Featured In Australian 'Inside Out' Magazine:
This is super exciting! Natalia's vertical [folding screen] garden has been featured in Australia’s Inside Out Magazine's March issue. After seeing this post, an editor contacted me for an upcoming article on creative and inspiring ways to incorporate Nature into the home. I immediately obliged and have been patiently waiting for its release. At last, here it is among other great indoor gardening ideas. Congratulations, Natalia, for inspiring so many with your love for plants!
To see more of Natalia's work click here.
Botanical Inspiration: A Soaking Rain
It rained for the first time in a long time. California is parched and yesterday's rainfall gave a little reprieve to the dryness that is so apparent all around us. The whole family was excited at the sight of the falling water. I brought all our indoor plants outside so they too could get a soaking and our children set up buckets to collect water for the future. With my rain boots on and the camera by my side I set out to document what seems to have become a rare sighting. Take a look:
Here's to many more rainy days…
Pod Art
When it came time to unveil my latest endeavor on Debra’s lifestyle blog, she asked me to write a little something about it. Where to begin?!
“Pod Art” is perhaps the newest expression of my love for plants. Ever since I can remember, the happiest childhood memories revolved around them. Whether playing with dolls on a bed of violets, watching my grandfather weave daisy crowns for me, or climbing trees to eat their fruit for what seemed like hours, these experiences forged a bond with Nature that continues to fulfill and inspire me.
Love of perennial gardening led me to create both live and dried floral arrangements for friends, boutiques, restaurants and the grandest of hotels. Together with Debra we’ve designed, planted and sold [too many to count] original compositions for weddings, as bridal bouquets, terrariums, succulent planters, mini biospheres and even vertical gardens.
“Pod Art” evolved naturally from this. It combines both the end AND the beginning of the growing cycles and it provides an interesting array of visual shapes and textures that allow me to wield a glue gun as a painter would his/her brush. Foraged seeds and nuts, twigs and feathers, lichen and moss, beads and metal come painstakingly together to form unique and beautiful art. I hope that some of you will agree with me on that...NS
It's always exciting for me to watch Natalia create art no matter what it may consist of. I'm honored to feature her latest works, as well as reflections on her personal creative journey.
If you’re interested in buying or commissioning one of her original wall hangings, please email me at: debra@cocoonhome.com for details.
Out And About: Farmgirl Flowers
On a buying [botanicals] mission to the San Francisco Flower Market for an upcoming event, Natalia and I encountered Farmgirl Flowers by sheer chance. Their stand, unlike others at the mart, is a full fledged studio composed of work tables, unique vessels and locally sourced vibrant botanicals. Daily floral arrangements are artfully composed with seasonal materials, ultimately wrapped in burlap and delivered to businesses and residences throughout San Francisco via bicycles, remaining true to this company's mission: simple, local and beautiful. Not only has the owner and founder Christina Stembel realized her dream of being an eco-conscious and affordable florist, she also created a super cool work environment for her talented employees. Take a good look:
