design demonstrations [teaching is my passion]

For the last several months I have had the awesome fortune of having my lovely office manager assist me with posting blogs.  She has been rocking it so much that I have been getting a little bit rusty and thought I would have my first attempt in months.  So here we go..

In the last several months we've had the pleasure of being asked to do a couple demonstrations for the local florist community.  And not only was I honored to be asked, the best part was the people I met through it all. Mayesh has been the new kid in town this year and with a large mountain to climb.  But they accomplished something I think many of us didn't think would be possible.  They created a little space for themselves in a highly competitive market.  And even better than making their space, they came in with amazing product and a warehouse full of creative, knowledgeable people.  

And of course, when they called and requested I come to do a little demonstration for their Open House/ Customer Appreciation, I said Yes! But when they told me that I would have my pick of Japanese product, I said HELL YES!! And don't think for a second I was excited to speak in front of a crowd... but I put my big girl pants on and handled business.

Let me tell you that I am fully aware at how ridiculous I look in these images as I am mid sentence, I had to post them non the less.

In this particular demonstration I focused on creating a garden arrangement, one in which could be relatable and yet able to show some tricks that others might find interesting.  Variety and texture is crucial to making this work.  And of course lets not forget to continuing varying heights of the flowers so that depth and structure can be created.

As if that wasn't the highlight of my year, the ladies of Westside Flower Exchange came a calling.  Since I first walked into that warehouse, I knew I would immediately love these ladies.  They are full of personality, and have a love affair with flowers that I immediately related to. The knowledge they hold and the insane variety of premium blooms, always keep me close.  

They were celebrating their 20th year in service, and I had no clue till the day of... I was the one designer in Houston they requested.  WHAT??? Little ol Maria Maxit of Maxit Flower Design was the designer they thought of when thinking of the one designer in 20 years of service they would like to come help celebrate their big day. 

What an honor.  They too gave me my pic at product, as they were some of the first in town to bring in peonies... you know I was immediately dying. You walk in their cooler and your heart just starts racing.  That cooler is jam packed full of the most dream worthy flowers that exist. And with hearts in my eyes, I was given direction to pick out "what ever I wish".  

Let me stop here by saying... THIS. IS. A. DREAM.

I think I fainted and went to heaven.  My go at the cooler, to pick anything I want?!!! Oh holly flowers.  I have to admit that I died of sheer joy and kinda blanked out. When I came to... people were starting to fill the room and the demonstration had to start.  Cue 'go blank again', as it's always nerve wrecking to talk in front of people.  

I went into this demonstration with the idea that I would create  a large scale arrangement.  One that would be placed at the altar or a focal point of a space.  Concentrating on having attendees see the structure of the base and how the beginnings of flower arranging starts.  With details as when to place certain flowers and why particular flowers are used when.   Did you know that the order you place flowers dramatically changes the shape of a flower arrangement?

Special thanks to all the wholesalers in Houston that have supported my journey in the crazy flower industry, I could never do it with out you! 

matt's 41st [private residence]

A few weeks ago, we were contacted by Courtney of Little Coterie to be involved with Matt's 40-ish birthday party. We instantly fell in love with Courtney's sweet soul and just HAD to say yes. We are so glad we did. While we only provided the florals, every design aspect came together seamlessly. Check out this ultra-chic birthday party below:

The arrangements that we provided were super modern and masculine. They featured:

• White & Plum Ranunculus
• Artichokes
• White Roses
• Greenery
• Succulents
• Tropical Leaves
• Mini Dark Calla Lilies 

Courtney absolutely B L E W this Birthday party out of the water. Even though we simply provided the flowers, this is one of our favorite non-wedding events to share. Intimate, chic, low-key gatherings are something special. Some of our favorite details are:

Thank you again to Courtney & Little Coterie...we can't wait to work with y'all more! Special thank you to Lawrence Knox Photography for these gorgeous images. Lastly, Happy Birthday Matt! (Yes, we are incredibly jealous of you & your shindig.)

callie + steven [briscoe manor]

Y'all, I will never understand how we get so lucky with our clients. They are always so trusting, kind and just plain H A P P Y.                     [Knocks on wood.] 

Callie & Steven are no exception when it comes to rockstar clients. These newlyweds were an absolute dream to work with. We're so excited to have photos from their big day to share with you, courtesy of Luke and Cat. Besides practically being the most amazing models (part in thanks to Hey Lovely), you can really see the love and joy in their hearts when you see them. If you know us, you know that is one of our absolute favorite things!

Callie & Steven got hitched at Briscoe Manor in Richmond, TX in January of this year. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The ceremony was held in the Briscoe Chapel, cocktail hour was in Amy's Courtyard and the reception was in the gorgeous Crofton Ballroom. 

For their special day, Callie held a bright and bold garden bouquet filled with:

• Rose
• Spray Rose
• Ranunculus
• Scabiosa
• Veronica
• Tulips
• Berries
• Freesia
• Anemone
• Eucalyptus 

Steven donned a simple boutonniere made with a ranunculus. 

The bridal party followed suit with bright florals, similar to the bride's but smaller in size. The groomsmen also wore boutonnières made of ranunculus.

The ceremony was simple and focused on their act of exchanging vows. They didn't want too many distractions, so we kept it dainty and minimal. We added greenery garland on the pews and the table hosting the unity candle. 

Cocktail hour was held in the courtyard. Our greenery garland dressed up the wooden bar and seating chart. Small single bud arrangements sat on the bar high tables covered in a sultry steel blue velvet linen. The day of coordination & lounge areas were executed by Pomp & Circumstance.

