Spring 2018 Show Dates

It's been a long winter, that's for sure. I'm happy to announce that the studio is once again overrun with plants (I've literally run out of space) and that my festivals will be bursting with fresh new plants and designs. I'm taking it a little slower this spring in order to make room for some exciting new work. Time for creativity is just as important as production. I hope you'll join me at one (or both!) of my two shows this spring. Remember, the studio is always open and available to provide custom work. See you soon!

April 22nd - The Clover Market in Bryn Mawr

June 10th - The Clover Market in Kennett Square

Fall 2017 Show Dates

It feels strange to be writing about fall, as summer clings on for a couple more weeks here at the studio. July & August are quiet months here, with the plants growing peacefully and hiding indoors from the hot sun. However, September is just around the corner, which means that it's time for show announcements! 

I will be participating in two Clover Markets this fall, in Chestnut Hill and Bryn Mawr. I hope to see you there! Things to look for this season are new planter designs as well as gift wrapped candle options in new sizes and scents. 

September 10th: Clover Market in Chestnut Hill, 10-4pm

September 24th: Clover Market in Bryn Mawr, 10-4pm

Spring/summer 2017 show dates

It's finally spring! The winter has been busy, creating and testing new products, which I'm excited to bring to market. The plants have been happily growing in their indoor greenhouse, and are ready to see the sunshine again. 

These are the festivals where you can shop and peruse the new designs: 

April 23 - Clover Market in Bryn Mawr

April 29 - Stone & Key Cellars in Montgomeryville 

May 7 - Chestnut Hill Home & Garden Festival in Chestnut Hill 

May 21 - Clover Market in Bryn Mawr

June 11 - Clover Market in Bryn Mawr

June 17 - Ambler Art Fest in Ambler

June 18 - Clover Market in Kennett Square

Please remember, I always make time to meet clients in the studio if they can't make the festivals!

Looking forward to all these lovely events coming up...hope to see you there!

A beautiful day for a wedding....

Over the past couple of months, I had the pleasure of working with a blissfully chill bride on her wedding decor. In the midst of show season, it was a challenge to balance both wedding prep and show prep, but it was also a real joy. (totally overwhelmed with work = fun for me)... 

We met at a spring Clover show, and began working together shortly after. The concept came together as an eclectic, vintage inspired table-scape with gorgeous flowers and greens highlighting the glass bottles and vases I would collect from all over. Fortunately, this is one of my favorite designs, and one I employ in my own home almost every day ;). 

Having done floral design for events in the past, I was mostly prepared for what was to come. However, a wedding poses all kinds of challenges that need to be carefully timed and brought to fruition. A good wholesaler is key, one who knows your deadlines and treats your order as if it was their own. I ran into major problems when I picked up my flowers the day before the wedding and realized that they had not been cared for. Dahlias in particular can be tricky, and they don't like to be neglected. My team rallied around me and jumped on the phones, calling everyone in the area who we thought might have dahlias in stock. 

"6 stems in Wayne!" 

"20 stems of white in Conshohocken!"

"4 stems of white, 3 of blush in Chestnut Hill!"

(To give some perspective.....we needed upwards of 70.)

Finally we found another wholesaler across the bridge who was fully stocked and able to accommodate us. It turned out not only did we need fresh dahlias, but also fresh white stock, fresh delphiniums....the first order was a real debacle. We were able to replace these less than 24 hours before the wedding and start anew. (And gained some new friends across the bridge!)

Fortunately for me, I started dying my hair blonde, so the grey hair from those 24 hours shouldn't show too much :). 

Thanks to my sweet team, who endured all kinds of abuse (from the she-devil that took over my body) during this time, I was able to pull it off...including hanging upwards of 200 strands of origami swans over the dance floor. 

It's so fulfilling to look around the room, make last minute adjustments, then quietly clean up and creep out the side door while the bridal party is just getting there holding their bouquets and wearing their boutonnières (still fresh, still bright, hooray!) . 

Here are some photos from the days leading up to the wedding as well as the day of. 

Terra cotta pots filled with asters created the mantle decoration for the reception hall. Strung with twinkle lights, they added a little sparkle and color to a dark stone fireplace. They bloomed over the course of 2 weeks before we brought them to the venue. 

