Episode 236: Anne Bradfield of Seattle’s Floressence Studio
March 9th, 2016
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Anne Bradfield, owner of Seattle-based Floressence — captured while she was on the hunt for beautiful and locally-grown Northwest flowers!
Love this elevated arrangement!
This week’s conversation is one I’ve wanted to record for a while. You know when you run into someone you really like — and who you want to get to know better, perhaps at the grocery store, or (for me) at the flower market — and you greet one another warmly and say “we should get together for coffee?”
Well that was the case with my friend Anne Bradfield. Owner of a design studio called Floressence, Anne was one of the very first floral designers I found myself chatting with back in 2011 when the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market launched.
A gorgeous Floressence-designed wedding
A Floressence Bride
At the time, I was there frequently, both because I was working on my two books, The 50 Mile Bouquet – which featured the stories of many of the flower farmers and floral designers involved with the market, and Slow Flowers, a project that relied on a steady supply of local blooms for my weekly design projects. And I often ran into Anne, who was there shopping for her major wedding and corporate event clients.
Love Anne’s inspiration shared in today’s podcast.
Anne soon invited me to speak at a meeting of the Greater Seattle Floral Association, where I met many of our region’s top wedding, event and retail florists. And we kept bumping into one another. . . both always in a rush, and always promising to get together.
You may recognize Anne’s voice because I recorded it for this podcast a few months ago when I interviewed several designers who participated in Lisa Waud’s hands-on large-scale floral art workshop at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market. And that encounter was the impetus for today’s conversation.
Anne studied interdisciplinary visual art at the University of Washington and she will share how her journey led her through a few career stops before she purchased Floressence thirteen years ago, when she was in her late twenties.
A lovely Floressence wedding arrangement
Today, Floressence is located in Georgetown, the heart of Seattle’s floral district.
As owner and designer, Anne manages a dynamic studio in a beautiful space.
Her clients and students are welcomed to the once rustic industrial warehouse space that Anne has transformed with personal touches to reflect her modern-classic-romantic aesthetic.
We met here to record the interview and I couldn’t take my eyes off of the beautiful artwork, furnishings, lighting and of course all her props and vases.
Here is where Anne creates, designs, and dreams up flowers for weddings and events.
Since 2003, Anne and the Floressence team have brought creativity to weddings, events, and occasions. With a penchant for lush textures and ever-surprising details, Floressence also focuses on locally sourced materials whenever possible.
Anne, at work!
Widely published, her work has been featured in multiple issues of Seattle Bride and Seattle Metropolitan Bride & Groom, our two regional wedding magazines. She is also a selection of The Knot Best of Weddings.
Thanks for joining today’s podcast.
Here’s how to find Anne Bradfield and Floressence — on Social Media:
Floressence on Facebook
Floressence on Instagram
I so enjoyed my time with Anne and I adore her style.
And don’t forget to join The Slow Flowers Community on Facebook, our new group that serves as a virtual place where members of Slowflowers.com and those who have yet to join the Slowflowers.com directory can meet each other.
In just one week we’ve had nearly 450 members gather there and you’ll want to get in on the fun, talking “shop,” encouraging others and receiving encouragement yourself. Let’s boost brand awareness for your own Slow Flowers endeavors – from the field to the studio and beyond. Search for The Slow Flowers Community on Facebook and come say hello.
Anne has commissioned locally-crafted vessels from ceramic artist John Ellefson — a wonderful option for her bridal clients.
Anne’s grandmother’s Paris artwork now hangs in her studio.
The Slow Flowers Podcast has been downloaded more than 86,000 times by listeners like you. THANK YOU to each one of you for downloading, listening, commenting and sharing. It means so much.
Until next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more American grown flowers on the table, one vase at a time. And If you like what you hear, please consider logging onto Itunes and posting a listener review.
The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization.
The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Wheatley and Hannah Holtgeerts. Learn more about their work at shellandtree.com.