Episode 43: Friends of TPFC - Bookkeeping 101 with Meka West

friends of tpfc season 2 Apr 16, 2020

April is Financial Literacy month so it's the perfect time to talk about money with Meka West of Penny Smart Girl! Meka is a certified accountant and she is the founder of an online bookkeeping and money coaching firm called Penny Smart Girl.  April is also the month for tax-deadlines so we are picking Meka's brain today on all things bookkeeping and tax-related! She has generously shared her experience and advice in this Podcast and in this Blog post. She is seriously a wealth of information and generosity!
 

 
1. Tell us about yourself. Who is Meka West?
 
I’m a Midwest original that moved to Seattle in my twenties. I bought a house at age 21, raised my son as a single mom until he was 12 and have been lucky to work in some great roles along the way.
 
I believe in living life with a cherry on top. Which means creating a life of balanced with work but also time to enjoy the things that bring us joy and make us feel....
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Episode 42: Friends of TPFC - The New 90 G Italian Crepe Paper with Mike Benson

friends of tpfc season 2 Apr 09, 2020

We are catching up with Mike Benson of Carte Fini. Carte Fini is based on San Diego, California and it is an online distributor of Cartotecnica Rossi Italian crepe paper and ships worldwide.

 Mike chatted with us on Paper Talk way back when we first started this podcast, on Episode 2. You can read and hear more about Mike on Episode 2: Friends of TPFC - Chatting With the Crepe Paper King.

 Carte Fini has been a generous sponsor and collaborator of our workshops. In addition to sponsoring the 2019 Masterclass in Monroe, Washington, Mike also attended our Toronto Workshop in September 2019.

 Both of us were lucky recipients of a sample package of the 90 g Italian crepe paper and we were one of the first few to have tested the paper. We are incredibly thrilled to see that it's now available for purchase on Carte Fini's online store.

 

Today, we talk to Mike about our love for the 90 g and Carte Fini adding Design Master...

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Episode 41: Friends of TPFC - Fleurs de Villes with Alicia Schwede

friends of tpfc season 2 Apr 02, 2020

 
This year, from February 26 to March 1, 2020, our florist friend and mentor, Alicia Schwede of Bella Fiori and the Flirty Fleurs blog, participated in a floral event by Fleurs de Villes at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival where she and her team created a floral dress from fresh florals.
 
Learn more about Alicia when we previously chatted with her on Episode 17: Friends of TPFC: Collaborating with a Florist.
 
Listen as she talks about this amazing event (which takes place in different cities around the world) and the process of creating her beautiful floral dress.
 

(Following images by @samanthasmith.photo)
 
 
 

Alicia's floral creation:

 

Other florists' creations:

Natural Designs
 
 Apotheca Designs
 
Fena Flowers
 
 Garden Party Flowers
 

Hazel Landscape and Design

Leah Erikson

Lora Bloom

Ondine

Seattle Floral Design

Smashing Petals

...

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Episode 40 - Artist Spotlight: Pursuing your Floral Interests with Nita Komarakul

artist spotlight season 2 Mar 26, 2020

We admire sugar flower artists from afar but sometimes we just can’t help ourselves and want to know more about this craft that is in ways so similar to our own. One of the artists we admire is Nita Komarakul. Nita is the artist behind the beautiful sugar floristry we see on her Instagram account, Pushface. Her flowers are delicate and feminine, with a realism that strikes us with awe every time.
 
Today we talk to Nita to learn more about her and her art.
 

 
First, let’s get to know a little bit about Nita:
 
1. Who is Nita Komarakul?  
 
Mother, flower lover, and restauranteur.
 
2. How did you get started making edible flowers? What drew you to this art form?
 
In my childhood, my mom always supported me both in arts and musical . Every birthday she always baked a cake for us. All these are influenced me to go into the baking world which first I started from sugar cookies and then came across with sugar flower, driven by a...
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Episode 39: Over Coffee - Is Covid-19 Affecting You?

over coffee season 2 Mar 25, 2020

 
 
Over the weekend, our governments began to implement stricter guidelines and policies regarding social distancing in efforts to "flatten the curve" and slow down the spread of Covid-19. Many countries are now prohibiting entry of non-residents, and locking down many public spaces like schools, libraries, community centres, and daycares. Large social gatherings like weddings, workshops, and events are being cancelled and/or postponed worldwide. It's not a surprise if Covid-19 affecting you.
 
In this Episode, Quynh and Jessie talk about how Covid-19 is affecting them, how the Covid-19 related policies may affect their relationships with their vendors and/or clients, and the issues that may have to be addressed as a result.
 
