My dad brought flowers home to my mom every Friday. He’d stop by “The Flower Man” who sold rubber banded bundles wrapped in newspaper out of the back of a station wagon parked under the viaduct. (This was 1960s Chicago, it was different then.) I remember Mom arranging roses, spider mums and gladiolas in large vases, bright floral fragrances filling the kitchen. They’d be in places of honor on the mantle and dining room table and buffet until about Wednesday when the water turned murky and the smell was, well, less than floral.
In today’s vernacular, flowers were one of my parents’ love languages. And so I love flowers, and I was tickled pink to see a flower arranging workshop pop up on the EQUINOX botanical boutique Facebook page. My retirement saga to try something new each month continues!
Celebrating 25 years in business, owner Maria Caravati and her colleague Gina Frey have cultivated a series of flower art workshops for this fall. Gina is just finishing up her horticulture degree at Gateway and also works a sustainable flower farm in Franksville, owned and operated by women. After a career in nursing, Gina has rediscovered herself in horticulture, forestry and all things green and growing. Her knowledge, skill, and generous spirit make her a natural teacher and creative designer. She recently joined Maria at EQUINOX, which Maria prides herself on having a focus on organic products, sustainable practices, and woman-owned vendors. What a perfect pairing, right?
Maria has curated a quaint and cozy shop that feels like coming home. Today it was a country cottage with buckets and buckets of gorgeous fresh cut flowers, greens and grasses. Gina shared flower arranging as art that reflects the artist’s unique vision and inspiration. From selecting a vase and molding a chicken wire frog (iykyk) to cleaning and prepping each stem, it’s a labor of love.
As she did her demo, she also included practical tips: a quick color wheel lesson; reminders that odd numbers of things and triangular patterns are more pleasing to the eye; the overall height should be 1 to 2 times taller than the vase. And don’t forget to make fresh cuts on each stem and change the water daily! Then she let us get to work, selecting flowers, prepping them, and finally building our own work of art layer by layer. The variety of combinations of flowers and colors and design reflected each student’s creativity and inspiration.
Things I loved about this workshop:
Everything was generously and beautifully supplied. So many fresh gorgeous flowers and greens.
The awesome goodie bag of clippers, color wheel, pin, pen and more
The bountiful buffet of snacks and beverages
The interesting people you meet – a woman who lives in the neighborhood, a mother daughter duo, a woman from Minnesota here to visit her Carthage student – a blend of people as different as all the blooms
The creativity and encouragement that strangers can share
The chance to shop at EQUINOX!
Next Events At EQUINOX
The next floral design class, a Floral Pumpkin Workshop, is coming up fast on October 7!
Also, mark your calendar for the Equinox 25th Anniversary Celebration on November 29!
Check the EQUINOX Facebook page for all workshop dates and registration information.
If you haven’t explored shops Downtown lately, be sure to add EQUINOX to your list of places to visit. Show yourself some love with a fall workshop. Think “me time”, a girls day, or a lesson in life-long learning!
As I have said before, Kenosha is a great place to visit and a great place to retire!
EQUINOX botanical boutique is located at 5901 6th Avenue A in Downtown Kenosha.
https://lovequinox.com/
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