FORCE BULBS AND BRANCHES (GENTLY) INTO BLOOM
Foraging For Beginners
OUT OF THE HOTHOUSE AND INTO THE FIELD! FORAGED FLORA PIONEER AND BLOOMIST COLLABORATOR LOUESA ROEBUCK TAKES US FORAGING FOR NATURE’S ABUNDANCE.
My Dad’s family is from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Like many families of his generation, he was part Scottish and part Cherokee. Both deeply pantheistic lineages. He taught me how to observe and really see — just a deeper level of observation, of being still.
KEAP CANDLES THAT GIVE BACK
“KEAP” IS A NOD TO THE KEAP STREET, WILLIAMSBURG KITCHEN WHERE FOUNDERS HARRY DOULL AND STEPHEN TRACY MADE THEIR FIRST CANDLES.
“Our zero-waste approach to candle design mimics nature’s cyclical systems,” Tracy says. “Our labels are biodegradable and removable, making it easy to repurpose our candle tumblers.” The pair provide instructions for safely repurposing used candle vessels on Keap’s website, making it easy for buyers to give these glass containers a new life (as whiskey tumblers, perhaps).
But that’s just part of their mission.
Make A Wild Arrangement
BLOOMIST COLLABORATOR LOUESA ROEBUCK IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE FORAGED FLORA MOVEMENT. LEARN HOW TO MAKE SHOWSTOPPING WILD ARRANGEMENTS IN 6 EASY STEPS
Small or large, Louesa Roebuck’s foraged arrangements are famous for their natural drama. Here, she walks us step-by-step through creating a showstopper arrangement — from the best mindset for choosing flowers and other flora to working with larger arrangements and creating structure and weight with frogs
In Harmony With Nature
FORAGED FLORA PIONEER AND BLOOMIST COLLABORATOR LOUESA ROEBUCK GATHERS LOCAL, SEASONAL, AND FOUND ELEMENTS TO MAKE INTRINSICALLY BEAUTIFUL, HARMONIOUS ARRANGEMENTS
If you wouldn’t eat a tomato out of season, why buy sterile blooms, air shipped from thousands of miles away? In co-author and artist Louesa Roebuck’s Foraged Flora: A Year of Gathering and Arranging Wild Plants and Flowers, readers will find a sharp new take on the aesthetics, and politics, of living with flowers and flora. If you eat locally and seasonally, Roebuck hopes you’ll gather your flora — from your garden, your neighbors’ garden, farmers’ markets and anywhere else your day might take you — with the same sense of responsibility and delight.
WREATH TO THE RESCUE
OUT OF TIME, PATIENCE, AND INSPIRATION? BLOOMIST COLLABORATOR HILARY ROBERTSON MAKES A SIMPLE WREATH WITH JUST A HANGER AND SOME GREENS.
DARE TO MIX FRESH WITH DRIED
BLOOMIST COLLABORATOR HILARY ROBERTSON IS A FEARLESS MIXER OF FRESH AND DRIED BOTANICALS. HERE SHE TELLS US HOW AND WHY TO MAKE A NATURAL ARRANGEMENT WITH THEM BOTH.
Find Art In Nature
“CARVED WOODEN CHAINS AND HAND-WOVEN BASKETS BLUR THE LINES BETWEEN ART, NATURE, AND DESIGN” - Hilary Robertson, stylist, author, Bloomist collaborator
“Interiors photoshoots involve a unique set of challenges”, says stylist Hilary Robertson. “A primary one is art. Stylists often can’t use copyrighted artwork in photoshoots, so we turn instead to natural elements”, she explains. “I call it, “art that isn’t art.”
SECRETS TO A NATURAL SHELFIE
WITH THE HELP OF MOTHER NATURE, INTERIOR STYLIST AND BLOOMIST COLLABORATOR HILARY ROBERTSON CREATES SIMPLE, BEAUTIFUL, PHOTOREADY VIGNETTES AND TABLEAUX FOR THE HOLIDAYS
DRIED & TRUE
“MIX DRIED FLOWERS AND BRANCHES WITH HAND-CRAFTED OBJECTS TO CREATE A NATURAL, MINIMAL LOOK. A SINGLE STEM OR SCULPTURAL LEAF IN A SIMPLE VESSEL CAN MAKE THE PICTURE.” - Hilary Robertson, stylist, author, Bloomist collaborator
“I like things that retain a shape. If they’re too small, they look like dust catchers,” explains Hilary. “When you’re working on an arrangement with smaller, more delicate things they’re always slightly brittle, which is why I lean toward larger blooms. A dried allium has a nice, sculptural shape. The leaves you get from the Caribbean are sculptural, and they’re more interesting to work with. Another dry favorite is bayberry. I absolutely adore it – a grey berry on a branch. I always have them at home and you don’t need more than 1 or 2.”