Have you ever watched a chef shop the farmer's market, getting excited about local ingredients and using them to spontaneously inform the night's menu? That's me with flowers. I'm most in my element when I'm surrounded by in-season blossoms and greenery, envisioning the infinite arrangements I could create. I consider elements like size, shape, color, and texture when I select blooms, and I never know what the final result will look like until I arrive home and design it!
So when HP and Intel asked me to share how I work from my happy place as part of their #WorkFromHappyPlace campaign, I knew for me that meant anywhere floral inspiration strikes—be it the wholesale flower district, the bargain bouquets at Trader Joe's, or even (eep!) my neighbor's yard. Since I approach flower arranging not with a fixed plan but as a fluid artistic exercise, I need flexible tools that help my work be as creative as possible. Enter the HP Stream with Intel Inside®.
HP Stream is a new kind of tablet with Intel Inside®. Since free 4G data is included right out of the box, I can access the web no matter where I am—for visual inspiration like Pinterest, or practical information like whether the flowers I'm about to buy are dangerous to my pets. Free Office 365 is included for one year, enabling me to take notes for blog posts or brainstorms for future project ideas, and enter my expenses into an ongoing spreadsheet. With 1TB free cloud storage for one year I can share my notes and inspiration with my favorite collaborators (or send those spreadsheets to my accountant). And because of the lightning-fast Intel Inside® processor, it all happens with the blink of an eye. The result? I get the groundwork out of the way and get to concentrate on the joy of creating something beautiful.
In the case of this bouquet, I was immediately drawn to the way the moody hue of the dahlias contrasted with the cheerful pop of ranunculus. Since the dahlias and ranunculus were of a similar medium size, I added big chrysanthemums in a neutral white to anchor the arrangement. Spiky heather brings a new shape to the mix without veering to far from my chosen palette, while eucalyptus in soft green both complements the heather's texture and injects an organic looseness to an otherwise structured arrangement. I'm so pleased with how it turned out, and even more importantly I had so much fun creating it!
Disclosure: This post has been created in collaboration with HP and Intel. I received product and compensation in exchange for sharing my opinions here. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep The City Sage going! Thank you to Sarah Hrudka for shooting images 2 and 3.
Gorgeous piece!
Ripped Jeans