Catching some rays before heading to the wedding!

Tillandsia xerographicas being prepped for the head table decorations

Trusty snips, vital to any flower work.

Jars filled with delicate ferns

Harvesting in the early morning ensures that they are in their prime, before the sun and warm temperatures drains the water out of their leaves.

One of my favorite plants! Seriously. I could look at them all day. 

Blue thistle added a pop of delicate color to the bouquets and decorations.

Prepping lots, and lots, and lots, and lots of tiny bottles for the table decorations.

Testing boutonniere arrangements.

Boutonnieres are one of the last things to be assembled, as they will not have access to water once they're made. Lisianthus, while incredibly delicate looking, are actually a great choice for a long lasting boutonniere. 

Select, snip, wrap, tie, repeat.

The best kind of assembly line. 

It always looks nice to have continuity throughout the groomsmen's boutonnieres, while making the groom's similar yet more special. Tying it into the bride's bouquet, we added a small dahlia and white waxflower (LOVE). 

This trinket box made for the perfect delivery tray!

I used Italian Ruscus for the greenery, it is super hardy, while being shiny and vibrant. The perfect shade of green. 

This was my first time working with Oasis Floracages. They provided a beautiful blank canvas for these Ming Ferns, Seeded Eucalyptus, and Dahlias. With the addition of some larger branches, they could be made more grandiose, but we stuck with simple and elegant. 

The arch was built using landscaping beams, then stained to match the wood on location. We sunk the uprights into concrete (poured into decorative pots) since the ceremony was on a wooden deck and we had no other way of anchoring the arch into the ground. 

Dahlias, ferns and tillandsias on the head table. We set out vases for all the bridal bouquets so that they could get a drink of fresh water while everyone was dancing the night away. 

I used upwards of 8 different bottle shapes to create a eclectic yet cohesive centerpiece. We wanted people to be able to see each other over the flowers, as all the tables were round. 

One of my favorite parts of the decor....giant caladium leaves. These were grown from bulbs starting in early July with the wedding in mind. Thanks to warm temperatures extending into September, we were able to harvest them at their peak. These are one of my favorite plants, as well as being extremely hardy for cutting. 

Bridesmaids bouquets were smaller versions of the brides. 

It's always hard to stop adding flowers into a bouquet, but with the bride being petite I wanted a nicely proportioned grouping. Again, Italian Ruscus shines as the dark green, with some Seeded Eucalyptus to lighten it up. I wish there were more reasons in life to carry beautiful bouquets around!!

To all my fellow budding floral designers.....remember, early to bed, early to rise, and LOTS of takeout meals. It also helps to have a team member in charge of snacks, who will feed them to you if necessary while your hands are full of flowers. Power to the plants!!! :)

Fall show dates!!

With a summer full of travel behind me, I'm ready for the fall festival season! The past couple of months have been full of work in preparation for coming shows. I've got new pots ready for their plant partners, new candle fragrances mixed up and ready to pour, and new floral designs tested and tried. 

The places to come and check out this seasons new designs are:

September 11 - Clover Market in Chestnut Hill

September 25 - Clover Market in Bryn Mawr

October 23 - Clover Market in Bryn Mawr

November 18, 19 - The Waldorf School of Philadelphia

Summer travel

It's been a rather quiet time here on the website over the summer, but that's been purposeful. After the rush of spring shows and festivals, Morgan and I took off in our trusty FJ and headed west. We had a very loose plan to drive a Southern route to California and then back on a Northern route, but otherwise to...."just wing it". We had a couple things we knew we wanted to see, but no idea how much we would experience in a couple of short months. 

Camping most of the way across the country was challenging, with drastic climate changes, varying elevations and ever-present weather concerns. Without braving the elements, we would have missed out on so much. There were giant jackrabbits in Arizona, moose in Idaho, families of prairie dogs in California, coyotes in Nevada and swallows in Big Sur. Camping took us to whisper quiet gorges and canyons with no one for miles, and woke us at dawn in the fog on the cliffs of the West Coast.

