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Custom Boutonnieres and Corsages
When my grandmother was married, she wore a grand corsage that competed with her hand held bouquet. High school graduates used to each choose out just the right wrist corsage or dapper boutonniere pin to accentuate their beauty.
Here at Olla, we welcome the opportunity to continue the tradition by creating both the most classic take on corsages and dreaming up unique pieces using unconventional plants and flowers.
Beyond the classic corsage and boutonniere pins consider a twist on the classic:
Magnetic corsage and boutonnieres to avoid piercing fine fabrics
Custom wrist corsages to fit any size
Floral necklaces or arm bands
Floral decorations for a clutch or purse
Hair flowers
*All designs are 'fait sur mesure' and begin at $18 per piece.
Contact us to place your order for graduation, Mother's Day, or any old Friday night dance party.
For those interested in discovering the hidden mystery of corsage and boutonniere-making for themselves, consider attending our upcoming workshop on Sunday May 6th ($25 per head). More info here.
Thanks for reading.
Wedding Flowers with Sole
I love it when clients give us full reign. The parameters given: "we're wearing custom green shoes" and "we love contrast".
This is what we came up with:
The inspirational materials.
Just wild enough.
Radical boutonniere magic.
Pretty romantic, eh?
Thanks to Anastasia Chomlack for these beauteous images.
Featured Flowers and Growers:
Sarracenia (pitcher plants) - Hawaiian Botanicals
Nigella (love-in-the-mist) - Bathtub Gardens
Ornamental grasses - Urban garden, Hastings and Sunrise area
Hazzle - Urban garden, DTES
Autumnal Bliss- a wedding roadtrip
In the dog days of our pseudo-summer, Olla took a road trip to the Western Wilderness Lodge in Egmont Village on the Sunshine Coast. We were delivering beautiful flowers to a stunning wedding between Nicole and Bas. An hour before the ceremony was set to begin, the hard rains gave way to a most beautiful day...
(All these pretty piks are curtesy of Union Photographers out of Vancouver.)
An aisle of local, yellow cymbidium orchids frame the coming attractions.
This hand-tied boutonniere features an air plant (tillandsia)- a sustainable option that will last and last.
Bridal bouquet extraordinaire.
Touches of botanicals to accentuate the beauty already in the room.
Mini-posy for possibly the cutest flower girl ever photographed.
The wedding party in it's full glory. Congratulations Nicole & Bas.
Featured flowers and growers:
Sarracenia, pitcher plants - (Azuli Vines Nursery, South Burnaby)
Ornamental grasses - (urban garden, Hastings Sunrise area)
Cymbidium orchids - (Koch Nurseries, Vancouver)
Fair trade roses - (Ponte Tresa, Quito Ecuador)
Thanks again to Nicole & Bas and to Union Photographers for the great collaboration.
A very Olla wedding.
Olla Urban Flower Project had the opportunity to be involved in a number of amazing weddings this season. As the images continue to roll in, I will dedicate the next series of blog entries to our wedding work.
First event into the spot light is one of our most recent. The event was hosted in one of the most beautiful modernist homes i have ever seen- this was an immaculate,simple affair. These images were taken by myself of the eclectic clusters of air plants and flowers peppered along the banquet table.
Banquet table of loveliness.
Organic dahlias, even with the bug nibble, are unbelievable gorgeous.
Goodness gracious, better than symphony of fire.
What. The shadows are beautiful too!
Stay tuned for more wedding piks soon.
Bienvenue Urban Foliage- Vertical living frames
Perhaps Olla is easily wooed by attractive french entrepreneurs. But more likely even is that Nicolas Rousseau of Urban Foliage simply has a really great concept and product.
The last few years have seen a smattering of vertical gardens or living walls hit the market- the proliferation a testament to the number of eco-minded folks looking to green their small, urban spaces.
Olla Urban Flower Project has been trying to source a BC made product since opening last June and are thrilled to be able to offer our clients this beautifully constructed solution.
