Nancy @ Nancy Liu Chin Designs, San FranciscoVendor: FloristWebsite: Nancy Liu Chin DesignsAbout Me: A San Francisco native, Nancy graduated from the University of California - Berkeley's Haas Business School where she studied finance and marketing. Beyond running her floral studio, Nancy is a huge fan of Top Chef, loves to travel to exotic locations, is an avid reader of contemporary fiction and considers herself on Team Edward (Twilight fan!), entertains friends in her loft style home in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, and can be found at SF Giant's home games. Nancy and her husband, Kevin are a dynamic pair and can be frequently seen walking their white Bichon Frisee, Chin Chin around the city and lounging at cafes sipping Italian sodas.
A couple days ago, I started to answer Lisa’s question on the cost of peonies, writing about Perceived Value and Pricing.
Today’s issue centers around why local grocery stores and warehouse stores are able to carry flowers at or below wholesale. For the answer, I have consulted the wonderfully talented, Amy Marella of Hidden Garden, for insight. There are several issues going on:
1) Bulk Quantities - Flushing
It is not uncommon to find Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco with a wide assortment of flowers. These wholesale warehouses and grocery chains buy their flowers in “bulk” and/or buy flowers that are “flushing” from the growers. I had never heard this term before Amy used it. Amy was kind enough to help define the term. “Flushing” occurs when flowers are coming in great abundance and the grower is willing to get rid of them quickly/cheaply because they have a very large quantity.
Amy states, “this is not to say that the flowers at these locations might not be perfect, but they are not hand picked by the buyers”. Given that - each week these outlets have differing stock. There is never a guarantee of what you might see at your local grocery store like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Safeway. These large corporations have the buying power to purchase in “bulk” therefore offering consumers much lower prices than a local floral shop who doesn’t buy in the quantities that a large, national grocery store could.
Kristin Brancaleone, Rancho Santa Margarita, CAVendor: Floral DesignerWebsite: The Treasured PetalAbout Me: The Treasured Petal is a reflection of my love for scrumptious flowers, yummy textures, colors, ribbons, and all the other girly splurges that being a florist allows me to enjoy on a daily basis. Although I don't discriminate when it comes to flowers, my two favorites would have to be cattleya orchids and gloriosa lilies, which I carried in a ginormous bouquet on my wedding day. When I'm not crafting wedding florals and consulting with brides, I am usually at the dog park with my dogs Pesto and Basil, cooking healthy vegan dinners, watching Seinfeld with my husband Joe, at Bible study, or scouring craigslist for antique furniture to fill up my new house. I am also kind of a home-body and really love sipping tea in my pajamas while working my way down my google reader blog list!
Kristin Brancaleone, Rancho Santa Margarita, CAVendor: Floral DesignerWebsite: The Treasured PetalAbout Me: The Treasured Petal is a reflection of my love for scrumptious flowers, yummy textures, colors, ribbons, and all the other girly splurges that being a florist allows me to enjoy on a daily basis. Although I don't discriminate when it comes to flowers, my two favorites would have to be cattleya orchids and gloriosa lilies, which I carried in a ginormous bouquet on my wedding day. When I'm not crafting wedding florals and consulting with brides, I am usually at the dog park with my dogs Pesto and Basil, cooking healthy vegan dinners, watching Seinfeld with my husband Joe, at Bible study, or scouring craigslist for antique furniture to fill up my new house. I am also kind of a home-body and really love sipping tea in my pajamas while working my way down my google reader blog list!
Nancy @ Nancy Liu Chin Designs, San FranciscoVendor: FloristWebsite: Nancy Liu Chin DesignsAbout Me: A San Francisco native, Nancy graduated from the University of California - Berkeley's Haas Business School where she studied finance and marketing. Beyond running her floral studio, Nancy is a huge fan of Top Chef, loves to travel to exotic locations, is an avid reader of contemporary fiction and considers herself on Team Edward (Twilight fan!), entertains friends in her loft style home in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, and can be found at SF Giant's home games. Nancy and her husband, Kevin are a dynamic pair and can be frequently seen walking their white Bichon Frisee, Chin Chin around the city and lounging at cafes sipping Italian sodas.
…Not to be snarky, but can you please explain why my florist charged $250 for a bouquet of peonies when I found an eight stem bunch at Whole Foods that very same week for $12.99?
Nancy @ Nancy Liu Chin Designs, San FranciscoVendor: FloristWebsite: Nancy Liu Chin DesignsAbout Me: A San Francisco native, Nancy graduated from the University of California - Berkeley's Haas Business School where she studied finance and marketing. Beyond running her floral studio, Nancy is a huge fan of Top Chef, loves to travel to exotic locations, is an avid reader of contemporary fiction and considers herself on Team Edward (Twilight fan!), entertains friends in her loft style home in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, and can be found at SF Giant's home games. Nancy and her husband, Kevin are a dynamic pair and can be frequently seen walking their white Bichon Frisee, Chin Chin around the city and lounging at cafes sipping Italian sodas.
This was indeed one of the more memorable weddings of 2009. I love love love doing modern classic weddings and I love very sleek and uber chic venues. And sleek to some might be boring, but for me, if done well in the right venue (and the St. Regis is such a venue ), it’s very polished.
If anyone knew how I live, they would know that my personal design style is very minimal, sleek, contemporary, and totally Design within Reach, so I love it when I get to do simple yet meaningful designs. This “Orchid, Bamboo, & Stone” motif wedding for Cheralin and James this past June was a wonderful experience and I hope you enjoy the images.
