New Store!

We are excited to announce we will be opening a new store on February 1, 2010. Thanks to your support and business we quickly outgrew our retail space at 222 N. Lee Street. As many of you know, that led to opening a studio at 205 S. Union Street to provide us the space to create our weddings and events. We have been looking for a space to combine these two locations and provide us more showroom space. Well . . . we think we have found the perfect location! It is just a few blocks away from our shop at 222 N. Lee and gives us a lot of room to spread out and continue to grow. And for those of you who live in Old Town or visit Old Town, it has tons of windows for great displays!

We hope you will be there for our grand opening on February 1st to usher in the next era of Helen Olivia. And thank you again for helping us create this amazing opporunity.

So here is is!!!

The NEW Helen Olivia
128 N. Pitt Street (corner of Cameron)
Alexandria, VA 22314

2010 Flower Class Schedule

We are excited to announce our 2010 schedule for floral design classes at our store in Alexandria, VA. The floral workshops are an exciting opportunity to learn more about design and composition. The flower classes are created to appeal to beginner as well as experienced designers. We will hold all the flower classes in our new store in Old Town Alexandria, VA on the corner of Cameron and N. Pitt Streets. The fee includes at least one arrangement to take home so plan a party for that night or the next day!

Space is limited so make your reservation early. Since space is limited and classes fill up well before the workshop date, cancellations must be received at least 5 days in advance for a full refund. We can then allow someone on the waiting list to claim your spot.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at info@helenolivia.com or at 703.548.2848.

I'm looking forward to having fun!


2010 Floral Design Workshops

Wednesday, January 27, 7-9pm
Romance and Roses
Creative ways to create romantic
centerpieces and get the most
out of your roses

Saturday, February 20th, 1-3pm
Color My World
Exploring the use of color to
create impact and interest

Wednesday, March 10th, 7-9pm
Blooming Bulbs
Creating displays to bring
the outdoors in –
just a little early

Saturday, April 3rd, 3-5pm
Eggstra Special
Fun and fabulous Easter designs
for your holiday table

Wednesday, June 2nd, 7-9pm
Contemporary Cool
Using sleek design to
create modern masterpieces

Saturday, July 24th, 10-12 noon
Natural Beauty
Using the glory of your garden
for beautiful design

Saturday, August 21st, 1-3 pm
Design for Entertaining
Simple centerpieces for
easy entertaining

Saturday, September 11th, 1-3pm
The Bounty of Fall
Vegetables, feathers, fruit and
anything else for lush falls designs

Wednesday , November 10th, 7-9pm
Terrific Tabletops
Candles and centerpieces
for cozy dining

Wednesday, December 8th, 7-9pm
or
Saturday, December 11th, 1-3pm
Happy Holiday
Long lasting table centerpieces to
take you through the season

Fee: $95 each workshop
(includes all materials and
an arrangement to take home!)

Floral design workshops are led by Marianne Raub, co-owner of Helen Olivia. Marianne’s creativity and skill in floral design has developed through her 10 years in the business and is well noted in
the Washington DC area.

All flower design classes will take place at the NEW Helen Olivia
Opening February 1, 2010

Helen Olivia
128 N. Pitt Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

Make your reservations by calling 703.548.2848 or e-mailing info@helenolivia.com. Looking forward to seeing you!

Helen Olivia on Style Me Pretty

We had the opportunity to do a gorgeous wedding at the amazing Clifton Inn this past May. Leah Willey and Seth Chokel were the perfect couple to have a great time in this beautiful setting. This week Style Me Pretty featured this wonderful wedding. Check out their post here.

Partners in creating this event were the great staff (and owners, mother and father of the bride!) of Clifton Inn. Also involved were the easy to work with Liz Powers of Skyline Tent Company and the talented photographer, Allegra's Studio.

Enjoy!