Urban Foliage's living frame has been installed in our heritage shop for all of you to see so please do stop by. The frames are completely customizable and are very low maintenance- thanks to a unique soil formula which retails moisture while staying well aerated you only have to water once every 3 weeks!
For more info:
Visit Urban Foliage on the web, www.urbanfoliage.com
Drop by our shop for a viewing, 235 Cambie Street in Gastown
Wedding shoot with Simply Rose photography.
Wintery Wedding Plan
Wedding shoot with Simply Rose Photography
The idea for this shoot was to embrace the cool, jagged beauty of winter. Sparse, form-heavy, arrangements mark this photo shoot.
Above- hand held bridal bouquet with fair trade roses, air plants, orchids, and mossy stick.
Below- Living centrepiece of phalaenopsis orchid, air plants, and succulents. Simple plate setting with tillandsia usenoide (spanish moss), orchid, and quince.
Below- Mason jars frame these mutated botanicals: Annabelle hydrangea, hyacinth, anemone, and quince.
Thanks so much to Simply Rose Photography, www.simplyroseblog.com, for snapping such beautiful shots of these arrangements.
Oh Mother
Of course mothers don't need beautiful somethings to commemorate the myriad roles the title implies: caregivers, first line health workers, promoters, family historians, and (insert your mother's role here).
They don't need vibrant vase arrangements delivered to their GVRD door:
They don't require a sparkling jewel orchid:
Nor a one-of-a-kind living container for that matter:
All they need is love and appreciation. Really.
Just know that Olla's innovative, ethical plant and flower designs compliment love and appreciation really well.
Our Mother's Day hours:
Saturday, May 7th 9am-6pm
Sunday, May 8th 9am-6pm
Please call or email the shop to place your Mother's Day delivery order.
More Mother's Day designs here.
Recent Changes in the Shop
Olla Urban Flower Project is pleased to announce the recent establishment of a satellite shop in Homewerx. This partnership has proven to be a great success in this first month, thanks in large part to the efforts and enthusiasm of the staff both at Homeworks and Olla.
Currently in stock at Homewerx are some gorgeous new living containers, air plants, and terrariums. Eco-friendly, socially conscious vase arrangements and cut flowers arrive every Friday in time for weekend entertaining.
If you find yourself roaming the west end, pop into Homewerx to smell the Fair Trade roses.
Stay tuned for Mama-inspired designs for May 2011.
Thanks for listening.
Constant Renewal
Olla has a constant rotation of new plant and flower stock in our heritage studio shop.
Veriflora scabiosa pods. Beauties.
With an immovable ethical purchasing policy, my biz partner and I often have to put amazing botanicals back on the shelf because they are not grown locally or with certifications that indicate good labour standards, environmental stewardship, and sustainable economic development.
Finally, we found Veriflora certified scabiosa pods! Yahoo.
New objects of desire in store:
Scads of air plants (tillandsia)
Urban-grown pussy willow, curly salix, and red dogwood
One-of-kind vintage containers
Glass air plant terrariums
Come on into the shop for a visit- i'll put the kettle on.
Olla Status Update
Forgive me blogosphere, it has been over 2 months since my last update.
Standing order for the local hotspot, Meat&Bread
When modern times has me updating my social network in sentence fragments, a blog sometimes takes on crazy literary pressures. But essentially the idea behind this blog is simple: a) to speak to the social enterprise experience and b) to document our plant and flower designs.
List-making is a great way to survey Olla's last few months:
Number of urban, independent farms that will grow organic, field-grown flowers for us this year: 3
Number of fair-trade roses sold on V-day: 360
Distance between the shop and our primary urban flower producer (Solefood Urban Farm): 1.45km
Fuel economy of our new flower mobile (Nissan S Cargo): 8litres /100km
Approximate dollar value of Olla Sponsorships (plants and flowers donated to non-profits)since we opened in June 2010: $3000
Number of species of tillandsia (air plants) currently in the shop: 16
Distance between us and total world domination: hard to stay subjective but i'd say a few more years
A lucky valentine received this beautiful tillandsia and begonia rex living container from her sweetheart.
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