We met Carolyn Ioder’s Goat‘s, from which she provides fresh milk and artisanal cheese. We helped walk them from her yard in Austin, here on the West Side of Chicago, through the alley to the Root Riot pasture. The pasture is a few open and connected lots a block away. In the mix were two-week old …
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Slow Flowers
We are living the dream of starting our own flower farm this year. We’ve been growing flowers for ourselves at the Chicago Honey Co-op for a while but this is a whole new scale. Successful farming necessitates super-human amounts of savvy, physical endurance and years of dedication, but our primary aim is just to make …
Song of Spring
It’s suddenly Spring. I, like many Chicagoans, am stumbling around pasty and shell-shocked, blinded by this gigantic alien orb in the sky. This handful of garden greens heralds as a kind of victory flag over this intensive winter. I’ve heard of massive defections from Chicago due to last winter and I’m fine with it. Fare …
Donut vases at the New Modern Wing
We were recently asked to create decor for a donut themed breakfast, and these “clean, elegant” donut vases emerged! After having 300 donuts arrive at the studio in waves over the past few weeks, I learned that donuts are not an everyday food. Finally, I had to tell Kristin to tell me that they were “all” …
Cliff Dwellers
This year we had the pleasure of donating our planning, invitation design and decorating talents to DVLC’s annual fundraiser, with sold out results! We scouted the Cliff Dwellers club for the evening, which was recently renovated by SOM. The club was one of the last places where Louis Sullivan found refuge among friends and colleagues towards …
apricot tumult
Somedays in this industry I like to think of myself as a tummler. According to Every Goy’s Guide to Common Jewish Expressions, a tummler, (TOOM-ler) is someone who is maker of fun, commotion, tumult. Particularly someone who’s always making jokes- that can get the party started. Also, someone hired professionally at a resort in the Borscht Belt to …
The Garden Club of Charleston
In April, I had the honor of presenting a talk and teaching a class for the Charleston Garden Club. The oldest garden club in the U.S., it is also the largest in the world. We had just enough time to visit the famous sweet grass basket makers of Charleston. Brought to Charleston (which was settled in …
Robin Hood Inspired
New kids in town, MatchMade Events chose us to purvey the flowers for their clever Robin Hood concept shoot at the stunning Bishop’s Hall bed and breakfast in Oak Park last fall. I went for a druidic vibe for the bouquet with cascading ferns and cyclamen. Photo by the brilliant Chad Husar. Cafe au lait …
Ice Follies
Here are some stars from a recent perfume event calling for blackberry and orange blossom fragrance and hues. Saint Tropez French tulips, ranunculus and red hellebores with Ice Follies and Avalanche daffodils which are officially the best smelling flowers of all time. This time of year there is much darkness, jump cut between …
Jewel of the Mississippi
Had a dreamy vacation to gorgeous New Orleans last week. Every inch of the city is perfect! This, my first visit back since the storm was also heartbreaking, to see the Jewel of Mississippi at eye level and remember what we all saw from above those many, horrible days in 2005. New Orleans has always …