Tuesday 14 October 2014

Christmas Wreath Workshop

Have you ever fancied having a go at making your own Christmas wreath to hang on your door? 

Well now is your Chance! 



On Friday 5th December I will be running a festive evening of Christmas wreath making. 

The workshop will be held in the Hill Road Market building on Hill road, Clevedon and will run from 6.30pm-9pm. 

The evening will start with a glass of mulled wine or spiced apple juice and a homemade mince pie. 

Whilst you are enjoying your drink I will show you how to create a beautiful original wreath for your door including lots of gorgeous Christmas foliages. All our wreaths will be made in the traditional way using a wire frame and fresh moss. 




Once you have made your base everyone will then decorate their wreath using a selection of different Christmas items, including scented dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks, pheasant feathers, Christmas baubles, berries, fir cones and much much more! 



All the wreaths will be finished with a beautiful Christmas bow to fit in with your Christmas colour scheme. 

The workshop will cost £35.00pp which includes all materials, tuition and your welcome drink and mince pie. 

The ladies who run the market will also be selling additional mulled wine and nibbles along with a selection of other Christmas items so don't forget to bring your purse! 

Places are filling up fast so please book soon. Please email me at sleastwood@hotmail.co.uk or pop into the market on a Friday or Saturday to secure your place! 


Wednesday 8 October 2014

A Flowerona Intern for the day!


Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to work with two hugly talented and inspirational ladies Rona Wheeldon, award winning flower blogger and Fiona Humberston author and expert on business styling. 

If you love all things flowery check out Rona's blog, www.flowerona.com. 

Rona and Fiona were running a workshop for florists called 'Social Media for Florists', a workshop to teach florists how to use social media to their advantage, and they needed someone to help them out, that's where I came in!! 

So off I went to London, and braved the morning rush hour (Not as scary as I thought! My best friend recomended the bus instead of the tube, such a good idea!) and met Rona and Fiona at the venue, the fabulous Brixton East. 

Brixton East is a stunning recently renovated 19th century furniture warehouse in the heart of Brixton, London. A gorgeous rustic venue  full of character with huge high ceilings and original wooden flooring. 


  
Rona and Fiona had already decorated and set up the venue when I arrived with simple posies of autumn flowers and beautiful crockery. Doesn't it just look stunning?! 




If anyone in London is looking for a unusual wedding reception or event venue do have a look at Brixton East, even the bathrooms were beautiful! 
www.brixtoneast.co.uk. 

My first job was to welcome the ladies who were coming to the workshop and provide refreshments. Many of the ladies on the course had travelled a long way and therefore a cup of fresh coffee (in a beautiful green teacups of course) was needed! 

The ladies then went off upstairs to start the workshop which covered the importance of company branding and styling and how this should be shown through social media such as Instagram and Facebook. 

At 11 everyone stopped for elevenses, and some of the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen. All the food at the workshop was provided by the utterly fabulous Maddie Hatton (www.maddiehatton.com).




Yes, there were even flowers on the cakes!!

While Maddie prepared lunch I had the opportunity to listen in to the workshop! So inspiring and I learnt so many ways in which to improve my social networking skills! Both Rona and Fiona were so passionate about the subject they enthused every person in the room! 

So onto lunch. . . Wow, is the only word to describe it! Il let the photos do the talking, but I can ensure you that it tasted just as good as it looked, if not better! 




And then for pudding, blackberry and apple Eton Mess (definitely going to try and recreate this at home) or rich chocolate brownie. 

All the gorgeous crockery was supplied by Anthropologie, London. I've just found out they also now have a store in Bath! May have to make a trip there! 

The workshop continued after lunch with tips on blogging and styling photos to use on social media and especially Instagram. If you have never used Instagram but love beautiful photos regester now! You will fall in love and be addicted! If your stuck on who to follow here's a few to start you off, @flowerona, @madeleine_hatton, @thebrand_stylist, @stephanie_eastwood, @emilyquinton. 

The workshop finished in style with homemade cocktails. I loved the way this was done, however I'm pretty sure some of the measures of gin were slightly larger than the usual 25ml measure! 


Once the workshop finished and everyone had gone home. We had the job of tidying, packing everything away and returning the venue back to its usual self, beautiful but a lot less flowery! 

Thank you to Rona and Fiona for a fabulous day. I came away very inspired and would definitely recommend the workshop to any florists who want to learn about social media, meet lots of lovely florists who are just as passionate about flowers as yourself and have an utterly fabulous day! #socialforflorists









Friday 1 August 2014

Beautiful Buttonholes

Buttonholes no longer need to be a carnation with a piece of fern. There are so many different options avaialble to suit all styles of weddings. 

