Spring is Here!

6 September 2012 

I’m so chuffed to know that I have my own up and running website. All thanks to weebly for their free website and user friendly services. I’m SO excited to be posting my first blog post in this website. 

Spring is finally here. Today in Canberra the temperature nearly reached their first 20C and yet I didn’t have the health capacity to enjoy it. I am a regular migraine sufferer, but after a few weeks without it I thought I’ve mastered the art of avoiding them. I wonder if the warm weather made me dehydrate a lot quicker. This is the 2nd migraine of the week. I hate not being able to do anything- especially when I’ve got a long list that needs to be ticked. 

After mothers day rush this year, I’ve decided to take a break from selling for 3 months in order to develop my branding and stock up. Winter has never gone so fast before. I’ve been working 3 days a week as a florist not far from my house and 2 days working on my jewellery. My attention will always be divided between the two so I try to steal some hours over the weekend or even after work to catch up. 

It was easy to make the decision to take a break in winter- but it was hard to leave shop handmade in May. When I got my jewellery back and did some inventory, it’s been discovered that $500 worth of my items are missing from the shop. After some searching , the shop co-owner Rachel and I are convinced that the items had been lost to petty theft.  So I cried for about 2 weeks before I picked myself up again. Fortunately shop handmade is willing to compensate the lost money by lightening the amount of my rent at their shop. This way I can afford to rent the glass cabinet for 4.5 months to avoid theft.  Not really sure what’s going to happen after that but I’ll deal with that later. 

So. whoever had stolen my stuff and taking my work and time for granted- SHAME ON YOU!!!  >.< 

Bad news aside, I’m back in the shop again now with beautiful new things. This time my items are protected and I’m 110% organised on my stock inventory. This week I’m putting making jewellery aside and will be spending time on photography and putting details on this website.

I shouldn’t say too much, but building up an exclusive bridal jewellery collection is not far from the plan. Bring on the pretty whites!   

Testing my Loyalty

I was contemplating to leave blogspot to start another one a my new weebly website. It wasn't long that I faced a dilemma. I missed reading the blogs that I follow, and I missed being in blogspot in general. Writing a blog in weebly made me feel a bit lonely and secluded- so here I am crawling back to blogger. I have to admit that I hate the result of me moving around too much. It's like I change my business and nickname every year... why do I do that? Stop it Fionna stop it!!!  Anyways, so before I delete the 2 blog entries I've written on weebly, I will copy and paste them here. And I'm staying put... really, this time it's going to happen.

Prabha and Brendan's Cave Wedding

The most unforgetable memory of December 2011 was when I was asked to work for a friends wedding to be held inside a cave. The cave is located in Wee Jasper, hidden underground amongst the Goodradigbee valleys located just at the end of the magnificent lake Burrinjuck . I had the honor to do Prabha's and her bridesmaids wedding bouquet and additional flowers, as well as singing and playing the piano during the ceremony- which I'm absolutely thrilled about, especially for a location as unique as a gorgeous looking cave!

Prabha and Brendan visited my chair-less home at the time to talk about flowers and music. Flicking through the only floral magazine I have she has no problem in choosing what she wants. Baby's Breath mixed with roses for her, and something green for the bridesmaids. We emailed back and forth with what music would be suitable for the ceremony. We're trying hard to choose something that is going to be uniquely Brendan and Prabha.

The day before the wedding, I woke up at 5am to make 3 bouquets. I had to leave for the caves at 11am and had no experience in working with Baby's Breath so I had no idea how long it would take me to finish. Turns out I finished in less than 3 hours in a lazy pace. I didn't realize how much I've improved since Clare and Sven's wedding. I arranged the bridesmaids bouquet using white mini Gerbera, green spider Chrysanthymum, green Carnations and the rare fluffy 'Green Trick'.  

