studio rien: summer galettes, florist approved clippers, and copenhagen reminscing

and learning to like things once hated

Hello my chickadees,

I’ve always loved flowers, and am lucky to have a partner who from time to time surprised me with them (at least until they became my job, and our house began bursting with them).

The bouquets were always simple and changed with the seasons, but one thing he always knew: I detested carnations. So fake! I groaned. Such a filler! They didn’t even deserve the title of Flower.

But one time, there they were. I thought, perhaps, that he hadn’t realized. He had. He just thought I wouldn’t notice. They were a cool variety! So different! At the time, I read this story as a testament to my man’s buoyant (and occasionally misguided) enthusiasm.

But this year… I’ve found there is a disconcerting exercise in realizing that, under the right circumstances, you might actually like the things you once hated. Garden roses - so different from their closed up, boldly colored bodega friends. And even then, there was the all red rose event that somehow earned my grudging respect in the end. Sunflowers, always so stiff and cliche, somehow incredible when lime green and tightly furled.

Scabiosa went into the same category last week. It always felt a bit too feathery, too plucked straight from the field, even for me. But the shade on these - a luminous lilac. I bought them.

And so my unsolicited advice for this lethargic and hot week in July: like your likes, maybe like your don’t likes. Easy goes, lucky us, beauty all around.

let’s collab!

I’m starting to work more and more with my favorite local businesses. Know of a restaurant, shop, or little company in Brooklyn that could use weekly flower arrangements, or that would be into hosting private events, workshops, or collabs? Let me know!

✨Flower Party✨ is live!

And I could not be more excited! There is nothing more fun than gathering a group together to share all my tips and tricks for making beautiful, organic arrangements… and then letting everyone loose on huge piles of seasonal flowers, all the snackies, everyone making new friends, and of course drinks a’flowing. September is one of my favorite seasons for both flowers and produce, so this will be an especially sweet one (and hopefully back outside on the deck!). Tickets are limited though and will sell out — so grab yours here. (As always, kids very welcome but we’ll cap the number). See you all soon!

around the studio

have I said it before? Let me say it again: summertime is galette time. All you need is dough and fruit and you’re all set. My go-to crust recipe comes from Four and Twenty Blackbirds and I say this as someone who is no expert in pie-making: this crust has never been bad. Often, very very good, frequently very nice. It is easy, it is tasty, and I never regret making a round and sticking it in the fridge.   //   stay sharp out there: I frequently get asked about tools of the trade. So hear ya go: my favorite clippers are the ubiquitous and very classic ARS pocket shear, used by every florist ever… and an extremely eccentric but SO handy (yes, I know, great joke) set of floral scissors, used by no other florist I know.   //   they just get it: Kids are dark (um, have we talked about my child’s thoughts on death?), and that is what makes them so great. This piece on children’s books justifies my obsession with Jon Klassen’s amazingly weird and apocalyptic The Rock from the Sky and has me hyped for his next involving a small child toting around a skull.   //   za’atar for president: We spent a weekend upstate, and somehow in the midst of feeding us perfectly cooked salmon and homemade focaccia and Cherrie’s sundaes, my sister-in-law whipped up these perfect eggs on a bed of greens with scattered feta. She swears it was easy, and I sure hope so because it’s going on rotation in our house.   //   postcard from the past: A friend requested Copenhagen recs last week, and with a heavy dose of “these are five years old,” I sent her a massive list… and then realized most of the restaurants we visited are closed (RIP!). So, if you go, vet first, but a few gems that appear to still be kicking: Den Vendrette where you can drink cloudy wine along the water on summer nights and eat plate after plate of beautiful food;  Pompette for more of that delicious natural wine scene; MK Ceramics for plates that are somehow playful and yet so weighty; pastries at The Corner at 108, Anderson & Maillard, and hopefully Juno which was sadly closed for summer holiday when we were there. 

xo, with the smell of cantaloupe in the air, freyan

ps did someone forward you this little note?