I grew up on the family farm with fruit orchards, vegetables, flowers and lots of cousins to help with the picking, drying and canning of our harvests. I learned first hand farming is hard work and it also has a business side. I went on to earn a marketing degree working in Silicon Valley at companies that became household names. Eventually I became a producer of live events and corporate television and traveled the world!
Throughout my business career I never forgot how much I love flowers and would constantly make arrangements for work and my home. Flowers always have such a calming effect on our stress filled lives. Creating arrangements also helped me balance the demand of business and family life.
After many years I decided to leave the corporate world and return to my love of creating on a smaller scale. I got my personal chef license, continued with my advancement of Ikebana (Japanese floral arranging) and got back into sewing and crafts. This led me to sharing my artistic passions; teaching hands on cooking classes, tablescape design and floral arrangement workshops.
I enjoy sharing my floral and cuisine knowledge. I love watching others learn something they think, in the beginning, they can’t do. When I teach a floral workshop, demonstrate a themed tablescape or host a hands-on cooking class watching people create something themselves is very rewarding for both of us.
In addition to my various workshops and classes my love of flowers is shared with Flowers of Comfort http://flowersofcomfort.com/. I contribute time each week with a group of volunteers to create 85-100 arrangements utilizing donated flowers and vases. The arrangements are then delivered to hospice, senior care and veteran facilities. Flowers have such a positive impact on people's lives, often as they experience some of life's most challenging times.