The reception was one of our favorite parts of the day. We had special wood blocks handmade for their head table to arrange with small compote mixes and candles to create a "garland" that was unexpected. Single stems of tulips were placed at each setting. 

Guest tables were draped with a white linen. We mixed medium compote style arrangements with groupings of the blocks to create varying heights throughout the room. 

Wrapping up- Can we just take a minute to talk about this cake by Cakes by Gina?! The 5-tier cake had some major style going on. Marbled buttercream, gold leaf and a sash of flowers truly made this guy a show-stopper. We can only imagine how good this tasted....

We were so honored to be a part of this unexpectedly bright winter wedding. Callie & Steven, we wish you many many years of wedded bliss! Thank you for trusting us and our vision for your wedding. XOXO

maxit studio styles- february session

This is probably going to be one of the most fun blog series for us to write. Simply because it is all about our "baby"- Maxit Studio Styles! We literally feel like a dad with his wallet full of his family's photos. 

We created the idea of giving back to the creative community using our studio space and access to flowers. One of the biggest challenges for small businesses is getting your name out there. Correct?  So how do we accomplish that?! That got us thinking-

Social Media is our biggest (& cheapest) friend these days. However, showcasing your work, style and vision can be hard when you run out of images from your portfolio- honestly, you can only show off a wedding or event so much before it goes stale. Styling kits can cost tons of money. (Ribbon and vintage scissors aren't cheap, y'all!) Flowers are great for styling, but a lot of "non-flower experts" have trouble making things look just right. iPhone photos aren't always ideal or cooperative. Styled shoots are SO. MUCH. WORK. and so crazy expensive now. So how can we get those perfectly styled images, but also have our stamp of creativity on them?

Then it came to us. Pool all of our creative friends and work together! Genius. Maxit Studio Styles was born.  The idea is simple:

• reach out to the local creatives.
• create a spreadsheet (or 6) and organize creatives by skill.
• spend time researching vendors and decide who vibes the best.
• move some things around in your calendar and get the sessions scheduled.
• create a mood board for each session.
• connect creatives together and release mood board.
• brainstorm as a group.
• its finally session day- style, style, style.
• uplift each other.
• get images back.
• spam the heck out of them. uplift each other some more. 

So, it really isn't that simple, but SO worth it. So, without further adieu, We would like to share our very first Maxit Studio Styles Session with you! 

The Dream Team

Rocio Carlon Studios- Photographer Extraordinaire: Rocio came with her camera and totally killed the entire shoot. She worked her hiney off making sure each picture had perfect lighting, composition and depth. She was on and off that step ladder ALL day. When we received these images in our inbox- we about died. Rocio, you did even better than we could have imagined! 

Fresh strawberries with floral tea. 

Aces of Taste- Foodies : Abigail and Julie showed up to the session to represent AOT. Little did these ladies know, they would end up being models, too! A & J, your food styling was on point and y'all totally took the record for most styled images created in such a short amount of time! We can't wait to attend one of your pop-up events soon.  **Bonus- Abigail also owns her own cotton candy business! WHAT?! Thank you to Lush Puff for providing yummy, on site, cotton candy for our shoot! 

Tripp Films- Videographer of our dreams: Nikki not only shot an amazing BTS video, she also brought a ton of gorgeous and unique styling props. And we mean a ton. She brought a totally different aspect to our shoot that we simply loved. Her love for her work truly shines through her work. We just love when we can tell you adore your job. Her BTS video will be shared soon!

Wink by Erica-  our Sweets Soul Sister: Erica couldn't meet up with us, due to an event, but graciously sent gorgeous macaroons our way! Y'all, if we didn't absolutely need these little heaven cookies for our images, they would have been devoured in a heart beat. The smell coming from the little container was simply D I V I N E.  Erica literally took our idea of the "perfect" macaroon and ran with it. We can't wait to work with her again! 

This is probably the longest blog post ever, so we will keep the end short & sweet. We couldn't have asked for a better group of ladies to test out our very first Maxit Studio Styles session on. We have 2017 planned out for the most part, but we are already looking forward to next year and adding new participants. Stay tuned for updates after each session. 

katherine & jonathan [tiny boxwood's]

Simple. Sweet. Intimate. Those are some of our favorite weddings. We love to do grandiose installations, but these sweet newlyweds really wanted their love to be the focus of the day. 

Katherine and Jonathan were married last fall at Tiny Boxwood's in Houston, TX. Their color inspiration for the day was white, ivory and peach with touches of greenery. The perfect palette for their garden venue. 

The bride and groom kept their personal flowers simple. Katherine carried a tight bouquet featuring hydrangea and roses. Jonathan donned a boutonniere showcasing a white ranunculus. 

Their ceremony was dressed with lanterns and accenting florals. We loved the natural beauty of Tiny's lawn and decided that just a touch of decor was needed. Thankfully, both Katherine and her Mom run the Longoria Collection*, so it was crazy simple to discuss aesthetic and design direction with them.

The reception was just as dainty and pretty as the ceremony. We covered some tables with greenery garlands and set small garden mixes on the others. Keeping the charm of Tiny's- we didn't do a whole lot to the reception space. We even used Tiny's signature napkins in the design. 

The classic white cake was spruced up with a greenery garland at the base.  Amongst all of the simple florals, a small detail that we loved was the boxwood letter "H" for the entrance to the garden. Creating a keepsake for the couple to take home is one of our favorite things. 

Katherine and Jonathan kept their special day timeless. We were so happy to get to work with such an amazing couple and their parents. Cheers to the newlyweds!