The Common Word

We here at Helen Olivia have the opportunity to provide services for all different types of floral events. As part of the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, we have been lucky to be part of events, small and large, that are part of our ever changing world.

Our relationship with Office of the President of Georgetown University provided one of these unique opportunities this week. Georgetown hosted the fourth "A Common Word" conference. A Common Word seeks to provide a dialogue between Christians and Muslims and find the common ground between the two. Learn more about A Common Word here.

Included in this article are a couple examples of the arrangements we provided for the dinners and lunches that were held as part of the event. The first dinner was held in the wonderful Riggs Library at Georgetown University. This is the old library for the university located in Healy Hall and is where most of the dinners hosted by Georgetown's president, John DeGioia, are held. We at Helen Olivia have always been amazed by this space and I encourage you to Google Riggs Library for images of the venue or go here to see this historic site.

The second dinner was held in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the State Department. We are fortunate to work in this majestic space frequently as well. I found a wonderful website found here, that describes all the diplomatic reception rooms on the top floor of the building.

So how did I decide what flowers to use for this series of events. Well, I try myself and encourage all the designers of Helen Olivia to be influenced by the bounty of the season. Mums, brassica (ornamental cabbage), hydrangeas and amaryllis were all discovered during my trip to the floral wholesaler this weekend. The logo for A Common Word is burgundy, gold and white so I used that as inspiration. The Ben Franklin Room has gorgeous pink marble so I know from past experience that peaches, burgundies and mauves work well in there.

Finally, influencing my choices were the table linens. Working with one of my favorite people in town, Blair Downing of Susan Gage Caterers we chose linens that would work well with the venues and the season. In an effort to be cost conscious, we also used all the arrangements for more than one event. So Blair found linens that would complement each other but still be different so the events could be unique even though the flowers were the same.

Hopefully you have had the pleasure of sampling Susan Gage's amazing fare but if not I hope you do soon! We work together often through mutual customers and it is always a delight (and Helen Olivia's customers can't say enough great things about Susan Gage Caterers).

I hope you have a chance to explore a few of these amazing parts of Helen Olivia's week. If you have any questions, please let me know!

Signature Design Style

I recently participated in a panel discussing signature designs. The panel consisted of florists and was being presented to florists. If any of you are familiar with Helen Olivia Flowers in Alexandria you know that I have a signature design style. Our shop is based on the concept of offering a signature design style that our customers know, recognize, hopefully can fall in love with and can count on. My signature design style is based on full, lush arrangements with a focus on color and texture. But what about you? If you are not a florist can you have a design style?

I believe the answer to this question is "yes!" I have rarely met a person who doesn't know what they like when it comes to flowers. Maybe you like English garden, perhaps modern, perhaps a single type of flower in a vase, maybe one flower and maybe a whole bunch. I think it is worthwhile defining your signature style. Spend a little time thinking about it and perhaps experimenting a little. The payoff is you will know what to ask for in clear defined terms when ordering flowers. Also articulate what you love to those you love. That way they can get you the perfect gift. I'm sure you can do it subtly. Walking by an arrangement you particularly like you could say, "I love the look of that design. It would look perfect on my console table." The recipients of the hints will appreciate it. They will know in clearer terms what to ask for when ordering flowers. If there is something you have a real aversion to (or allergy) make sure you communicate that and don't be subtle. I can recall many times hearing a husband or boyfriend say, "I always get her roses but it turns out sunflowers are her favorite flower." Anyone who knows me knows that even though I love all flowers, great and small, a bouquet of lilies would have to live on my porch.

We have a signature style in the way we dress, wear our hair, what we eat, how we exercise. Flowers are no different. Whether your signature style takes you to Helen Olivia Flowers or somewhere else at least you will have what you love and happier for it.

Fruit and Flowers

At this time of year when the weather starts to cool and the air becomes crisper, my thoughts turn to fruit. The beautiful shades of autumn, orange, gold, rust and burgundy, go so well with the natural colors of fruit and vegtables. The abundance of blooms the summer has left us also reminds me of the harvest of the garden.