Here are a few links to some resources to help you navigate through some of these issues:
 
Wedding...
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Episode 38: Friends of TPFC: New Colour Solutions with Gretchen Sell & Jodi Duncan

friends of tpfc season 2 Mar 25, 2020

 

We talked to Jodi Duncan of Design Master in Episode 4 where she talked about her involvement with Design Master, her role in creating new colours, and how their colour products can help our paper florists community.

This time, we also had the chance to speak with Jodi along with Gretchen Sell, the Creative Director of Design Master, about Creativation 2020 and the new amazing colour products just released by Design Master. Gretchen also provides tips on colour shifting and how we can take advantage of the unique recipes of their products - from Colortool, Just for Flowers, to Ubermatte - to create a more sophisticated colour palette.


DM Horiz_Blk_Red.jpg

Below is an excerpt of our interview with Jodi Duncan in Episode 4:



1. We know that Design Master have been around a long time. Can you tell us the history and how you got involved with Design Master?

Mark Addison created DM. The idea was born around a kitchen table in 1961. Mark was an art loving accountant who saw a...

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Episode 37: Friends of TPFC: Inspirations from Alexandra Farms with Teresa Schafer

friends of tpfc season 2 Mar 25, 2020

When Quynh went to Florabundance Design Days in January 2020, she met the lovely Teresa Schafer of Alexandra Farms. Alexandra Farms is the largest grower of garden roses in the world. Located in Bogotá, Colombia, the farm grows 60 varieties of those fragrant garden roses that florists (and we!) covet. Teresa is the Communications Manager at Alexandra Farms and an expert at garden roses. We were thrilled when Teresa agreed to talk to us about all things garden roses and to learn more about her company

 We are also excited to announce that we will be working with Alexandra Farms on a collaboration later this year! We cannot wait to get Alexandra Farms garden roses in our (and in our students’) hands!


Let’s first get to know Teresa and Alexandra Farms a bit:

TSchafer-portrait2.JPG

1. Tell us about Alexandra Farms.

Alexandra Farms is a boutique grower specializing in nostalgic, romantic fresh cut garden roses. Our farm is located in the incredibly fertile savannah of...

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Episode 36: Artist Spotlight: Earning Passively with a Purpose

artist spotlight season 2 Mar 25, 2020

Farren Celeste is a paper flower company that offers templates for paper goods. Farren Haygood is the artist and face behind Farren Celeste. She is currently based in The Netherlands, but she is originally from the US. After moving to a country where she had no family and did not know the language, she had to reinvent herself and establish a new form of income. She found solace in making her own paper flower cardstock templates, and began selling them on her Etsy site in August 2019. Since then, her business has grown significantly.

In this podcast, she shares with us her secrets to success, from how to use social media to your advantage to how to earn passive and evergreen income to the pros/cons of using Etsy to sell.

During the podcast, you might hear a new voice…a baby’s! That’s Cillian, our baby intern, and Jessie’s new baby. You might hear him on some of these episodes as he tries out his voice at podcasting!


 

First, let’s get to know a...

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Episode 35: Over Coffee: Q & A with Our Community

over coffee season 2 Mar 25, 2020

Welcome to our new Over Coffee segment called “Q & A with Our Community” where we answer questions from listeners about anything paper flower related. Be sure to leave your questions in the comments below or email us at any time!

In today’s episode, we answer questions about how to pack for shipping and what shipping methods we use. We also talk about the different paper mediums we use and how we decide which one to use for which flowers.

Be sure to leave your questions in the comments below or email us at any time!

In today’s episode, we answer questions about how to pack for shipping and what shipping methods we use. We also talk about the different paper mediums we use and how we decide which one to use for which flowers.

 
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Episode 34: Artist Spotlight: Between Dreams & Reality with Yang Liu

artist spotlight season 2 Mar 25, 2020

We first took notice of the minimally styled paper flowers of Yang Liu in her blue phase. This blue phase turned out to be her artistic collaboration with Anna Chedid at the VSCO studio. Influenced by her Chinese heritage, her dual Canadian-American nationalities, and her current hometown of San Francisco, Yang’s work strives to sit somewhere between dreams and reality. Her paper flowers are showcased in a consistently clean and modern way. She does not shy away from creating various types of botanical objects, from dahlias to pear branches to dumpling boxes.

Listen to Yang as she shares her love for paper flowers.


 

1. Who is Yang Liu? 

I was born in Shanghai (hence my Instagram name, @shanghai.1984). I am currently a dual Canadian-American citizen residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Besides flowers and paper art, I also love having tea with friends!

 

2. How did you get started making paper flowers? What drew you to this art form?

I first came...

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