A morning with Studio Choo.

I don't know what it is, but lately I've been excited about flowers and gardening. Maybe I am finally turning this whole brown thumb thing around (did you hear that Mom?). Whatever the reason, flower arranging seems like a safe place to start. The flowers are already dead, so right away my biggest problem is taken off the table...

In honor of this new found interest, I recently attended a two hour flower arranging class at West Elm taught by the lovely ladies of Studio Choo. All I can say is wow! Beautiful flower overload and a morning well spent. Don't know who they are? They are Alethea and Jill, the lovely ladies behind the flower shop Studio Choo in SF, and the authors of the recent release Flower Recipe. They are most known for their wild, natural and modern arrangements (you might recognize them from their long running column for Design Sponge).

I was so impressed by Jill and Alethea's warmth, presence, and approachability. If they were travel-weary, no one would know it. Most of all, it's obvious that they love what they do. It was a pleasure to meet you ladies!

Each table was outfitted with several jars of amazing blooms and each little work station was complete with a set of garden pruners and an over sized Weck jar. We listened to what Jill and Alethea had to say and then they let us loose on a few carts of AMAZING and expensive flowers. It was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, but we all acted like we knew what we were doing.

Armed with a few simple rules and steps, I now feel like I can take any bundle of flowers that life (or the grocery store) may throw at me and at least know where to start. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially if you're a beginner!

Thank you West Elm and thank you Studio Choo!