I'm honored to be featured in the Fall issue of Celebrated Living magazine, which can be found in Premium Class on American Airlines and American Eagle. So, if you're flying American, be sure to check it out! Thank you Christiana for the lovely interview!
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I absolutely love this color scheme. It is so elegant and classy while incorporating the colors we think of when we hear Santa Barbara. Carrie's wedding took place at the 5 star hotel Bacara; with it's sprawling views and gorgeous architecture, this is the venue of choice for those that want a creme de la creme wedding (no, they didn't pay me to write that;) I booked this wedding through my friend Stacey of Stacey Lynn Design. The couple lives in Seattle, and we had never met until the day of the wedding! Through an extensive phone consultation and numerous emails, we were able to nail down this look. They had a lot of small details for their guests including this Cigar Bar. The guests danced the night away to a live band. We used mini green hydrangea, calla lilies, cymbidium orchids, and tulips mainly.
Brooklyn: Dumbo - Sunset Brooklyn: Prospect Park - Hailing Brooklyn: Park Slope 5th Ave Diner (a finer diner) Philly: 19 year old Carly, found photo. Bad hair dye, bad photo. Manhattan: Paradigm Agency - Current day Carly (sans makeup) Manhattan: The Met - Central Park - Dahli (amazing) The Met (Entrance by Donation) Short film by Baz Lurhman (Prada)
This is a rant. You've been warned.
You know, if something is bothering someone- something that you did or said, if it somehow offends them or if they are feeling embarrassed or bothered by it because they give a flying f*ck about others opinions, you know what I say? Screw them. Why do you need to feel bad about yourself more than you probably already do? So often we're told that something we said was wrong, or that we should be more polite (I call that a farce of character, an untruth, a facade of bullsh*t) or tame, or whatever it is that is just so offensive (I call it being yourself- your whole self, which includes, but is not limited to: sarcasm, vulgarity, sexual explicitness, etc) to whoever it is that is just so darn prude or delicate that they can't bare to be forced into reality. Honey, those Mad Men repressed days are over. Why sugar coat things? Why act like a completely different person at first? Why put up a guard? I mean, it would appear to be more psychotic to put on this appearance that we want to portray, or rather, are told that we should portray, only for others to learn what a sick, vulgar bastard you really are? I mean, really? That's what society prefers? No thank you. Obviously I've been so enraged in this moment that my fingers are faster than my synapses, and while my temper has cooled, the anger lingering within has not. If you don't like what I say, then you know what? I don't really care. I truly don't. I mean, I really, really don't care. Because as my dear friend Mo reminded me, Dr. Seuss says: Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. I also have the Shakespeare quote This above all to thine own self be true tattooed on my left wrist (if you were wondering what it said). Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else. Judy Garland summed it up with that one. I think that's why people say I have such a good brand, although none of it's intentional. I simply do what I want to do, and lead the way. I mean, why follow when you can lead, right? As you can tell, I have a real problem when someone tries to tell me how to act. I encourage you to stay true to yourself and if someone doesn't like that, well ya didn't need 'em in the first place. And if you do need them, and you tell them, sorry buddy ol' pal, but I ain't changing sh*t, this is who I am, take it or leave it, then good for you. Stand your ground. They will probably feel really bad about themselves and start being concerned with why they started criticizing you in the first place. One Year Ago
I was heading to Costa Rica, to escape the world and travel alone. It seemed like the last chance I'd get before things kicked up a notch- like I knew somehow what a busy year I had ahead. I was wanting an epiphany, the kind you read about. I had wanted to travel alone, just once, to prove that I could do it. And I did. My time there, traveling to two cities alone were exhilarating, full of adventure and at times lonely. I missed Alex. I felt like the end of Into The Wild. I had swallowed a raw turtle egg, went ziplining miles above the ground, and met a handful of interesting characters. I discovered a passion and talent for travel-writing. I learned that true love means finding a friend. Would you actually be good friends with your ex's? Probably not. I'd hang with Alex even if we weren't together, like that. I came back yearning to be back there. I wasn't ready for LA. I wasn't up to the challenge. And we say that time flies, which it does, but when reflecting on the past year since I boarded that plane to the Cloud Forest, I can honestly say that although it flew, it's been a momentous time. From then til now- I hired two interns at the end of June, Syretta and Kristine, who worked with me on weddings throughout the Fall. Syretta is now a freelancer for me and Kristine is a business partner at Flour LA. Sales doubled at Flour LA from 2010 to 2011. Alex and I moved to the Marina from his studio apartment. I think we both secretly miss living in a studio together, but for me, it's probably more nostalgic. We traveled well together in Costa Rica. Traveling together, alone, is a test for love. I finally got a literary agent for my book The Flower Chef in November. That spiraled a string of actions, and momentum for my personal brand. I began writing for the Huffington Post, after emailing Arianna and being persistent with their editors. I contributed to styled shoots for weddings. Last Spring, I had Alex film me a floral segment of me. Now I've been on CBS, Yahoo, and AOL. Although I still am working on more film clips. I wrote Dine and Design on the Fly, which I'll be selling through self-publishing this Spring. I got to be in my first gallery show at Royal-T. I had originally contacted them when I returned from Costa Rica in June 2011 . 11 months later I got to do it . I started doing free floral classes at Whole Foods when I returned in June 2011. Now I teach paid ones at Surfas. With fellow vendors, I got to do florals for a shoot that will be published this Summer. TBD: Opening my first Flour LA pop-up shop And so what will next year bring? We don't know what lies ahead, but we have faith in ourselves and our abilities to do what we do. When you believe in yourself, and have laser-tight focus on what you want to accomplish, you can and will. Once you really get into the wedding industry, it becomes small. Like every industry, once you start getting closer to the top, the narrower it becomes, the same people you see.
