A peek inside the Botanique Studio

A few months ago, back when the ranunculas, lilacs and tulips were flowering like crazy, my friend and amazing photographer Lora Grady stopped by the studio and took some photos. I am excited to share them with you! Welcome to my little, flower-filled world!

After taking some photos in the studio, we headed outside. Though the garden was just getting going for the year, I harvested hellebore, narcissus and camellia, foraged some lilac and huckleberry from our back alley, and went to work making an arrangement outside. I LOVE making arrangements that come solely from the garden/from foraged ingredients, and this one was no exception!

Lora and I had such a good time! If you're not already familiar with her work, click here to go check out her website. As you can see, she is an amazing photographer!

I hope you enjoyed this little visual tour of the studio and the making of a 100% local, seasonal arrangement.

AND....... just to keep it real, below are a few process shots of what it took to create this beautiful studio, starting with what the building looked like when we we bought our house, BEFORE we did a massive renovation. It has been a lot of work, but here is the living proof that hard work really pays off.

BEFORE: No windows, tilting sideways, and filled with all manner of totally nasty junk.

My dad came all the way out from Massachusetts to help us renovate the studio! What can I say, he's a great dad. Below, you can see him and Eli (my husband) putting on the new roof:

All framed out, and proud dad on ladder after putting on the exterior trim:

Drywall, windows, doors and paint, yippee!

Well, ok, I guess we had a little fun while working too....

Awesome light fixtures, sink and cabinet all found at Second Use (go there!)

And then came the shelving, organizing, etc! Suffice to say, it was a lot of work, but well worth it. And then there's the garden, which is a whole other story, and will have to be saved for another day!

Happy Weekend!

Busy times and lots of news!

There has been a long lapse in blogging around here..... not for lack of things to share, just for lack of time to share it! We've got a few great posts coming down the pike, so hang in there for some beauty coming your way soon! In the meantime, a bit of news and one beautiful image. First, the news:

We have started up a CSA Subscription for a weekly bouquet of flowers, all grown in the Botanique Cutting Garden in Seattle! You can read about it and sign up at this link: http://botanique.bigcartel.com/

Our workshop series is off to an awesome start! We had a lovely group for our Seasonal Centerpiece Design Workshop on May 9th, and the Centerpiece Design Workshop on June 28th is now sold out! We are working on some workshops for the fall (including one focused on the infamous cafe au lait dahlia!). If you would like to be notified of future workshops, send Kelly and email at emailbotanique{at}gmail{dot}com.

At long last, we joined Instagram! You can follow us there for all the latest at @botanique_flowers_seattle

And now for the image, also connected to our last bit of news: Our Flower Crown Workshop is coming up on June 18th, and there are a few spaces left! If you have been wanting to learn how to construct beautiful flower crowns, this is the workshop for you. We will be covering simple and asymmetrical styles, mechanics and finishing touches, with ample time for practice and crown making. All student work will be professionally photographed by Jenna Bechtholt Photography, who is the mastermind behind the gorgeous image below. This photo was taken a few months back, and is of a flower crown we created with lily of the valley and rosemary- it smelled amazing! You can register for the workshop at this link: http://botanique.bigcartel.com/

Hope the summer is treating you well!