! It’s laidback, educational and FUN! Bring a friend, bring vino, bring snacks – we’ll pump up the jams and maybe even show you a few dance moves. Since there’s no formal instruction at Open Studio, it’s the perfect place to chat, chill, or just zone out while designing. It’s a happy place. You make it what you want.

Real Weddings: Nicole and Billy

Have you ever had this experience? You meet a client for the first time, totally hit it off, hug at the end of the meeting and wish you could be instant friends with them? That’s exactly how I felt when I met Nicole. Right off the bat, she let me know that her wedding was just about 6 weeks away and she had planned not to have flowers because she couldn’t come to terms with buying traditionally grown flowers that have been shipped from thousands of miles away. When our mutual friend Irene told her about LoCoFlo, she was so excited to find out that local flowers were an option in March.

Nicole was marrying a sweet, Irishman on St. Patrick’s day weekend. Her colors were green and white – with lots of texture and interest thrown in.

The bride was stunning!  (I’m a little teary just looking at the pictures!)

Her bouquet was filled with locally grown tulips, ranunculus, stock, early hellebores, paper whites, boxwood, mini pussy willow and succulents. It looked awesome and smelled glorious!

The boutonnieres were cool with little succulents, ranunculus buds, boxwood and mini-pussy willow.

    

The wedding took place in the beautiful Vollmer Center at Cylburn Arboretum. It was a beautiful spot for this late winter wedding.

     

Thanks to our growers-who tirelessly grown in the winter-despite the struggle with weather and heating greenhouse! Special thanks to Farmhouse Flowers, Lynn Vale Studios, Seaberry Farm and Plant Masters.

We’re so grateful to wonderful photographers like Heidi Roland Photography who make our work look great! Check her out on facebook too!! To see more photos from Nicole and Billy’s wedding, you can check out our flickr site.

Congratulations to Nicole and Billy! Wishing them much love and happiness in the future!

Real Weddings: Rachel and Daniel

Our first wedding of the season took place on March 18th at the Howard County Conservancy. Who would have guessed that Rachel and Daniel would have such an unseasonable warm, beautiful day on which to get married?

The bride and her bridesmaids carried bouquets filled with tulips, ranunculus and snapdragons. Green splashes of eucalyptus and rosemary added to the natural, rustic feel.

The barn at the Conservancy was beautiful for the couple’s ceremony.

For the reception, the couple collected an eclectic mix of milk bottles and mason jars and we filled them with Spring blooms including tulips, ranunculus, daffodils, iris and forsythia.

Thanks to Farmhouse Flowers and Plantmasters for these early season beauties!

Special thanks to Sarah Culver Photography for these beautiful photos! To see more from photos Rachel and Daniel’s Wedding check out our flickr site and Sarah Culver’s blog.

Congratulations to Rachel and Daniel! Thank you for your commitment to buying local for your wedding. Wishing you much joy and happiness in the future!