Down a hall and its entrance propped open with a keg, the large factory space at Breckenridge Brewery revealed a path to roses, carnations, mums and laughter.
The scene that night began when Elcee Evershed, an employee of the Brewery, was offered the position of floral designer at Bath Garden Center & Nursery.
Evershed, who already served as the center’s social media and graphics manager, accepted the role. She brought on Lauren Keriotis, who has a background in interior design and is currently a gardening teacher, and the two began their next adventure: sharing the art of floral arrangements.
“I really enjoy being, you know, face-to-face with people and getting to kind of, like, share creative skills is a fun part for me,” Keriotis said. “When I got asked to do the floral classes, it’s kind of like a combination of both of my passions.”
Beyond the artistic side, Evershed and Keriotis kept in mind the prices of flowers nowadays and made an effort to keep classes as affordable as possible.
“It’s an easy way to get your hands on flowers,” Evershed said. “Because it’s hard to, you know, choose the flowers. And it can be expensive because you have to buy a bunch of each thing . It can just be overwhelming for people to know where to start.”
One way they began pursuing this goal was by moving classes outside of the gardening center. Coincidentally, the general manager at Breckenridge Brewery, Evershed’s other workplace, offered the space for a night.
“We’re always looking for excuses to play with flowers.” –Lauren Keriotis, Bath Garden Center’s floral workshop organizer
Elcee Evershed pulls extra flowers out of a bucket to add to the flower pin on her overalls during the Galentine’s themed flower workshop at Breckenridge Brewery Feb. 13. “Lauren and I do all of our floral classes, and we just have a really fun time with it because it’s a little bit different than the flowers we have at the garden center,” Evershed said.
(Collegian | JJ Starks)
So in February fashion, they landed on a Galentine’s Day theme.
The platonic version of Valentine’s Day has existed for as long as some can remember, but the term itself was popularized by the NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” and quickly became a staple event for many.
Now that a place, time and theme were set up, the class just needed students. But thanks to Evershed’s social media marketing experience, this was not a struggle.
“I’m an Instagram junkie,” Christine Turner said about how she discovered the class. “I (give) flower and beer ‘likes’ a lot, so it must have come together. This event showed up as ‘something you would like’ — and they were right.”
In the spirit of Galentine’s, Turner brought along her friend and neighbor, Janet Mahoney. The two met when Mahoney noticed Turner gardening in her front yard, and they bonded over plants. Naturally, creating floral arrangements made for a perfect celebration of their friendship’s roots.
On the topic of Galentine’s specifically, the two said they noticed how suddenly the idea showed up and grew into a more common practice for friends.
“It’s a fun concept,” Turner said. “I don’t want to exclude the romance aspect. … I do love Valentine’s Day, but it’s nice to celebrate. It’s inclusive of all relationships.”
Across the room from the pair, a large group was sitting and catching up after their individual busy schedules left little room for quality time.
“I found out about this event because my dear friend was looking for a reason to get us all together,” said Brecken Glenn, an attendee. “(Galentine’s) is just a fun excuse to get everyone together. For us, it … doesn’t matter what holiday or theme it is.”
Evershed and Keriotis shared a similar sentiment on what holidays really mean to them: It’s a reason to get people together and spark passion about flowers.
“Bath is a place that’s been in the community since the 1960s,” Keriotis said. “Adding all of these events just speaks to a wider range of people in the community. We definitely want to keep seeing it grow. But it’s nice to kind of fill in the quiet times with all of the extras. We’re always looking for excuses to play with flowers.”
Reach Maiya Kreamer at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
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