MEET HOLLY CARLISLE OF ROSEGOLDEN FLOWERS

HC:  One thing I love about doing flowers is that I really don’t have a typical day. I get to make my own schedule which is lovely. The job is always changing so I switch gears a lot. Proposals, meetings, spreadsheets, emails, flower orders, processing, arranging – there is always something new and interesting to do. Plus I get to hang out with my dog a lot.

TBC:  Describe your client?
 
HC:  Feminine, fashionable, interesting, focused, trusting.

HC: Probably the first time I started crying a little bit while making a bouquet. It can be very emotional for me – making a bride’s bouquet. I’ve come to realized how very much doing flowers taps into the core of who I am.

TBC:  Where do you find inspiration?

HC:  All over the place really. I find the change in seasons very inspiring and exciting – always something new to discover around the corner. I seem to return a lot to the Japanese aesthetic. I am a big fan of negative space in design work.

HC:  Well I think burlap and mason jars are finally behind us so I suppose I can safely go with another trend. I’m going to live on the edge and say over-exposed photography.  There is just a point where the image becomes so washed out that important details are lost like color and texture.

HC:  Don Ehrett, a local dahlia grower who I was lucky to meet a couple of years ago. He really is a master gardener. He grows so many gorgeous varieties that I’ve never seen anywhere else. Plus he is an amazing person who spends a lot of time educating children about sustainable farming at a local community garden.

TBC:  To date, what has been the highlight of your career?

HC:  There have been so many exciting moments and connections that I’ve made over the past couple of years but nothing touches me more than receiving a note of thanks from a bride. Knowing that the flowers I created spoke perfectly to her and for her on her wedding day is the ultimate reward. It means the world to me. I keep them on my refrigerator.

HC: Oh my, that’s a tough question. I’m still surprised when I hear that anyone other than my mother reads my blog.

HC:  Do your own thing.  Don’t compare yourself to other designers. That can be really discouraging and is all too common in our social media saturated world. I think what’s most important is to find your own voice and you can’t do that if you are trying to mimic someone else’s. Also, keep your buckets really clean.

HC:  My clients tend to describe my flowers as feeling romantic and garden-inspired. I think of my work as being
evocative. Flowers are powerful communicators and I would like for my work to be evidence of that. As a designer, I am probably equal parts expressive and intentional. I tend to prefer a look that is both overgrown and manicured. Balancing these seemingly disparate elements is very central to my design process. It keeps things interesting anyway.

HC: I have a few. I like to make a little bouquet or arrangement for myself when I first get the flowers in so that I can bond with them before I start I working on the wedding. Creating that connection to the flowers is very important. If I start getting stressed out, I like to listen to Bob Marley. Also, I enjoy working really early in the mornings a day or two before the wedding – like around 3 or 4 am. I do some of my best thinking then.

TBC:  Describe a ‘wedding weekend and how many additional staff do you hire?

HC:  It really depends on the wedding. I usually work Wednesday through Saturday. Long days. I probably should clean up my workspace on Sundays but usually manage to justify putting that off a couple of days. I usually hire between 2-5 people. I learned pretty quickly that you can’t do it all by yourself.  Having a good team is crucial.

TBC:  What’s your favorite part about weddings when it comes to the florals?

HC:  I love watching the on site work come together on the day of. It never ceases to amaze me the way buckets and boxes full of raw material turn into carefully crafted installations of flowers and greenery.

HC:…..her. I spend a lot of time talking to brides about the bouquet. And I spend a lot of time thinking about her when I make it. It is literally in her hands half of the day so it needs to feel like part of her. Some brides want their bouquet to be an extension of the overall design and some want it to be a totally unique element design-wise – for instance she might want it to be all pink peonies or all lily of the valley. It’s all up to her. I do my best to determine what she truly wants to hold that day and bring it to life for her. I had a bride share with me recently in a note how she had trouble parting with her bouquet. She said she loved it so much she kept it with her until she had to leave for her honeymoon. She felt connected to it emotionally. I guess that’s the goal.

TBC:  Do you prefer tea or coffee?

HC:  Champagne.

TBC: Do you prefer blogs or magazines?

HC:  I really only read one magazine religiously – Vogue, printed. I do love flipping though those actual pages.  I enjoy blogs but don’t actually subscribe to any. There are so many it’s hard to keep up with them all. I just look at them when I’m in the mood.

TBC: Favorite musical artist?  

HC:  I do love The Rolling Stones. John Coltrane. Superchunk. Wu-Tang Clan. I like so many bands. I was actually listening to Prince on the radio the other day and found myself thinking about how relevant his music still sounds. I think that’s what really impresses me about the great musicians.

TBC:  And, I have to ask…what’s your favorite flower? 

HC:  Honestly, I’m constantly changing my stance on this. This time last year it was hellebores. Then clematis. And I think we could all agree the world could never have enough pieris in full bloom. And for that matter, dahlias – this past summer my local dahlia source blew me away with his selections. Then I got sweet on lilac and California grown green-centered anemones a few months back. But lately Japanese sweet peas and ranunculus have been stealing the show. All that said, I couldn’t have survived 2013 without these heavy hitters – the simply beautiful white majolica spray rose and the perfectly neutral quicksand stem rose which proved to be the perfect transitional color in almost every situation. Basically, I adore them all!