photography: denise at bohemian girl designs

I love the honesty of Denise's writing on her blog Chronicles of Me. And I love seeing behind the scenes of such a creative and sensitive photographer. Check out the amazing new images she's just posted over on bohemiangirldesigns Etsy page. I feel blissful calmness washing over me...

any tips for my trips?

I'll be visiting New York City and Boston this August, and I want to make sure I see all the wonderful floral design shops... do you have any suggestions? I've visited the amazing NYC Wholesale Flower Market district on 28th Street, and I'll definitely be going back there (and taking lots of pictures to post). Jamali Home and Garden also seems like a must-see. Any other places in Manhattan I should hit?

Above image from the G. Page Wholesale Flowers site. For an artfully visual tour of the NYC Flower district, take a look at Anniebee's Flickr photostream here.

happy fourth of july!

Today I'll be nostalgically thinking about all the folks sitting out there on tailgates and blankets, cold lemonade in hand, watching the fireworks. For obvious reasons the Fourth isn't celebrated here in New Zealand, but hey, I'll be headed to the States for a visit soon, and I might have to break into a stale packet of sparklers a week late.

So I thought I'd leave you with a little sneak peak of an event I'll be posting about next week - a truly unique and beautiful wedding filled with orange kumquats, purple globe allium and bird's nests...

The fourth is also my Dad's birthday, so Happy Birthday Dad! I'll see you bright and early at the airport next week (is one am early or late?).

mstetson blog: very succulent notecards

Oh, the good news just keeps rolling in... I'll be flying to Austin, my ol' adopted hometown, in just about a week. I've been dancing around for days, just thinking about the warm weather, the friends and family, all the hijinx I'll get up to there. And now it's gotten even better - I won a great set of letterpressed notecards over at the stunning MStetson blog. Thanks Lindsay!

tutorial: skinny laminx ceramics transfers

I've posted about Heather over at Skinny LaMinx before, and I thought her genius tutorial on ceramics transfers was too good not to share. I love her designs based on South African flora... these dinner and side plates would be so perfect for my kitchen. You can get wall decals and other great things on her etsy page. Enjoy!

color palette: lemon, aqua, coral

Ooo, I'm so excited - there are a ton of great color palettes over on Style Me Pretty, including this one I put together. I had a heck of a good time going through all of the other entries! Click on below image to see it larger.

Inspiration image: Rebecca Thuss name cards
Bouquet: Brooke Howsley/Pollen Floral Art, with coral peonies, lemons, double yellow tulips and roses
Soup appetizer: The Knot, photo by Red Gallery Photography
Dress: The Knot, photo by Kimberley White Photography
Dog Collar: Etsy, Lily May Dog Ware
Tent: The Knot, Flashes Photography
Fabric Buttons: Etsy, Odannysgirl

wholesaler: accent decor

One of my fav parts of owning Pollen used to be picking out the vases and cool containers. Recently I looked up one of my past resources - Accent Decor, a wonderful wholesale company that sells to floral designers, and I realized they've got a great website. And not only that, but Els Teunissen, a wonderful European designer, has produced some amazing designs in AD containers... look through the inspiring gallery here. The tablescape below features reclaimed stump vases and banksia cones, both from the Eco collection, which also includes recycled glassware and other goodies.

Reclaimed wood boxes, above, and cypress-inspired ceramic containers, below.


Not forgetting ceramics, the Soho bud vases above would be great in a modern kitchen, or the Mossy pots below on a garden table...


The Plate glass containers, above, might not be for everyone, but I love that AD does some edgy, urban pieces. They also do some more subtle, everyday type of glassware, below.


Ah, and my favorite little accessory - the glass Donut, which floats in a bowl of water, supporting a single glorious bloom of your choice. Of course there's tons more to discover on the Accent Decor site, and I'm sure there's at least one floral designer in your area that orders regularly...