Misc

What most of my clients learn when they first schedule a consultation with me is that I work from a “home-based studio”. When I first started The Flower Lab, I was worried that working out of the home, as opposed to out of an actual brick and mortar shop, would turn off many customers. But what I have come to learn is that having this type of small, homey business has led me to meet not only wonderful new people, but new friends as well. Perhaps this “business model”, if you can call it one, attracts a certain type of client. Perhaps someone who would like a more personal approach, like working with a cousin, an older sister, or a next door neighbor. Whatever the reasons, I do enjoy welcoming my brides into my home and sharing a little of myself as they share with me their thoughts and personalities reflected by the flowers and designs they want for their wedding.

Hubby and I live in a 3-unit, 3-story building in Santa Monica. Our home has a mostly open floor plan and I do all my floral work on a 116″ long project (sometimes special occasion dining) table in the living room area. The flower cooler tries to hide in the dining area next to the kitchen. Consultations are held on blue couches in the main formal living room area and if hubby is around, he may hide in the TV room area or proudly detail his convoluted computer-tv-surround sound set-up to any willing fiances.

Here are some pictures of a particularly busy production period – preparing for two big weddings. Tons and tons of flowers, but everything fit just fine!

My work table – just recently covered with an oil cloth table cloth I made, but needs to be improved for a better fit.

Blue couches peeking behind hydrangea and roses. My desk in the corner.

Work table from a different angle, with the TV room area in the background

The flower cooler and lovely prepped glass vases for table centerpieces.

It’s winter time and the low season for The Flower Lab. I’ve been taking it easy with some weekly corporate accounts, a random wedding here and there, as well as enjoying the new spring selections at the LA Flower District. Consultations are steady with brides who have weddings in the upcoming 2009 summer and fall wedding seasons, and I just submitted our CA state business taxes!

A couple of interesting developments to note: I was recently invited to be a featured blogger on Weddingaces, a newly launched blogsite by Weddingwire! Weddingaces is:

“… a new online community designed to provide brides with firsthand knowledge and experiences of planning a wedding from none other than the experts themselves! Let our diverse group of expert wedding vendors guide you through this exciting, but often stressful, wedding planning experience.

Follow our Aces as they share tips, tools, and tricks of the trade for all aspects of planning a wedding. Learn from their mistakes and take advantage of their knowledge of the inner workings of the wedding vendor world!”

As you can imagine, I am very honored and excited to be a part of this new endeavor by Weddingwire! Please check out my first post here which is just a little introduction of me.

The other bit of good news I wanted to share is The Flower Lab was recently chosen to receive a 2009 Bride’s Choice Award from Weddingwire! Before we toot our own horn too much, I must disclose there were 23 florists recognized in the Flowers & Decor category – third largest category after Photography and Wedding Planning – but we are extremely happy and honored to have this special recognition! A very special THANK YOU to all our recent newlyweds who put in a good word for us as well as Weddingwire!!

The Flower Lab recently had the honor to help sponsor the first annual Asian Bridal Fair at the San Gabriel Hilton in November, 2008. We had the great opportunity to work with Wildflower Linen to present gorgeous tables and floral-linen dresses in the ballroom foyer. We also helped with the florals of Bella Destinee’s booth by presenting a garden birdcage reception centerpiece with matching peony and rose bouquet. It was a great first Asian Bridal Fair with tons of delicious food, fashion, and of course floral decor! Check out some of the flowers we made for the show and our booth:

We’re having a booth at the upcoming Great Bridal Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center on Sunday, November 2, 2008!

For 2 free tickets to the show and to say HI, just use the special promo code “FLFT” when you order tickets online HERE.

Enter our booth sweepstakes for a chance to win a free bridal bouquet!

Precise Plans and The Flower Lab recently shared a booth at the Marriage Fair at this year’s LA/Valley Pride Festival in Studio City, Los Angeles.

Here are some images from our booth! Marsha brought some cute escort cards, menus, table numbers, programs and ideas for wedding favors. Flowers were by yours truly! The reception table centerpiece featured a landscape design with green molucella, white anthuriums, green fuji mums, white china mums, chocolate cosmos, and green fuzzy balls – which are actually dianthus, a cousin of the humble carnation!

Welcome to the official blog of The Flower Lab!  The Flower Lab is a small floral design studio started by an ex-lab rat who traded in her pipets and microfuge tubes for Oasis foam and early morning visits to the downtown flower market.  We are based in lovely Santa Monica, where the 10 freeway ends and the locals ride about on beach cruisers while chatting away on their iPhones.    

The Flower Lab blog will cover all things flower related in the LA area and somewhat around the nation as well, with special emphasis on wedding flowers, flower and design trends, and building a floral business from the ground up.  We hope you find it enjoyable and educational.  Do come back again and again!