On a road trip, my head is usually buried in my work. I always pack a bag full of half finished projects suitable for the car, because my hands always have to be busy. I approached this trip differently. I brought almost no supplies (just a few "in case"...because an artist can never be without her bits and bobs) . The goal of this trip was to travel with my eyes open to take it all in. I wrote, photographed, and mostly just enjoyed the journey. Plus, driving across country is hard!! Trying to keep yourself fed (relatively well) and finding a safe place to sleep at night (no hoards of flesh eating mosquitos or hungry bears) can be a full-time job. If you want to truly test your relationship...and I don't recommend this lightly...pack your life into your car and live within 3-4 ft of your partner for 2 months. It took a lot of patience and strategy on both our parts.

The trip was incredible. There are so many distractions in modern life, and it was freeing to simply focus on the day ahead. It was worth every mile, every penny, every minute. 

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Camping in the canyons of Nevada

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Dusk at the Colorado National Monument

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Yucca Flowers in Arches

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Canyonlands, Utah

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Wildflowers in Arches National Park

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Pink clouds over Arizona

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Pinyon Pines in Utah

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Cacti in Colorado

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Palouse Falls in Washington

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Poppies in California

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Big Sur

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Quick stop for roadside flowers

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Agave bloom in Cali

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Red pup in Red Rocks

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Till the next time....

Clover Market in Chestnut Hill 4-10-16

Sunday was a great day for the Chestnut Hill Clover Market! 

It was bitter cold and snowing the day before, with remnants of that weather in the early morning, but the sun came out and warmed things up.

It was a great start to the spring season, and I'm looking forward to the next

Clover Market: Bryn Mawr, on April 24th from 10-5. Hope to see you there!

Below, enjoy some snapshots from the festival last Sunday. 

Spring Show Dates!

Before I completely lose my mind (the chaos of the season always creeps up on me), I want to make sure that I post which festivals I will be at this spring. 

I'm looking forward to: 

- chilly mornings packing the car before the sun is fully up

- scarfing down scalding breakfast sandwiches on the ride to the show (or eating them cold after I set up)

- forgetting at least half a dozen things, hopefully none of them vital to the day

- my first customer of the show! 

- soaking up the sun and talking plants all day long  :) 

Here's what you can look forward to:

- new hypertufa designs and planters filled with lovely succulents and cacti

- hanging air plant displays

- glass centerpieces filled with air plant arrangements

- 100% soy candles blended with pure essential oils in vintage glass jars (new this year!!!)

- bouquets of seasonal flowers (also new this year!!!)

- + lots of other talented artists gathered in one place! And usually some delicious food trucks!

here's where I'll be setting up shop this spring:

April 10th - Chestnut Hill Clover Market (click here for more info)

April 24th - Bryn Mawr Clover Market (click here for more info)

April 30th - Downtown Glenside Arts Festival (click here for more info)

May 1st - Chestnut Hill Home & Garden Festival (click here for more info)

Looking forward to seeing lots of friends and new faces this year! 

Welcome to the new space

Hello there! Greetings from the studio!

Thanks for checking out the new site. Every year I try to expand and improve my business just a little bit more…and what better way to start off 2016 than with a shiny new website? This will include (fingers crossed) a larger online and social media presence throughout the coming season. Shout-out to Squarespace for being an invaluable platform with easy to use templates and extensive tutorials/assistance. Gone are the days of tears and hair pulling while trying to write code (not my strong suit). 

Looking back, last year was a good one. I doubled the number of shows that I participated in, and met lots of fellow plant-lovers in the process. My custom orders grew dramatically, and my team started creating video content documenting my work and creating tutorials about plant care. Stay tuned, those are still in production!

This year, you can expect to see all kinds of new things from Carolyn Powers Designs. Hand poured soy candles with essential oil scents, new hypertufa shapes and finishes, and super fresh original artwork (still under wraps!). 

On the website and on my Instagram account, look for plant life inspiration both locally and during my travels, as well as new product sneak peeks. Show dates will be posted here, and you’ll be able to check out behind-the-scenes photos of my process. 

It’s going to be an exciting season, so stay in the loop! 

Follow my new Instagram account: @carolynpowersdesigns and remember to check back here regularly for new announcements and articles. 

Cheers :)