Kirsty Edwards the gifted photographer for this wedding did these amazing boards. She is also incredibly nice. You can see even more images on her blog at Shoot Retouch. Read more…
Kristin Brancaleone, Rancho Santa Margarita, CAVendor: Floral DesignerWebsite: The Treasured PetalAbout Me: The Treasured Petal is a reflection of my love for scrumptious flowers, yummy textures, colors, ribbons, and all the other girly splurges that being a florist allows me to enjoy on a daily basis. Although I don't discriminate when it comes to flowers, my two favorites would have to be cattleya orchids and gloriosa lilies, which I carried in a ginormous bouquet on my wedding day. When I'm not crafting wedding florals and consulting with brides, I am usually at the dog park with my dogs Pesto and Basil, cooking healthy vegan dinners, watching Seinfeld with my husband Joe, at Bible study, or scouring craigslist for antique furniture to fill up my new house. I am also kind of a home-body and really love sipping tea in my pajamas while working my way down my google reader blog list!
I’m still invigorated by last weekend’s wedding. After we had all the decor set in place, I actually had time to walk around the site and just gush at the simple beauty of it all. Our couple, Meg and Shawn, longed for a laid back country feel with tons of mason jar candles, paisley fabric, and simple florals. I got to use buckets and buckets of pure white snowberries. They just spilled from the vases and were as plump as grapes. Love them so much!
I hope to share the professional pictures soon, but Joe was able to snap pics of a few details. By the way, he hung all those mason jars from the magnolia tree. It was his project, and he took it very seriously! Thank you Joe!
Princess Lasertron, OmahaVendor: Flowers made of felt, vintage buttons and other ephemeraWebsite: Princess LasertronAbout Me: I started Princess Lasertron in 2005 creating custom bouquets out of
felt, vintage buttons, and other ephemera. I give each bride an
heirloom-quality piece that will bring a personal dimension to their
wedding and everyday lives. What I love most is meeting and
collaborating with unique women whose weddings are a true
representation of them and their partners. As for me...I live
nocturnally, I'm an INTP, I play Dungeons and Dragons every other
Saturday, and I'm a perpetual student.
A few days ago, a cake decorator from Kansas e-mailed me and said that she had been asked to design a cake for a photoshoot in a national bridal magazine, and when looking for inspiration on Flickr, she came across a bouquet I made for Jessica, one of my past brides:
Nancy @ Nancy Liu Chin Designs, San FranciscoVendor: FloristWebsite: Nancy Liu Chin DesignsAbout Me: A San Francisco native, Nancy graduated from the University of California - Berkeley's Haas Business School where she studied finance and marketing. Beyond running her floral studio, Nancy is a huge fan of Top Chef, loves to travel to exotic locations, is an avid reader of contemporary fiction and considers herself on Team Edward (Twilight fan!), entertains friends in her loft style home in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, and can be found at SF Giant's home games. Nancy and her husband, Kevin are a dynamic pair and can be frequently seen walking their white Bichon Frisee, Chin Chin around the city and lounging at cafes sipping Italian sodas.
October is a very interesting month. Many of the summer flowers are still in the market but since it is the end of their nature blooming schedule, they are starting to not look as good. Dahlias, garden roses, and sweet peas might be at the end.
Kristy Rice, PennsylvaniaVendor: Invitation ArtistWebsite: Momental DesignsAbout Me: I remember drawing by flashlight way past my bedtime as a
young child – I never stopped. For me creating art is not an act but a
lifestyle. I am passionate about creating moments on paper, my
home, loving my hubby and believe you can never have too
many fantastic handbags.
“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.” - Linus Pauling
And so it seems I am constantly thinking of new ideas and “getting myself into trouble” as my Mom likes to say. After several weeks of creating pieces for various collaborations with some of the finest vendors in the industry I got to thinking… collaborations are one of my favorite aspects of this business. The power behind a creative team coming together to vision an idea can be, for lack of a better word, magical. Stunning tabletops like those that you may have seen in the most recent issue of Bride and Bloom from Carissa at JL Designs and Karen of Karen Tran Florals are the magic I speak of.
So I decided to head up my very own tabletop shoot. Yes, I know what you may be thinking… a tabletop designed by a stationery artist? Well yes, design of all kind has always been a passion. My home has been a veritable sketchbook for the many interior design concepts I experimented with over the years. Take a look at what things look like around the Holidays and you will see I do love to dabble in creating warm and inviting environments. So I thought, why not combine my passion for paper details with my love of tabletop design?
Later this month several of my region’s finest wedding professionals will gather to execute two tabletop shoots. The first of which is Watercolor Harvest. The details will have an artistic flair - think art books as cake stand while the color palette is inspired by my beloved collection of pink milk glass. Stay tuned next week when I share a sneak peek into the inspiration behind the second shoot and introduce my partners in crime.
Princess Lasertron, OmahaVendor: Flowers made of felt, vintage buttons and other ephemeraWebsite: Princess LasertronAbout Me: I started Princess Lasertron in 2005 creating custom bouquets out of
felt, vintage buttons, and other ephemera. I give each bride an
heirloom-quality piece that will bring a personal dimension to their
wedding and everyday lives. What I love most is meeting and
collaborating with unique women whose weddings are a true
representation of them and their partners. As for me...I live
nocturnally, I'm an INTP, I play Dungeons and Dragons every other
Saturday, and I'm a perpetual student.
Ashley Nicole and her husband Bryan got married yesterday in Wisconsin… I’m anxiously awaiting photos from the professional photographer couple, but until then I can show you guys some shots of the flowers I made for them!
Each of the four bridesmaids had a different colored bouquet…
Thank you Joe!
