https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw_954Odmk0

Today, I'm so happy to welcome friend, floral designer, and Slow Flowers member Ellen Seagraves. Owner of Chic Floral Designs, Ellen is based in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside the DC Metro Center.

Ellen is a floral designer with more than 15 years experience. She holds a BFA in weaving and textile design and often incorporate elements of those disciplines into her work. As a student of Ikebana, she often apply those design forms to her own work.

Ellen has achieved AIFD and EMC professional certification and is the president of the Independent Floral Designers Association - IFDA. Her floral aesthetic encompasses a wide range of styles to suit the various needs her clients. Her arrangements have been featured in a large number of venues, including The White House, the French Embassy Cultural Center, The National Botanic Garden, and Blair House.

I'm delighted to share our conversation, recorded last week. You can find and follow Ellen and IFDA at these social places:Ellen Seagraves on InstagramIFDA on Instagram and Facebook

In other news this week, we have just dropped the Slow Flowers Newsletter for February, so check out the link in our show notes. In it, we announce our new Slow Flower Journal Winter 2023 issue -- Botany Lessons -- which is free to Slow Flowers members as one of your member benefits. The issue is priceless, although you can purchase the digital edition for a nominal fee. Included is the full 2023 Slow Flowers Floral Insights and Industry Forecast, a preview of which Robin Avni and I shared on this podcast last week. We are so proud and inspired to get this content out into the floral marketplace to inform your floral endeavors in the coming season.

Thank you to our Sponsors

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thank you to The Gardener's Workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer-florists. Online education is more important this year than ever, and you'll want to check out the course offerings at thegardenersworkshop.com.

Thank you to Details Flowers Software, a platform specifically designed to help florists and designers do more and earn more. With an elegant and easy-to-use system--Details is here to improve profitability, productivity, and organization for floral businesses of all shapes and sizes. All friends of the Slow Flowers Podcast will receive a 7-day free trial of Details Flowers Software. Learn more at detailsflowers.com.

Thank you to CalFlowers, the leading floral trade association in California, providing valuable transportation and other benefits to flower growers and the entire floral supply chain in California and 48 other states. The Association is a leader in bringing fresh cut flowers to the U.S. market and in promoting the benefits of flowers to new generations of American consumers. Learn more at cafgs.org.

Thanks so much for joining me today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than one million times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.