- I am a flower preservation artist and that means that I work with fresh flowers and I preserve them to keeping their original colors and textures and things like that.

And then create art from those flowers after they have already dried so that they can be enjoyed for many, many years to come.

Multiple members of my family have been in the flower industry.

So my aunt has been a florist for my entire life.

Both my mom and grandmother have also worked in the florist industry.

So I've just grown up around flower culture a lot and always been drawn to that.

And so I've always had a really big passion for flowers and a really big passion for art.

And so once I began doing this, I really just felt like those two passions collided.

And I began preserving specifically wedding bouquets, after I was married about five years ago.

And so I wanted to preserve my own wedding bouquet.

I loved my wedding flowers, my aunt made them and I wanted to keep them.

And so like right before we were getting on our honeymoon flight, I was like getting down all my big books and shoving flowers in between the pages and hoping that they would be fine when I came back a week later and it was, I think maybe the first time where I was like, I think this is like the niche I wanna be in.

99% of my clients are all brides, or newly married couples.

And they book with me several months up to a year out in advance.

And I offer my clients two different kinds of design styles.

The first is traditional, which means I'm designing their bouquet in a more bouquet like shape.

So that's a little bit more traditional in the fact that the design that they are getting from me is gonna look more like their bouquet did on their wedding day in the bouquet shape.

A modern design style is where I play off of the individual shapes of the flowers themselves.

And there's a lot more air left in between them.

And I kind of look at the individual shape of each flower before placing it down and let them kind of play with each other and move throughout the piece.

So it focuses more on the beauty of each individual flower and the textures and things there.

Whereas the traditional design is more, it gives you the feeling of an overall bouquet.

They have to have their flowers to my studio within four days following the wedding or event.

And so I have them shipped to me from all over the country and then also dropped off locally, just within a few days following their wedding.

And that really is so important because if they wait, they're too far gone to begin preservation.

Each flower has its own recipe for preserving and retaining its color and texture.

And so I just follow a variety of different methods using a micro press, a wooden press, some books, to press each flour individually.

And then once they have finished their pressing process, which can take anywhere from two weeks for a smaller flower to almost two months for a larger flower like a rose or something like that, based on each individual's flowers, unique qualities, I've kind of figured out how it responds best to pressing and dehydrating to preserve its colors.

And so once I have finished pressing and preserving all of the flowers, then I begin laying out their design, playing with it.

And I normally take a picture of the bouquet when I first get it in.

And so then if I need to, I'll look back at that and kind of see, okay, this was the feeling of their bouquet, especially if they choose a traditional design.

I'll look back at that photo, kind of see the shape of their bouquet, and then design it from there to kind of match the, the same shape that it had then.

And also just play with the flowers and see how they fill the frame.

Because I have probably eight to 10 different framing designs, whether it's an 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, or I have some more unique design options that are made out of like circles and triangles and things like that.

And then I'll begin gluing and arranging the flowers in their design that I've created.

Once that process is done, then they go on to framing, which is also a big part of the process, keeping out dust particles, pet hair, just anything that could get inside the frame because I'm creating family heirlooms to last a lifetime.

And once that's complete, then I photograph every piece, email them a finished photo and pack it either for shipping or let them know it's ready for local pickup.

So when I began, I don't think I realized how much meaning flowers held.

I always loved flowers because I just, I personally, I enjoyed them, but I don't think I realized how much value they hold for other people.

And so I've really began to understand that after I've been doing this work for several years now.

That when I am, the flowers I'm preserving, like those were the flowers someone held on their wedding day.

And that's something that they like keep back and look and remember that day for so many years to come or when it is a memorial flower.

That was a really hard day, but it's a little, just momentum that they could have and keep and remember that really beautiful life in a really beautiful way.

That's what I really enjoy about my work, is preserving these, not only flowers, but these memories for people as well.