How about a traditional rose buttonhole

Naomi rose buttonhole with ivy. 

Classic ivory rose buttonhole with ivy and Myrtle. 

A tray of rose buttonholes ready to be pinned on. 
These buttonholes use a beautiful pale purple rose, ideal for a vintage wedding. 




Buttonholes don't need to be just a rose. How about incorporating some of the flowers used in the brides bouquet? 

A beautiful Memory Lane rose with blue Eyringium, Wax flower and Eucalyptus or maybe add a splash of colour with a bright pink ranunculus? 


Ivory rose with white Eyringium, Wax flower and Eucalyptus 


Ivory rose with white Eyringium, mini sunflower, poppy head and foliage and tied with a piece of rustic twine. 

Ivory rose and white freesia tied with an ivory ribbon. 


Ladies can also wear buttonholes! Instead of a traditional corsage why not have a ladies buttonhole. Wear it just like you would wear a men's buttonhole, none if this inside down business! These buttonholes are slightly more delicate than a usual buttonhole and can be made to match any outfit! 


Ladies buttonhole bottom left, including spray roses and freesia. 












 

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Kate and Max, July 2014, Tickenham Church.

Kate and Max married on a beautiful sunny day in July at Tickenham Church, North Somerset. 

'Just wanted to write a quick note to say a huge thank you for our wedding bouquets and buttonholes! They all looked fantastic and the colours worked brilliantly!' Kate and Max

Kate decided on a beautiful mix of rich reds, ivory and greens for her bouquet. 


Kate's bouquet included rich red Naomi roses, beautifully scented white double freesias, Dahlias, scabious and a selection of different foliages and seed pods. The bouquet also include 'Upper Secret' roses a beautiful pale pink rose with a red edge. 

Kate also had a flower girl who carried a tiny posy of gypsophilia and  two bridesmaids who had smaller versions of Kate's bouquet. 


Max's buttonhole of freesia and white rose to link with Kate's bouquet which also included freesia. 




Buttonholes, the men wore classic white rose and eucalyptus buttonholes. 


The ladies wore dainty white buttonholes of spray roses and freesia (Bottom left) and the page boy wore a tiny buttonhole of white spray roses (bottom right). 


Friday 18 July 2014

This weeks English Flowers 18/19th July 2014

I love to use English flowers in my designs so thought I would do a quick post each week showing the English Flowers I have available. 

Lisianthus



Stunning bright yellow sunflowers



Tall elegant Larkspur in a mix of pinks, purples and white. 



Striking Gladioli, many people think of them as a bit old fashioned, used on there own in a tall vase they look stunning. Ideal for a hallway or kitchen. Look at those striking colours. 



And finally the very first Dahlias of the season. These beauties have a slight pink centre. Again an underrated flower however I love these flowers. Not only do they look great in a jug on the kitchen table but they are ideal for weddings. 


Here are a few pictures to prove how versatile these flowers are! 

A retirement present for a lady in a bristol school. 


I used white dahlias in this stunning design that I delivered up to a fabulous wedding dress shop on Hill Road in Clevedon last week. 


And finally look at these stunners from last year! How can you not love them! 












welcome

Welcome to my Blog

I thought I would write a short introduction to my new blog. My name is Stephanie Eastwood and I am a freelance florist and I work from my little rustic workshop at Jacklands Fishing Lakes in Tickenham, North Somerset. 

So how did it all begin? 
I have always loved flowers and after completing a degree in Environmental Science I decided I wanted to do something more creative and decided to follow a childhood dream of becoming a florist. After completing an evening course I decided to enrol on a Floristry Course at Bath College and it all started from there. 
After finishing the course I started my own business and the rest is history! 

Workshop
I have a beautiful rustic workshop at Jacklands Fishing Lakes in Tickenham, this is where I spend many hours creating beautiful designs for all occassions. 



Inspiration
I have a very natural style inspired by the beautiful Somerset countryside and I especially love using British flowers. 



Hill Road Market
Every Friday and Saturday I take my flowers to a fabulous little market on Hill Road in Clevedon. The market runs from 9.30-3.30 each day and on Saturdays there is also a fabulous selection of tasty local produce for sale. You can buy flowers from my stall per stem or pick up one of my pre made bunches that are always wrapped in rustic brown paper. People often say to me they know my flowers by the brown paper I wrap them in! 



Weddings. . .
How can I forget wedding flowers, I absolutely love creating bespoke designs for each of my brides. 




Whatever the occasion. . . I can provide flowers for all occasions. 

Sympathy flowers with a difference

Event flowers with that wow factor. 

And don't forget christmas!