Earlier this month, as I stepped off the airplane 6,500 miles from home, for the 2017 Collected Workshop New Zealand, I remember reflecting back to 2016. The towering foxglove- how it felt to walk through this wonderland listening to the hum of the bees and the smell of the neighboring sweet pea room, the rows and rows of endless garden roses, the Tui bird calls, and the laughter of my daughter running through the flowers...

We spent our days immersed in flowers and new friendships as we took to the fields to gain inspiration from the land. Collected Workshops are about embracing and pulling from the surrounding environment into our creative process. I believe strongly that there are boundless opportunities to experiment with what nature has given us and to make the most of the products of the seasons by collecting that which grows around us. Flowers, branches, seedpods, and berries grown in a native environment are unapologetic in the shape their surroundings have sculpted. When we collect from nature, we learn to find beauty in the unconventional which most others may be blind. I find myself continually distracted by a melody of color, overgrowth, and general wild loveliness found in the natural world. I believe it is the addition of these indigenous ingredients that create a feeling of belonging and authenticity to a design.

During my first experience at Field of Roses, I found myself overwhelmed by the vast amount of incredible product to design with. I would come upon a bloom, cut it, and in the next moment, pick five other stems that completely clashed with the first! Many times I over cut just because I saw something that was so amazing, I just had to "fit it in" when plainly it did not. I call these "squirrel!" distractions, (thanks UP), and I'm prone to many of these episodes. You know the kind, the cartoon type moments when you begin on one route and then something exciting (and totally random) crosses your path, and you turn down a completely different direction then the one you originally wanted!

My intention for bringing field journaling to the Collected Workshop this year was to help create a studied approach to the way we cut, forage, or design for an arrangement. I tell my students to find an stem or element that they are drawn to or inspired by in the fields. This could be a flower, or a foliage, perhaps it's the surrounding grassland or lichen covered tree branches; whatever it is- FIND IT. JOURNAL. And build your floral story around it. Stop the squirrels from creating chaos.

I'm so excited to announce our 2018 Collected| New Zealand dates here. It will be bittersweet leaving Field of Roses for 2018, and we hope to be back in the coming years. However, I am excited to see and share with you more inspiring landscapes.

Next year we’ll be designing in beautiful Wellington, NZ amid the enchanting gardens of Horrobin and Hodge. Sarah and Wayne, of Horrobin and Hodge, specialize in growing the most unique and sought after plant material in New Zealand. It goes without saying that this intimate and wild landscape is the perfect setting for encouraging creativity and connection.

I feel so lucky to have an amazing team of creatives and artists behind me for this workshop. Each of these individuals and business contributed an invaluable and generous amount of time and talent to the success of 2016 Collected Workshop| NZ:

Photography: Mandi Nelson

Styling: Tess Comrie

Guest Instructor: Sarah Hodge

Model: Imogen Watt

Dresses: The Lace Atelier

Location: Field of Roses

Ribbons: Frou Frou Chic

Paper Goods: Kaela Rawson

Guest: Magnolia Rouge

Assistant: Flower Connection

Designs Shown:

Angelica Fleurs

Biology of Bloom

Blossom and Wild

Green is the Thing

Horrobin and Hodge

Lydia Reusser

Muck Floral

My Floral Addiction

Oh So Pretty Style

Red Roots Flower

River Dale Farm Albany

Rose Apple Flowers

Style Me Flowers

Willoughby Road

Wild at Heart Flowers

Willow Flowers by Design

Taleah Lancaster

Zinnia Floral Design

2016 Collected Workshop | New Zealand