Flower Expressions
““Dear children, let us not tire of a good work, hard though it be and wearisome; think of the many little hearts that in their sorrow look to us for help. What would the green earth be without its lovely flowers, and what a lonely home for us! Their beauty fills our hearts with brightness...””
Moon Gate with Memorial Urn Arrangement, Solstice Collection. Designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
Floristry has been a part of my life since I was born, but I was not destined to be a florist. That was a course I chose quite consciously at the age of nineteen. What I didn’t realize then was how many different paths one can take on that course. Two decades later, which path I’m on has become increasingly important. Through the process of writing this blog, I hope to explore, learn, evolve, and be inspired.
2018 was a defining year for me in my journey through floristry. We started the year with plans for a large-scale project, both financially and in scope. A substantial part of our business revolves around designing floral pieces that are selected by the family while they plan a funeral: casket sprays, easel arrangements, lid pieces, memorial urn arrangements, etc.
Funeral flowers from the Solstice Collection designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
Bicycle Flower Wreath, Solstice Collection designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
Floral wreath from the Friesland Collection used to display a handcrafted quilt, a family heirloom. Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
I am a firm believer in only presenting designs we’ve created. In our retail flower shop, customers are only shown florals designed by us. Our website, Google listing, Yelp, Instagram, and Facebook only feature photos of our work. This philosophy applies to our funeral and memorial portfolio as well. The difference is that it’s not digital, there are several hard copies, and once printed, there’s not the option to remove a design or change the flower composition. The designs have to stand the test of time.
Our previous portfolio was designed in 1995 by my mother, Sally. All the designs for that portfolio were designed in our studio and professionally photographed at Cook Funeral Home in Grandville, Michigan. Eighty-eight of my mother’s own designs served us well for over two decades, and still do because of prearranged funerals.
Just as my mother was tasked with creating designs to fill a portfolio that had to be viable for every season for years and years, now it was my turn. My two biggest focuses were making collections that appeared seasonal but with flowers available year-round, and designing floral pieces that are more that just beautiful or classic or modern, etc. I wanted to design a portfolio that demonstrated how flowers can be the medium, the stage, for representing and honoring the life well lived.
Memorial urn arrangement styled for a the outdoors of Michigan. Floral frame with a fishing rod integrated into the design. The Moraine Collection designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
Flower frame for a memorial service featuring a fishing rod. Moraine Collection designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
Memorial urn arrangement with the addition of fishing bobbers. Moraine Collection designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
Memorial urn arrangement evoking the autumn outdoors in Michigan with evergreens, pine cones, cattails, wheat, and lotus pods. Woodland Collection designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
The first step we took in planning for this project was to cut up my parents’ Christmas tree and storing the boughs in one of our coolers for what would become the Yuletide Collection. Actually, there are two collections within the portfolio that include bits from the Christmas tree, both Yuletide and Woodland. The photography was shot in June and the boughs from the tree cut down in December held up beautifully.
Page from Flower Expressions featuring the Yuletide Collection.
We spent six months planning and designing the layout for what would become Flower Expressions, a 100-page portfolio with over 100 floral pieces shot over three consecutive days at five different locations. It was intense. But the end result was what we wanted and needed.
Memorial urn arrangement inspired by the shores of Lake Michigan. Greens, blues, and whites accented by grasses and shells. Shoreline designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
The portfolio was completed in September and the multiple copies distributed to the end users, our partner funeral directors. We’ve had about four months of working with the new portfolio. I feel like I accomplished my goals. The availability of the fresh cut flowers I selected to use in the portfolio has been pretty consistent. The Bounty Collection that features sunflowers has proven to be popular. The sunflowers coming out of South America right now are not as large as the local sunflowers that we used at the photo shoot, but we’ve managed to achieve the desired look.
Flower Expressions is an 11x14 hardcover portfolio with dust jacket and a lay-flat design. It features sixteen collections with 100 of our own funeral and memorial designs with in its 101 page layout. To view the full portfolio following this link.
Inspired by late summer and fall in Michigan fields. The Bounty Collection features sunflowers, aster, delphinium, and wheat. Bounty Collection designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
The portrait arrangements featured in the portfolio have also been a stand-out. I love the idea of a treasured picture as the focal point of a floral piece. I think both the portrait and the flowers are enhanced by the other’s presence.
Memorial portrait within the freestanding wreath with soft lavenders, blues, and greens. Tranquil Gate Collection designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
Memorial portrait arrangement evoking the autumn outdoors in Michigan with evergreens, pine cones, cattails, wheat, and lotus pods. Woodland Collection designed by Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral | Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
Besides completing a large-scale project that I’m really proud of, the process made me look outside of my own little flower world, something I hadn’t done for a really, really long time. I needed inspiration. I needed more than what was in my head, more than what was in our coolers or studio or retail space. And I really found it. First, through some floral design blogs, then with florists on Instagram and floristry podcasts. Via those mediums, I discovered new forms of inspiration through books and periodicals. Before this past year, I can’t even remember when I last picked up a magazine to be inspired by the designs within, but I’m so very grateful that I have now. I’m looking forward to exploring and sharing new inspiration here at Flower Fables.
Jennifer Schuitema
Co-Owner of Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral, Wyoming, Michigan
Third-generation florist working in the same location established by her grandparents. She’s worked in flower shops most of her life but in earnest since 1998 when she graduated from Western Michigan University with a BBA. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
