You probably know by now that we are big fans of the stunning florals designs that Katie from PONDEROSA & THYME creates and we have a real treat for you today with a whole tonne of floral goodness captured by IVY & GOLD from a 1:1 workshop Katie taught with LAYERED VINTAGE.
Jill shares her thoughts on the 1:1 workshop with us: "I don't even know where to begin! The entire experience of traveling to Salem, Oregon to work side by side with Katie still feels like a dream. A really good one you don't want to wake from. From the beginning Katie was thorough to find out about me - both personal and work related information. She made me think and see beyond my current situation before I even left for the workshop and I liked the questionnaire she had me fill out before I left. The workshop is 100% about you the student and what you want to leave with. Completely customized and unique to you. That part feels good knowing there won't be things that overlap and that the techniques and questions I have will be addressed.
I think the best part of the workshop was having Katie let me peek into her world and her everyday life. I had a ton of questions related to her business and how things were set up and she could talk through them and show me at the same time. She's so relatable and easy to be around. I could be myself and be vulnerable which made learning and critique that much more meaningful. We had so much fun "urban foraging" as Katie calls it, which means we ventured through her neighbourhood to the overgrown alleyways and looked for pieces to inspire the shape of the bouquet. The foraging in the Pacific Northwest is so different from Southern California.... I was in heaven. We roamed the entire neighbourhood and beat the rain back to her studio just in the nick of time." continued below...
"Katie was very thoughtful about creating a calm and inviting workspace for us to work in. We had a stunning flower bar of ingredients to work with and paused throughout the process of building an editorial bouquet so we could avoid frustration and step back to look at what we had done so far. I found the pausing and walking away to sip herbal tea very helpful. The bouquet process is intense and feeling rushed is the worst feeling ever. Katie really emphasized planning ahead to give yourself adequate time to create freely.
The bouquet I made was insane. Absolutely luxurious and like nothing I had done before. We were so inspired by the bouquet Katie insisted we take it and run around the alleyways again but this time with a model in a vintage wedding gown she had been saving for the perfect occasion. We got lucky once again, just missing the rain and had so much fun combing the neighbourhood for the perfect light and backdrop for pictures. Everything from that shoot was done on a whim. I loved the weathered fencing from the houses and cracked concrete with greenery growing out.
My time with Katie and her team was something I'll never forget. I saw the creative process with new eyes and really saw my confidence grow. One of the best decisions I've made since starting out on this journey of floral design has been to attend Katie's one on one. I've had so many designers reach out and ask about my time and urge them all to make the leap!"
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