In my recent blog post on my most-beloved design tool, the knife, I drew a lot of comparisons between floral designers and culinary artists. It has me reflecting about my relationship to the kitchen, how my floral design career was born from the food industry, and how full circle life can be.

In 2021, Capital One (yes, that Capital One!) launched a campaign called “Elevate the Everyday.” This campaign hired influencers of all types to film quick, instructional videos on homelife hacks to add a little spark and intentionality to our daily activities like cooking, hosting, or even slowing down and relaxing in the evening.

They reached out to me to create a video tutorial on a DIY autumnal floral arrangement using grocery store flowers, I was thrilled! By championing flowers as a part of everyday life, I could encourage an appreciation, love, and understanding of flowers to a wider audience. For the video, I gave approachable and accessible tips to help turn grocery store flowers and fruits into an attractive, seasonal floral design. You can check it out here!

The Capital One team enjoyed the video so much that they then invited me to teach a hands-on workshop at the October 2021 New York Food & Wine Festival. I did two fall floral demonstrations, leading card members through making their own fall arrangement.

It was a bit surreal sharing the workshop tent with some incredible culinary greats. I demonstrated right before Jacques Torres from the Netflix show, Nailed It, so I had to snap a selfie in the teacher tent! My son, who is a huge culinary fan, was thoroughly impressed, lol.

The culinary focus of the event also resonated with my past and reconnected me to my journey to flowers. I started in the event industry working as a catering server as a teenager. That’s where I was first exposed to high-end, luxury event floral design and that experience shaped what I wanted to do with my life. My sisters worked in hospitality most of their lives including culinary school, so good food and technique were always all around me. 

Heck – I’ve even run a catering company at one point, so you can definitely say I’m an experienced foodie.

Teaching and attending the New York Food & Wine Festival gave me an opportunity to return to my roots, and even more meaningfully, I felt honored to share the stage with some of my heroes in the culinary world. Such a full circle moment! 

Thanks for looking back on this amazing experience with me and enjoy the video!