Friday turns out to be a very busy day including packing, travelling, wedding rehearsals, and setting up the reception venue. I was also busy carrying the live flowers with me making sure they are in water and don't sit anywhere near where there's heat. During the wedding rehearsal I had fun pretending to be the celebrant helping Prabha and Brendan saying their vows. I also had a hard time trying not to look at Catriona and the playful, 13 yr old flower girl Gemma carrying my $2000 keyboard down the cave. I nearly had a heart attack when Gemma decided to flip throw one of the bridesmaids bouquet during rehearsal- for that second it felt like time stopped as everyone gasped and looked at me. Wee Jasper is a very secluded area with no phone reception. If something happen to the flowers there is no way I can get it replaced.

After the wedding rehearsal a few of us stayed up until 11pm to set up the reception venue in the local hall. I stayed up a few more hours to make the groomsman's buttonholes and Gemma's wrist corsage.

With only 4 hours of sleep the night before, I slept well the night before the wedding. The girls stayed in a well furnished cottage separate to the boys. It wasn't until when I woke up the next morning I realized that we were surrounded with such beautiful landscape! It was truly a beautiful morning- one of those mornings that is just so perfectly picturesque.

One of our friend, Prema used to work for Clinique so she's responsible in doing Prabha's make up. The photographer, Ben Thomas came just in time as I was 3/4 of the way of working on Prabha's tiara of baby's breath. Greg helped me wire some of these tiny florets to speed the process. God is so good for giving me such a handy husband! When Prabha is all dressed up, she looked absolutely stunning beyond belief. I had no idea she was going to wear a traditional outfit. It's amazing to see how things work together in the end.

I'm very happy the way Prabha's bouquet turned out. Half of it thanks to my boss, Val for finding me a great opened bunch of mini roses and an extremely fresh bunch of babys breath and white Alstromeira. Prabha informed me a week after the wedding that the flowers are still alive- that is how amazingly fresh they are. 

It was an early 9am wedding, with a small audience of less than 40. Me and my keyboard were positioned next to a ramp where the wedding party emerged. I can't hear what my music sound like, but they told me that the acoustics is good enough for me to not use any amplifying. I sang "A Moment Like This" as Brendan took Prabha by the hand to escort her down the ramp, across the room and up on the stage. The lyrics to this song cannot be more suitable for this event.

For the signing of registry I sang "At The Beginning", and because it wasn't long enough I sang "If I Had You" a pretty jazz standard I whipped up a few days before just in case.

We emerged to the surface with light too bright for our eyes, and for some of us, extremely relieved that the ceremony is over and the couple is happily married. We had afternoon tea and mingled with friends. I had a clinging wish to have a proper tour of the cave after mingling- but by the time everyone left, we were too exhausted to do so.

Greg and I drove the bride and groom back to the cottage for a bit of rest before they head off for photos. Greg ended up chauffeuring the bridal party to their photo shoot locations for the day. As for me, I took this opportunity to fall back to sleep before reception starts.

It was time to enjoy the party at reception with a highlight of bush dance at the end of it. It's always a treat to be able to work- then relax with everyone else as the day goes on. As the music and the dancing played on, the number of guest dwindles starting with the older people for an earlier night, to people having to drive back to Canberra or Sydney on the same day. We danced the night away until there were only a few of us left and the music. 

And it came to the end of the night. Greg and I drove Prabha and Brendan back to the cottage while a few of our friends stayed back to pack up the hall. We looked back on the day with a smile, and a sigh of happiness. Congratulations Brendan and Prabha, and thank you so much for this unforgettable experience! xo

Photos are by Ben Thomas of www.benthomasphotos.com

Looking Back

2012 is finally here! Where has my head been? I’m scurrying all over trying to find and fix it in time for the new year.

2011 has been an interesting year. I started the year barely with anything to do and saw that new friends need to be made. I even got depressed at one time when I couldn't find enough creative outlet to do. It’s funny now that I can see how God shapes my path. By September I was caught off guard with opportunities and by December I landed on few too many jobs, and too many social commitments that I had to start shaking things off.

