A peek inside the Botanique Studio

A few months ago, back when the ranunculas, lilacs and tulips were flowering like crazy, my friend and amazing photographer Lora Grady stopped by the studio and took some photos. I am excited to share them with you! Welcome to my little, flower-filled world!

After taking some photos in the studio, we headed outside. Though the garden was just getting going for the year, I harvested hellebore, narcissus and camellia, foraged some lilac and huckleberry from our back alley, and went to work making an arrangement outside. I LOVE making arrangements that come solely from the garden/from foraged ingredients, and this one was no exception!

Lora and I had such a good time! If you're not already familiar with her work, click here to go check out her website. As you can see, she is an amazing photographer!

I hope you enjoyed this little visual tour of the studio and the making of a 100% local, seasonal arrangement.

AND....... just to keep it real, below are a few process shots of what it took to create this beautiful studio, starting with what the building looked like when we we bought our house, BEFORE we did a massive renovation. It has been a lot of work, but here is the living proof that hard work really pays off.

BEFORE: No windows, tilting sideways, and filled with all manner of totally nasty junk.

My dad came all the way out from Massachusetts to help us renovate the studio! What can I say, he's a great dad. Below, you can see him and Eli (my husband) putting on the new roof:

All framed out, and proud dad on ladder after putting on the exterior trim:

Drywall, windows, doors and paint, yippee!

Well, ok, I guess we had a little fun while working too....

Awesome light fixtures, sink and cabinet all found at Second Use (go there!)

And then came the shelving, organizing, etc! Suffice to say, it was a lot of work, but well worth it. And then there's the garden, which is a whole other story, and will have to be saved for another day!

Happy Weekend!