Weddingbee PRO

You guys had such good questions for me! So many of them would take an entire post to answer, but I want to go through some of my favorite short ones.

Q: How long does it usually take you to create a bouquet?
A: Each bouquet takes about 40 hours from start to finish. Managing about sixteen brides per month, most of whom have more than one bouquet or are outfitting their entire bridal party, takes more time than there is in a day…which is where my amazing employee Hollie comes in.

My husband also helps me by cutting out flower shapes, doing random sewing when I am in a pinch, and my mom picks up supplies for me. So they take a lot of time, but I also have a lot of help.

Q: Do you find it difficult to balance all your emails/orders/new project ideas? (from Kelly)
A: Yes. I have so many ideas that just haven't made it out of my head yet because my first responsibility is to fulfill my bridal orders, and the new projects have to come last. Sometimes it is frustrating because I feel like I have to produce produce produce as fast as I can to get my idea out before someone else does. And I admit it–It's hard to see something really cool and original on Etsy and think, “dang, I was going to do that.”

I'll share some of the new projects I have coming up though. Website redesign. New storefront. I'll have the boutonniere and corsage kits of course. And a line of dresses -wait until you see the sketches!

Q: What provided you with the initial inspiration/idea to make felt flower bouquets? (from Lisa)
A: My wedding, I suppose. I started Princess Lasertron in early 2005 when I was in college. In the beginning I made brooches and barrettes out of felt and buttons and paper art, but nothing flew off the shelves quite like the button crafts.

In 2007 something happened that changed my life more than I would realize—I asked my boyfriend to marry me. As we began planning our wedding, I explored lots of wonderful flower options but ultimately (and typically) decided to make my bouquet myself. Taking inspiration from the hundreds of felt flower brooches and hairpieces I had sold, I re-engineered the felt flowers to arrange them in a bouquet. I liked the flowers I was making as pins and barrettes, and I visualized them clustered together as a bouquet.

Q: Is your bouquet the coolest one you've ever made? (from Laura)
A: Ummmm, no way. Want to see it?

I love it, but my process is very different now, and the pieces are much cleaner. Look at those messy stitches…yikes. I wouldn't sell a piece like that today.

Q: Do you know your blood type? (from Yin)
A: A negative!!

Q: What inspires you? (from everybody)
A: I gather most of my inspiration from fashion. I love Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford. I love me some Betsey. I read the magazines and follow designers. I believe that the bouquets and accessories I create are as much fashion as they are art, and in the future I plan to integrate garments more into the Princess Lasertron brand, focusing on simple foundations and heavy embellishment.

Q: Do you ever have any hand pain from making so many bouquets? If so, how do you cope? (from Mary B)
A: I do have pretty bad hand pain, especially in the fleshy part under my thumb. I can only sew about 8 stems at a time before I need to stop. I do wear Handeze Theraputic Gloves when I work which helps a lot. The tips of my fingers are totally torn up…I don't like wearing thimbles because I can't feel through them, so I just cover them with tiny square pieces of bandaids. I've given up on having a nice manicure.

Q: Because I have an awesome mom - as I realize you do as well…What do you do to show her how much you appreciate her? (from Sandy)
A: All of my success and happiness is because I have a wonderful mother. I can't ever show her enough appreciation, but she never asks for any credit. My mother is an extremely creative person who opened me up to dozens of techniques and always encouraged me to try new things with different materials. To show her I appreciate her, I put my dishes in the dishwasher when I go visit.

Q: How do you and Professor Lasertron handle your different sleeping hours and schedules and things? (from Christine)
A: He works from 8-5, and I work from about 2pm to 9am. When he wakes up, we spend a little time together, and when he gets home I am awake. I just sleep while he's at work and work while he's asleep.

Q: What was the highlight of your day today? (from Krista)

A: Today I went up the street and got a waffle cone of homemade Heath Bar ice cream and walked down the street peeking into all of the shops. I almost got an impulse haircut. I stopped by the new restaurant my cousins are opening. I absolutely love my neighborhood and it's just the greatest place to spend an afternoon. That was my break today.

photo by Mightymytty