FLOWER SHOP CHRONICLES
Check us out at Bouquets to Art THIS WEEKEND!
We're in the top 10 of Best Wedding Florists in the Bay Area!
Celebrate Pride with The Rainbow
It was the happiest of Mother's Days
Come and See us at the deYoung!
am the new kid participating the in 40th Bouquets to Art exhibition at the de Young Museum this weekend. It's big honor for be invited to contribute a floral design alongside so many creative and talented floristry veterans. Some have been at this for 30 or 40 years! It has also been very humbling. The piece of art I was assigned--Ruins of the Roman Theater at Taormina, Sicily 1889 William Stanley Haseltine-- was not my top choice. It wasn't even on my list of the eight favorites they asked us for. It's a beautiful and epic piece of art but to create a floral installation inspired by a crumbling building in colors that aren't easy to come by added an extra challenge. But what inspired me was the beauty found in the decay. In the end I'm really glad I got this piece. I love the shape of the structure we made, and the flowers we snagged at the flower mart on the way to the museum in the perfect shades of cerulean and terra-cotta. And when the delicate blue delphinium wilted a little, I don't think it didn't detracted too much from the installation based on beautiful ruins.
Here are the top 5 things that surprised me about doing Bouquets to Art:
1.) I needed to refresh the flowers every. single. day. Maybe it was because the installation was positioned in indirect sunlight during a heatwave, or maybe it was because I picked some pretty delicate flowers, but I needed to come every day to pluck out the sad stuff and add a fresh layer of new stuff. The blue delphinium was particularly fussy. On the upside, after every refresh, the installation changed a little for the better--it was fuller, fresher and more polished with each afternoon visit.
2.) Florists are also performance artists. We were given a tight one-hour window to refresh the flowers during open hours. At 4:30 I would haul fresh blooms, materials like wire and water tubes, a bottle of water and a bag for trash into the museum. While pruning dead buds and hiding my mechanics with greens and moss, I was also answering questions from museum goers like: "Did you dye your flowers?" (No.) Or, "How do you find the right flowers?" (You don't find the flowers, the flowers find you.) And, "What do you call THAT flower or THIS flower?" (Common answers were anthurium and star of Bethlehem.) Once I got used to this dynamic of working with blooms while talking with curious patrons and smiling for the camera it became really enjoyable. That is until strict museum aides dolled out five-minute countdowns.
3.) Everybody at the museum was happy and present. Seriously. When I walked in, I was not only carrying a load of flowers, I was also carrying the weight of all the things on my to-do list. But once I was focused on my piece, the patrons and museum workers helped me to realize that the only thing that mattered was what was happening in the moment and how lucky we are to get to have this amazing experience.
4.) It's the kind of thing that appeals to almost everyone. You don't have to be an art connoisseur or flower snob to appreciate Bouquets to Art. Friends from all different corners of my life: the ones with kids, members of my beloved South End Rowing Club and neighbors from Potrero Hill showed up by the dozens to appreciate this unique experience.
5.) It bonds florists together. We are well aware if how special this opportunity is. And to pull it off takes hard work, commitment and a certain level of experience. While cramming into the elevator together, picking microscopic debris off the floor and putting finishing touches on our masterpieces, we were giving each other high fives and the validation we deserve. After all, when you've made it to the de Young, you've made it!
A million thank yours to: Pieter for building the structure, Jen, Joy and Marissa for refreshing gracefully under pressure, the ladies of Bell and Trunk who inspire me every day with their creativity, and all the friends and family who showed up to the museum and expressed their sincere appreciation.
We made it to the TOP 10 of Bay Area Wedding Florists
Not every wedding we do goes viral. But the wedding we did for Aminah and Kenny Foster back in November reached far and wide across social media channels and in various wedding publications like Wedding Rule. The style was sleek Old Hollywood glam in a refreshing palette of black, white and various shades of green. The bride, my daughter's friend since they were babies, radiated beauty inside and out (and I mean that objectively!) We are deeply grateful to be recognized by WR as one of the Bay Area's top 10 florists. It feels good to be recognized along with other amazing florists. And congratulations once again to Aminah and Kenny!
June is PRIDE Month!
In honor of Pride month we are featuring a LIMITED EDITON floral arrangement that is sure to make a statement. Move over “The Bohemian”, “The Garden Inspired “ and “The Sweetheart” and make room for Bell and Trunk’s loud and proud love child, “The Rainbow”. Color runs riot in this bouquet of Red, Orange, Yellow, Purple, Blue, Green and everything in between. As a LGBTQIA+-owned business it only feels natural to express our pride and gratitude through colorful blooms. This selection is perfect for that special drag queen, unicorn, dyke, butch, fairy, fag hag bear, twink or ally in your life.
Thank you for another wonderful Mother's Day
Mother's Day has become our favorite holiday at Bell and Trunk. Peonies and all the other favorites are in season, the weather is gorgeous and moms are pampered and happy. This makes our job such a pleasure. This year we had a seasoned team of Bell and Trunk pros like Jen, Molly, Sophie, Audrey and Davo commanding the ship along with talented newcomers like Marissa, Cynthia and Joy infusing us with their positive energy. We even managed to bring back old school B&T floral designer, Francesca, who got her start at Bell and Trunk and has since travelled the world doing New York fashion shows and major floral installations and events for some of the biggest names in the floral business. Everything was smooth sailing and we had a ton of fun bopping along to the Grease and Dirty Dancing soundtracks while producing a few hundred bouquets and floral arrangements for all the deserving moms.
Extra big thank you to the Lehrer Family--Pieter, Heidi and Kristen-- for dedicating their time on a busy week to processing the flowers and keeping us sane, caffeinated and organized. And of course thank you to the King and Queen of Connecticut Street, David and Joyce, for once again granting us the freedom to take over their magical garden for the week.