Here are a few tips on how to use the elements of fruit and vegetables together. Use bamboo skewers or floral picks to hold the fruit. The bamboo skewers (found at grocery stores) are best for delicate fruits such as peaches, figs, and small plums. Heavier fuits and vegetables require the sturdier floral picks (found at florists and craft stores).

Look for colors in the fruits to coordinate with the flowers you choose. Even better is to use the fruit to insire your color palette. A gala apple for example has so many gorgeous colors on its skin -- red, gold, pale green. I love looking for flowers that have more than one shade within its bloom just like the fruit. Roses are wonderful for this effect. I especially love the rimmed roses to bring all the colors together. In this arrangement, I used gypsy curiosa roses which are a gorgeous shade of pale gold with a red rim. Hydrangea at this time of year is also wonderful for bringing colors in arrangements together. The hydrangea all becomes a multitude of colors -- blue/green, pink/green, burgundy/green, etc.

Treat the fruit or vegeatable just like another flower. It will fill the same amount of space as a flower. Don't crowd the flowers with the fruit -- you will end up bruising the flowers.

The old addage is that apples give off a gas that can be harmful to flowers. Some people think this applies to all fruit. While I don't necessarily disagree with this theorty, we haven't ever exeprienced a problem with combining the two elements in a flower arrangement (and we have been doing this a while). The flowers seem to last just as long with fruit as without.

All fruits and vegetables are game for a floral design. And pumpkins are the perfect shape to be a vase!

For more examples of the fun we have with fruit and flowers visit are store at 222 N Lee Street or better yet order your own!

Most of all, have fun (and don't eat the arrangements!).

Supermarket Bouquets

Since starting the blog, a lot of people have asked me to give advice on how to buy supermarket flowers. I, as much as anyone, have bought many of these supermarket bouquets. However, it has been a while. I have a pretty good source lined up for my flowers right now (I know -- I'm a lucky one!) So I bought a bouquet recently to remind myself of the important details.

I chose a bouquet based on it's overall appeal. I looked for a bouquet that had good shape and nice complimentary colors. It is good to have a nice bouquet to start with (I didn't find all of them pleasing in their flower selection or colors). I thought I would be able to bring the bouquet home, remove the plastic wrapping and place it in a vase.

I was not quite correct in my assumptions. From what I could see (the bouquet was wrapped with an opaque, yellow plastic wrap), the bouquet looked vase ready. However, behind the wrap I found spray mums and carnations with blooms half way down the stems and a lot of leaves still on the flowers. In order to properly place the flowers in the vase, I needed to pull apart the bouquet to clean the stems and leaves. It is not good to have blooms or leaves below the water line in order to preserve the longevity of the bouquet (and save yourself from horribly smelly water).


Once I had the bouquet reassembled, I placed in a low vase so that we might enjoy it on the dining room table. I often use this pitcher that belonged to my Nana, Helen. It is always wonderful to place flowers in sentimental items so that we may enjoy both the flowers and the treasures of our life.

The bouquet did reasonably well. The rose and solidago died within 2 days but the mums and carnations held on for about a week. It lasted about as long as I expected.

So my conclusions. Well . . . the convenience of these supermarket bouquets is undeniable. The price is also quite appealing -- my bouquet cost $12.99. However, especially if I was having company or a party I would make the effort to go to a florist. A bouquet of similar size would cost $25 at Helen Olivia. The flower choices would be more elegant, expensive looking and unique (the roses should last 5-7 days). The flowers can be designed in a European hand-tied style so that the bouquet can truly be brought home and placed in a vase without any additional work (though always remember to cut the stems again so they drink water effectively after being out of water any longer than a minute).

My final conclusion, however, is if convenience brings flowers into your life then buy the flowers at the supermarket or wherever you can get them. And enjoy!