Admittedly I had to shake off writing this blog for a bit. But now I’m here. It’s 6.50 am and I haven’t slept all night. Could be because of the cold I’m having, could be of the excitement of new prospects in the new year- whatever it is, I’m grateful to be able to appreciate the rare first morning of sunlight whilst listening to Katie Noonan and writing this.

Working in the florist had been physically and mentally draining- it’s an art in itself to get used to. I find it hard to cope with our clients sadness for the deceased, as well as their high demand in pleasing their loved ones. But I love and cherish every moment of working there. The pressure to perform and to do it side by side with plants is really an amazing thing. My Etsy shop (and my online presence in general) had been completely absent. On the other hand my tangible shop in real life is doing extremely well. New jewellery designs come and go before I had the chance to document them online. It all had been so exciting and exhilarating- how I manage to end the year knowing that I’m doing the things that I love with and for the people I care about.   

Christmas was a much sought after break after what seem to be an endless journey to Christmas itself. Greg’s parents rented a house in Berridale- a tiny populated town of 80 only a few hours away from Canberra. We journeyed there through a dark and consuming thunderstorm but was surprisingly embraced with a breathtakingly beautiful full double rainbow on the other side of the dark clouds just a few km away upon arriving to our rented home.

God has been very good to us. 

Volunteering in Floriade

I've decided to volunteer at Floriade this year. Floriade is basically an annual flower festival that is held at the heart of Canberra every year. I've been going to Floriade every year since 2004 but have never volunteered before. I only applied this year because at the time I was only making jewelry and thought that some sunshine would do me some good. Though life decides to change drastically and gets very busy, I still don't want to back out- so here I am!

I have to work 4 hours every session for 6 shifts in one month. I don't know what my job is for the day until I sign in, and they change every time. On my first shift my first job is to walk around the park with a radio (which is really cool!) . On my second shift I had to sit in the exhibition marquee for 4 hours, and oh my goodness it was sooooo boring. I can't believe I had to leave early from work to do this stupid shift. I was sitting in a tent full of mannequin wearing floral outfits. It was during the week so there weren't very many people walking through the tent. I felt a bit left out being the only one who is not wearing flower outfits, but at the end of the day I felt like people were walking pass me like I was one of the display.

One very cold rainy day I was scheduled to greet visitors on the second busiest gate- and not very many people came. Half of the volunteers didn't turn up and I was on the gate by myself until a very kind lady decided to stay on the gate with me. I was VERY cold and miserable that day. I had to go again that Saturday and the weather was exactly the same so I was very naughty and decided not to go.

Then again, I got very lucky on one of my shift when they put me in the 'on the pantry' marquee. There was a guy there who did a demonstration on food decorating. He carves natural materials into interesting shapes. He's been doing this for 22 years and is VERY good at it. He carved out a peony flower out of watermelon in 5 minutes and 40 seconds! So I was there helping out with his presentation and when he finishes I helped clean up and shut the place. Before he left, he gave me a statue of a mini budha carved out of a butternut pumpkin. I thought that was super awesome so I brought it to work the next day.

Val told me that it's actually not a budha but a god of longevity, and Margaret told me that the huge forehead means that he is full of wisdom. Anyway, all budha look the same to me. Our customers enjoyed it which is nice. Most of them thought it was made out of wax, or candle. Who would have thought that you can cut up this statue and turn it into soup if you're hungry.

So today is the last day of Floriade, and it also happens to be my last day of volunteering. My job is to walk around Floriade for the last time with a radio. Sometimes Floriade feels like Heaven to me. There's a sea of colours every where you look, sounds of live music and carnival, smell of flowers and happy people everywhere- it's been a great experience and I'm glad I did it.

