happy monday friends!!
hope you all had a lovely weekend! my weekend was spent the comfort of my home, diving back into work after a nice long week in california... i'll be sharing photos of my trip soon and recs of my favorite places... oh, and i can't wait to share what i've been working on lately!! :)
today, i'm so so so happy to introduce you to the lovely
cara [
of mum's flowers], an amazing floral designer + shop owner here in montana!! i would probably sit in her shop all day if i could.... it's adorable, and her work is absolutely stunning!!
thanks cara for taking the time to chat with us!! :)
q. // when did you get into floral design, + what prompted you to start?
[ a. ] I bought Mum's Flowers almost exactly 3 years ago with absolutely no background in floral or design. I have always enjoyed design (my dad and my grandmother are both artists/painters), fashion, decorating, and throwing parties but I knew nothing about flowers.
After graduating from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego with a degree in business, I moved back to Whitefish and started looking for a job. A friend of mine saw that Mum's Flowers was for sale and recommended that I look into it. I immediately saw an old business (it's been in Whitefish for over 50 years!) that needed some TLC and thought that I could give it a face lift. In addition to rebranding the business, I immediately fell in love with floral design.
q. // what inspires you + where do you find it?
[ a. ] I find inspiration in so many places! For the gift shop side of my business I'm inspired by Anthropologie and West Elm. I want to create a space that people love to come hang out in, always offering creative ways to display products, fun do-it-yourself projects, and of course incredible scents.
From the floral side, I'm inspired by my product. When you're working with beautiful flowers every day it's so easy to see color and shape and texture in new ways. I like to carry unusual florals and botanicals that you can't find in your average grocery store.
A huge part of our business is wedding design and I love following wedding blogs, talented photographers and pinterest for new ideas. Oftentimes my brides inspire with their vision and excitement for their own weddings.
I'm always receiving inspiration from friends and family who see things that remind them of me; they send me photos, articles, blog posts, scraps of moss from the forest etc. I love having everyone in my life involved in my creative vision.
q. // when you're not putting pretty flowers together, what's your favorite thing to do?
[ a. ] I love to travel with my husband, have dinner parties, and spend time in the outdoors hiking, skiing, running, and surfing.
q. // if you could give one piece of advice to fellow creatives, what would it be?
[ a. ] Be confident in your style. It's taken a few years to develop a style that I love and now I'm confident that others love it too! If someone is paying you to do what you love, they must love what you do so embrace that and consider yourself blessed. I've developed a signature look that I hope people recognize when they see my work. This can be carried throughout your personal style, your home decor, and the color palate that you live by. My staff has named a whole monochromatic mint to turquoise palate "cara teal" - it reminds me of the Caribbean Ocean
fill in the blank:
i have a penchant for
a hot cup of coffee on a cold morning, having sand between my toes, a photo that captures a moment that you want to feel forever, sunshine on my face, Sunday am snuggles, and coconut curry.