How I Came to Love Instagram

 

Are you into Instagram?  I wasn't for a long time.  Everyone kept telling me, "You've got to get into it. It's really fun.  It's more creative fodder than you'll find on Facebook.  It will be good for your business.....etc...etc...etc".   And all I was thinking was, "Oh vey, one more thing to do."  But what can I say,  I am a sheep and follow the herd even if I am sometimes late for the party.  I was dabbling, testing the waters.   And then what happened was I saw some instagram feeds on an ipad (instead of the little teeny images on a phone) and I was hooked.  It's just a fantastic source of inspiration.  Way past eye candy.   And it's a lovely little curated, voyeuristic glimpse into just about any world you might be interested in.  In my case it's flowers and interiors. But maybe you want to know what they're up to at the Louvre, or follow your favorite creative type, or want to know more about indigenous textiles in Peru.  You get the idea. One thing I learned is that, apparently, I am drawn to a lot of Australian designers and florists. There's some very cool things happening down under.  You can click here to see Vogue Living's list of 25 Australian designers to follow on Instagram.  And you can  click here to see Passionflower's instagram feed too. 

Happy Hunting!

Our Ode to Olaf Hajek

Ha!  Here's an oldie but a goodie I found while searching for some images for the Easter Party poster! 

This, our ode to Olaf Hajek, styled by the ever talented Becky Tonkin.  We have done some crazy displays over the years here chez Passionflower.  I wish I had documented things better. 
In the meantime, this image seems just perfect for these amazingly sunny, early spring days we have been having here in the Pacific Northwest.
Put on your shades and revel in the floral extravaganza.
(Sorry for those of you reading who might live in, say, Boston)

A Detail

Hidden away in the deep recesses of Passionflower  (well actually upstairs in our quiet little clothing area), our homage to all things global,  this beautiful, old chinese pot, probably for holding wine. 

Looking for a good home.

The Year of the Sheep

Happy Chinese New Year during this the year of the sheep (or the ram or the goat) which my Chinese friends tell me is all about community because sheep are gentle animals that like to hang together in groups.  So we're hoping for lots of community building (code for parties) at Passionflower this year.

We're starting with a party for Hatch Oregon on First Friday in March. Come find out all about this innovative way you can be a good sheep and invest in your community! 

Then First Friday in April we're having our big Passionflower Turns 21 /Easter Bash Blowout Extravaganza  (start working on that Easter Bonnet now!)
Come be part of our flock!
 

photo of a beautiful carved mammoth ivory necklace on a red brass chain from Exstasia.

Shop it here!

All Hail the Flowering Quince

One of the great things about being a florist is it really lets you get to know a plant in a fairly intimate way. - they become like old friends.  Take the lovely quince.   Oh quince, how we love you every time we meet.  We love your thorny self.  We love your coral flowers that make us feel like we are living in a Japanese painting.  And we absolutely love, love how your flower color changes so radically when we bring you inside.  How you go from that brilliant coral to the most washed out of pinks. I love that quirk of your personality - So happy to see you again.

Valentine's Day Ephemera

Valentine's Day brouhaha happening as I write!

Wedding Floral Trends

We are liking the whimsical trend we are seeing of bridesmaid's dresses in floral patterns like this English countryside wedding we found on Mr & Mrs Unique.

Something Beautiful

Just a little photo of a beautiful piece of jewelry - copper enamel coral pendant with a necklace of  the teensiest, tiniest little pearls we've ever seen.  Something beautiful. And handmade.  That is all.

Valentine's Goodies

 

You can head right over to our website and shop our curated Valentine's Collection.

A Hand Lettered Valentine

Oh look at this little sample the folks from the Valley Calligraphy Guild brought me.  They'll be at the store next Saturday hand lettering names on Valentine's cards for people.  They'll have different colored inks and you can pick the font you like!  I'm just so excited about this event and hope you can come in and get your card hand lettered.  And a big thanks to the folks at the most amazing San Francisco paperie Bellocchio who first gave me this idea. I want to make it a Valentine's tradition.