First month in Florever

I've been working in Florever florist for exactly a month now without much report on this blog. My employer is Valeria, an amazing lady from Ukraine... seriously, I really can't get over how amazing she is. She is as much of a  scholar as well as an artist. She earns a master in biology, a lecturer, a horticulturalist... and a lot of other things. I'm also working with Margaret- an amazingly beautiful and nice lady who owns a hairdresser with her husband. I really can't express how lucky I am to to be working with these people.

Val had been easy on me during the trial period- now that I'm hired she is seriously molding me. I just realized that during trial she lets me loose to see what I do without much instructions, but now she is very specific in how I do my job- and it's very hard for me to break my habits. I think her and I have the same way of looking at things, so whenever she gives me advice, I never question it. I really love and respect Val so disappointing her is the worst thing I could do, and sometimes I feel like I do it a lot.

As a florist, we only sell what we make, so being highly skilled and speedy would definitely be handy. Val and Margaret sometimes don't take breaks, or eat. I learnt my lesson on the second week of work. On Monday, I couldn't make a simple box arrangement ( until now I'm still learning) and I made myself do it over and over again- for some reason the more I tried the worst I get and I kept on getting yelled at. Val didn't take a break or eat and drink- so I didn't either. I was so stressed and tired I came home with a migraine that last till the next day. I kept thinking that Val hates me and I'm going to get fired.

Greg pushed me back to work the next day and when I got to work- my head hurts so much I started shaking and crying in front of Val and Margaret- and then I ran to the toilet to throw up- but didn't. I got even more stressed thinking, 'That's it. I suck, and my life is over.' Thankfully Val kept telling me, "What are you worried about? There is absolutely nothing to be worried about, we're all just human here." - We're only human? Really? That's encouraging- because I couldn't work without eating, sitting down for 8.5 hours, or a 15 minute daily doze of daydreaming. I'm so glad they were sympathetic towards me- they sent me home that day and I slept all day and all night. So lesson learnt.The next day I went back to work and didn't try to impress them so hard. I smiled to work, eat when I'm hungry, sit when I'm tired- and I definitely function a lot better that way.

With that being said, I absolutely LOVE my job. I still can't believe that I'm getting paid to do something that I absolutely love. It's never a good day when Val is unwell or sometimes we have 'vampire' customers who's so mean they feed on Margaret's energy. But when customers pre-order their flowers, the shop front isn't busy and the weather is right, I feel like I'm just sitting in my own house listening to music that I like and just be creative with people that I admire.

So with that being said, I'm very pleased to say that I have landed on gold in terms of job. I don't think I could score a better place to work in. The florist is only 10 minutes walk from my house and I'm guaranteed 3 days of work per week- the rest f the week I can work on my jewelry. I really hope and pray that I can work in this shop for a long time.

Clare & Sven's Wedding

Straight after I drop by Canberra Handmade, I completely forgot about my jewelry and started concentrating on something else. That Friday was a huge day for me as it is the first time in my life I have to organize all of the bridal flowers of a friends wedding.

From Canberra Handmade, Greg's brother Luke drove me to Capital Flowers- THE hub of wholesale flowers near Canberra. I've pre-ordered the flowers so I know what I'm getting and how much I'm spending. I had to make a bridal bouquet, 2 bridesmaids bouquet, 3 corsages, 2 large arrangement for the church, 8 posies for the church pews, and 7 table centers. I told this to my boss at work and she rolled her eyes and sarcastically said, "Good luck!"

After that I was running around picking up foliages, candles and vases and didn't start doing my work until 3pm. This is what my kitchen look like when I started:

and this is what it looks like 7 hours later...

That's right- I don't have a bin, so the floor will have to do.

The bridal bouquet is definitely the hardest one to make. It wasn't just a lot of pressure but it is very fiddly. I started by spiraling just white roses and freaked out cause I didn't like it at all! So I incorporate some misty and green berries to make the bouquet look round and less pointy. The other half of the problem is wrapping the bouquet with ribbon. It probably took just as long for me to wrap the stems as to make the bouquet- yet when it finishes it look so deceivingly effortless.

