Cottage Garden Florals x SJFC
When we asked Abigail of Cottage Garden Florals to come teach a workshop for local florists this past September, we never imagined the amount of magic she would bring to the class. Cottage garden vibes? Of course! Whimsy and delight? Absolutely! But the pure, unfiltered enthusiasm for each and every one of the flowers she touched, the stories about her life and pieces of her heart that she shared while teaching our group? We were awestruck.
We initially reached out to Abigail because of her unique, cottage garden style and commitment to working with local flowers. Sourcing locally as a high end event floral designer is a labor of love, to say the least. It involves so much - from beginning and maintaining a relationship with your local growers, to checking in months and weeks in advance for projected availability, to managing dozens of text and instagram messages to piece together a perfect recipe. And ultimately, roll with the changes that weather and harvests dictate on event week and drive to each individual farm to pick up your order – all before actually getting started on the actual wedding or event. We see this effort, we appreciate it, and it makes ALL the difference to us local growers. Abigail has perfected this process for her San Diego business, and we were eager to have her to the Central Valley to share her techniques and how she thinks about using local product when creating high end, intentional designs.
Abigail focused on her signature Cottage Garden centerpiece style, and the way she was able to work while explaining her thought process behind placement and choosing blooms based on form and color was impressive. Her background in fine art and teaching music shown through, making each us feel as if we'd stepped into her garden studio that she'd created just for us to learn and explore. It's clear that she has such a bright future as an educator ahead of her. Thank you so much, Abigail, for sharing your heart and the beautiful technique of Cottage Garden Florals with us!
The workshop was held at Evanelle Vineyards, a new wedding and event venue in Madera. The bright, airy ambiance was the perfect backdrop for our students to gather for a centerpiece workshop. Our vessels were hand thrown by Kin & Clay, a small business artist duo we’re lucky to have in our town. In addition to the beautiful speckled glaze vessel, each attendee was gifted a pair of clippers and a tea towel from Shoppe at the Avenue. Students were provided with three unique styled vignettes to have Ellie Koleen photograph their finished centerpiece; JRD Art Shop generously provided two beautiful backdrop options and Darci styled a table to perfection using pieces from Smith & Len and Shoppe at the Avenue.
Following the workshop, we introduced the mission of the San Joaquin Flower Collective and our talented local flower farmers, then sat down to enjoy a farm to table dinner prepared by Chef Chauncey of Unir Dining. It was such a treat to see flower farmers and designers taking a break from the busy season to gather, connect, and recharge for an evening. I know I personally enjoyed an excuse to change out of my farm grungies for an evening and simply enjoy my friends and colleagues.
Special thanks of course to my SJFC partner Darci, all of our wonderful farmers that provided such beautiful blooms, Unir Dining for a delicious meal, Ellie Koleen, Evanelle Vineyards, Kin & Clay, JRD Art Shop, Shoppe at the Avenue, Smith & Len, and all of the local designers that joined us for the workshop and a meal together.
xo,
natalie
