I really hope this book will inspire flower arrangements throughout your home from season to season.
Remember if you pre-order the book, just send over your receipt today for a code (valid for purchases until March 2nd for purchase of any class in our flower school (live classes not included). Send your receipt to me at hello@frolic-blog.com or DM me on Instagram.
If you make a project in the book, or you receive your book this week, I would love to see! You can post on Instagram under the hashtag: #fieldflowervase!
Happy Flower Arranging!
xo
Chelsea
P.S.
You might find these links helpful for your pre-order:
UPDATE! We now sell our own hand-forged flower clippers. My favorite style! You can buy them here.
A lot of flower students ask where to find the best clippers so I thought I would do a post today sharing a few of my favorites. When I need a new pair of clippers, I usually grab them from a local shop or hardware store. Shopping locally is something that I am a big believer in and your local hardware store will usually have garden clippers that will work great for arranging! Many traditional florists will use knives but I have never liked using them so I am not including any here today. These are clipper styles I actually use in my everyday floral work. Some are prettier than others but at the end of the day, the quality of clippers and the comfort is going to matter the most!
1. Niwaki Rattan Snips It is great to have a pair of floral snips for bulbs, and soft stemmed flowers like wildflowers. You don’t ever want to use scissors because they will pinch the stems, causing an opportunity for bacteria to grow. Snips are a great option for delicate flowers with soft stems. These rattan handled ones from Niwaki are great.
2. Niwaki Higurashi Scissors This is my tried and true favorite style of flower clippers. They work with a variety of stem types and are comfortable for the hands. I have heard some people say they don’t find them comfortable, so you need to find a style that works best for you. If you find these too heavy, try the Sakagen option below.
3. Niwaki Higurashi Snips Another option for snips that I quite like using for more delicate flowers.
4. Sakagen Flower Scissors These are some of the most practical and durable clippers I have ever owned. They are awesome for everyday use because they fit the hand comfortably but they are lightweight.
5. Felco Pruning Shear Every florist needs a pair of Felcos or a comparable pruning shear. These are awesome for super thick woody stems like fruit branches and lilac!
6. Camellia Oil This Japanese camellia oil is great for taking care of your Japanese flower shears.
For some general flower shear perusing, here are a few of my favorite sources:
If you follow over on Instagram, you know that Field, Flower, Vase is publishing on March 2nd! This book was a labor of love and I hope you will enjoy it. Published by Abrams, Field, Flower, Vase is an eco-friendly guide to working with cut flowers, whether you purchase flowers at the grocery store, grow your own, or forage them in the countryside. It has a complete guide to working with cut flowers and also features 28 eco-friendly flower projects using fresh flowers, herbs, branches, dried flowers, and edible blossoms. You can read more about the book here and pre-order.
Today I wanted to give a shout out to the many people who helped make this book possible! While I spend many days on set alone, arranging, styling, writing out the projects, and photographing the flowers myself, the book was only made possible with an incredible book agent, the team at Abrams, and my little team of flower helpers here in Portugal.
The book came to fruition because of Carla Glasser, a literary agent in NYC who encouraged me for four years to create a flower book. Without her persistence and cheerleading, it never would have happened!
Shawna Mullen was the editor on the book. She let me work in a very fluid, intuitive way, and kept me in check with her careful eye for detail and wording. There was of course an entire team at Abrams fact-checking, and editing, and designing. I was so pleased with the book design by Heesang Lee which makes the book completely pleasurable to flip through! The printed table cloth wraps around the edge of the book to create the most delightful juxtaposition with the flowers and scenes of Sintra.
I had a little team of flower helpers here in Portugal! One of my best friends, Cláudio Silva, took the portraits and extra photographs in the book. He also was a big supporter of the book since the beginning, encouraging me to take on the project and helping me on set. Rita Teles Garcia created some delightful illustrations for the book! Sofia Espada was my assistant during most of that year, helping me keep classes going among other things! Sofia is the one you see making potpourri, holding flowers in pretty floral dresses. She is also a photographer and was there to help on set, carry props, and hold down the fort at busy city locations. Gemma Urban also helped with locations and prop styling under the hot Lisbon sun! You’ll see her in a flower crown toward the end of the book. Tessy Morelli and Mathilde Letessier both helped with locations and hunting down some difficult to find ingredients. It always takes a team to produce these projects and I am so grateful! Of course I had a slew of friends and family and coffee buddies that powered me through as well.
I hope you will love the book. I will be talking more about it in upcoming posts.