Clare and Sven came over to my house around 8pm to drop off some materials. When Clare saw some pussy willows sitting in my crate she suddenly felt very nostalgic about it, so I decided to incorporate some into her bouquet. I decided to make a wreath using the sticks to go under her bouquet- and I think it looks alright.

I kept on working that night and finally had a nap at 1am. Greg woke me up at 2 am and pushed me back into the kitchen. But I was so incredibly tired I couldn't even open my eyes! So I set my phone to ring at 3:40am and went back to bed. Why 3:40? We have a friend, Grace who's arriving from Melbourne by bus who needs to be picked up from the bus station at 4am- so that worked out well. I still can't believe that I really did woke up at 3:40am, had a shower and went back to work. Grace stayed awake with me the whole time. While I was working, we watched 3 movies together to keep us awake and amused- Tangled, Megamind and Narnia.

Just as I finished the final corsage it was already 10am and I had to see Clare at the hairdresser with her bouquet and then to the church to set up the flowers. Clare's dad was there to let us inside. When he saw my work he said to me, "Wow, this is really impressive! How long did it take you to do this? An hour?" I dropped my jaw in disbelief and Grace started giggling. "Aaaa... actually, it took me 15 hours... and I didn't sleep last night." Clare's dad just went, "O! Ok..." and walked away. I gave Grace this 'Did that really happened?!" - look and she just kept on giggling at me. Oh well... I guess some people really just don't get it. I hope he won't faint when I show him all of my flower shopping invoices...

Anyway, so these are my church decorations:

Little posies for the church pews

Large arrangement for the front of the church: 

My wonderful assistants =)

The overall look of the church during service... Ta Raaa...!!! 

This is truly a multicultural wedding. I didn't realize it until we had the bible reading. They read it first in Korean, then in German and finally in English. 

After the ceremony, Greg, Grace and I packed up all the church flowers and transport them to the reception venue. I really like doing that. Why decorate 2 venues separately when you can easily transport all flowers from one place to another and just cut the cost in half? At the reception venue I took over the kitchenette to make 7 table centers. I used low glass bowl to make floating orchids and candle centerpieces. Good thing they are very easy to make and cost effective so I didn't spend much time or money making it. 

Grace also had this great idea of putting red rose petals on the dance floor in the shape of a heart. Minimum materials for maximum result- I love it! Thanks Grace. =)

And this is what the bridal party table look like:

And we took advantage of it by taking this photo ♥

By the way, check out this amazing cake that Sven got as a surprise for Clare. 

... and yes, that is a mini water fountain underneath the cake with purple waterlilies surrounding them. This cake had just made my flowers look so boring in comparison :p 

While setting up, I was running around shoe-less spreading rose petals, lighting candles and what not. When some of the guests had arrive, Grace and I had a toast with a glass of champagne to congratulate ourselves on making it on the other side alive, and there is nothing else to do now but celebrate!!!

I was a bit over tired by this stage and truth be told, I did have a little more champagne than I should. I found myself laughing at everything, and danced to... pretty much everything. I did the macarena, line dance, YMCA, I even led the train for 10 minutes and convinced everyone to jump right behind me... well, everyone except the people on my table who knew and loved me... that includes my Greg, my Grace, and my piano student Tristan and his family. Maybe they know me too well to find me convincing at all...  :p 

Before the party is over I asked the MC to tell everyone not to leave before taking some flowers home- maybe people got confused and some went home without taking any flowers. So I run around the place asking people to take them home and turns out that I don't need to do much begging- most of them were just too shy to take them!

We were one of the last people to leave the place aaaand  pretty much collapsed when I got home. Congratulations once again to Clare and Sven and thanks for trusting me on your big day! Phew... that was a lot of fun!!! ^_^