Welcome to our floral studio: An oasis in time

Since this blog is new and is finding its voice I thought it would be a perfect time to share about our little floral studio.

Located in Southern New Hampshire, just 20 minutes West of Portsmouth, our studio sits inside an 1843 barn. The doors are crooked, the walls don't have insulation and we are still waiting to get electricity but that's kind of what makes the studio so perfect. (along with forcing me to stop working when the sun sets).

There is a huge window that looks out on the property and on sunny days it gives the whole studio a bliss-filled glow. Everyone that walks through its doors always feels like they have walked through a portal. High vibe music plays all day long, beeswax candles are always lit, rosewater and orange blossom water bathe our local flowers and there are always so many oohs & ahhs! Even the bees like to take a rest in our studio on a flower or two!

A bee rests on a flower stem - safe & sound in our little magical world

Our studio is filled with trinkets and treasures from my travels, local estate sales, and flea market finds. There is an interesting balance in setting up a floral studio that is used just for events because there is inherent desire for beauty to be everywhere and yet, space is at a premium and I am always shuffling my trinkets around the studio around to make room for all the flowers, the vases, the candles (omg the candles!) and all of my amazing freelancers.

My workspace: always filled with tea that has gone cold, a myriad of flowers and a lit beeswax candle. I tend to shuffle things around a lot to make room for all the beauty.

beaded grapes lay next to fallen poppy petals

The beauty of a full work table

I can't explain the joy I get when I bring a load of fresh flowers in from the farm or my amazing wholesalers. I get so giddy as I process the flowers, examining each one of them, pulling my favorite stems in their own special bucket, and eventually getting every stem in water and organized for what arrangement they will be used for.

Then the real magic begins. The pulling of the vessels, the adhering of the floral frogs or the cutting of the chicken wire (our sustainable floral techniques). We pour water in each vessel ceremoniously, add a dash of Orange Blossom water to the vessel and then with intention and deep intuition we begin the floral design process.

A sweet Springtime Ikebana arrangment with Quince from California and Mallow from my yard in a brass bowl

I love working alone in the studio but with larger events and more events in our calendar each year I need to bring in other designers who can match not only the Nectar & Vessel style but also who understand and can get behind our ethos of creating a work space that is in essence a sacred space, a space where beauty is created, tended to and enlivened.

Everyone that steps into our Nectar & Vessel studio knows they are walking into something far bigger than just another floral studio. There are prayers woven into the walls of this oasis I have created and I am grateful for all of you who I can flower for and bring a little tenderness to in this hardened shell of a world.

A magical rainfall through one of our our studio windows.