Vendor Spotlight- Artisan Flowers

My favorite detail with weddings are the florals, I think they can really add to your wedding decor. We recently was introduced to Jasmin with Artisan Flowers and knew we had to have her create floral arrangements for an upcoming group meeting. We asked Jasmin a couple questions about her company and how she works with brides, check her out! How did you get into floral design?

I got into doing flowers rather by accident, starting at a wholesaler in order to get myself out of the house while I worked as a graphic designer and illustrator from home. I answered an ad for part time help simply to give myself a change of scenery. I fit in great there, and when friends started getting engaged and married, the designer in me took over again and I did their flowers as my gift to them for their wedding. That led to referrals to stylists and planners and other brides and soon I had a steady calendar of wedding work and eventually quit my "day job" and now I work for myself, and occasionally at other shops or with other teams. Now that I'm here and look back, I realize that I was probably meant to work with flowers or plants. My parents are both plant lovers, my mother an avid gardener and my father a botany enthusiast (which is how I got named Jasmin).

Explain your process of working with a bride.

My process starts with lots of questions. The obvious questions like "where" and "when" and of course colors and numbers. The more important questions are the more abstract, the ones that help me to understand a bride or a families visions, their traditions, their hopes for their wedding and marriage. Some brides require very few interactions and others meet or email with me often. In the end, I usually end up with a bride saying something along the lines of "You GET it, you understand my vision, thank you!" and whatever it takes to get there is fine. Sometimes its field trips to the fabric store or antique mall or flea market, sometimes its long discussions over coffee, or secondary conversations with other vendors or relatives. I try to listen and learn from them before I offer up too many ideas and options, because often brides are bombarded with visual material, and sometimes if you listen closely, you will pick up on that one word, idea, or feeling that really sets the whole thing into beautiful motion.

What is your favorite flowers?

I couldn't possibly choose one, but I am especially fond of ranunculus and peonies, and while their popularity fluxes, I do love roses. They come in so many shapes and sizes and colors, and are so versatile. I'm also ever increasingly in love with foliages. From dainty grasses to large exotic leaves, they can be a fantastic element that really sets off a collection of flowers.

What makes you different from other florist?

Its hard to say what makes me different, but I like to think that its because my work comes from my pure reverence for flowers and plants. It seems to me that this makes me a more efficient designer, since my design sensibility is not to make huge pieces, but to build arrangements and pieces that showcase each flowers features, and complements the other flowers and materials around it. I'm less inspired by outside elements, and more inspired by the flowers themselves. It's a hard thing to put into words, but flowers are a part of my identity, its my name, my childhood, my family and so much more than simply my medium.

What’s one thing you love to hear in consultation with a bride?

"I trust you to do what you do" When a bride arrives at this stage, it allows me to focus on what I do, and more importantly, it usually indicates that she is in a place in her planning that she is not going to put undue stress on herself. I can assure all brides, families, fellow vendors and clients, that if there is an aspect of my craft or my industry that warrants any kind of concern or attention, that I am addressing it. It also means that a bride trusts me to do my job as a designer, which is a mix of education, instinct, taste and a little bit of being at the mercy of a worldwide industry based around a perishable commodity.

Some personal questions about Jasmin:

Mac or PC Mac

Tea or Coffee Both

iPhone or Blackberry iPhone

Favorite Song Right Now according to Spotify, its "Two Fingers" by Jake Bugg.