If you're a wedding aficionado (I'm not), than you probably browse daily on the same wedding blogs and see the SAME VENDORS over and over again. Those wedding blogs dictate what's in, just like in every other industry. It's always best to be the one creating the trends, right? I'll proudly admit that's why I wrote the 2012 wedding trends article for Huffington Post. But it gets annoying. Especially when people really give a shit about keeping up with the Jonses. Nothing irritates me more than other vendors that get so caught up in keeping up with the latest. It's about CREATING YOUR OWN work. That's why this past weekend at Joshua Tree was so refreshing- it was so glamorous, hyper glam, highly stylized - the antithesis of what one normally sees when they think of the word wedding. I hear so many other vendors bitch about wanting to start the new trends or worried that so and so's blog won't like their shoot, well ya know what? Who cares! I say, do work that you are proud of, create things that you love and mostly BE ORIGINAL. As Judy Garland said, Never be a second-rate version of someone else. Love that. And that's why I'd rather be an art snob than a wedding one. I'm proudly venturing into the world of art. I'd like someone to look at my floral donut and pizza that will be at this gallery opening next week, and pause, with their finger pressed upon their pursed lip, and say, I really know what she's going for with this piece... Come join me next week when I officially become an art snob!! Ah, I'm going to bask in all of the pretentious glory that I so love. Roses in mug. Flowers in booze. Flowers + Donuts = One Person's Wish
+ Coffee & Wine = My Dream Come True. Today I met with a very cool gal, Melanie, who's a real-estate attorney. We were talking about creative things such as writing, and floral design. I was talking about trying not to take things so personally when it comes to design, and she said, well, it really is about taste. Just personal taste. Designs may be good, however it just may not be someone's personal taste. That's why there's 31 flavors. If I see someone order pistachio ice-cream, I think eww gross and they may look at my rocky road and think, geez, why is she ordering that. That's why there's so many variations.
Such a great way to put it. She's going to be a mom soon, so if she can explain things in ice-cream terms, I think she's gonna be a rockin ma. We were mostly talking about creative writing and when your in a crit group and they just rip you to shreds and say, Wow she was really representing this or that, or, Why would she write a character like that. They always begin these groups with, Now don't take this personally... In other words, you may suck, but don't take it personally. Of course, you may be the next Stephan King, and in that case, relish in the genius that is you. I digress. There are 31 flavors of ice-cream, and you may be able to do a form of art in 31 ways, but I say, just do the flavor that you like best. After the AOL shoot yesterday, more on that later, I received a call from a journalism student at Cal State Northridge, who wanted to interview me for a paper. Not the school paper, but a class paper. I was flattered:) She was raving about my designs, and when she asked how I come up with them, I said, Errr, ummm, I'm not really sure? Yeah, that's just what she wants to hear. I told her I'm a self-taught florist, so that's probably why I do things a bit differently. I don't know. There's no real point to this story, except that I was flattered, and it was sweet. I asked her to send me a copy when she's done, and she said only if she gets a good grade:)
Mostly we chatted about start-ups, and I heavily drilled that you should NOT spend a lot of money. Avoid doing so at all costs. See, I had no money when I started, so I learned how to do things like create a website, and things of that nature, that most people will pay for. My friends that did have money when they started spent it on things such as PR, advertising and stuff that if you really want to, you can do on your own. Now convenience will override money most of the time, so I get that- I just don't necessarily agree with it. The real point of this story, is that I'm creating a new category called Editorial. Why? Because I have a lot of shit to say that may not pertain to flowers. |
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