Artists
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.
- Edgar Degas
Sharon
As a young girl Sharon recalls with fondness running down the street to her nana's house and admiring the sweet peas, peonies and lilac bushes. She'd often return home with a bouquet of flowers wrapped in wet paper towel and twist-tied in a clear, plastic alligator baggie.
She started delivering flowers at a small-town boutique. From there she learned the basics of floral design from great mentors and soon-after attended Olds College for more design foundations. Through the course of years in between nursing care for the elderly and journalism, Sharon always returned to designing flowers, whether in small-town boutiques, city shops or downtown Calgary. She has carried a piece from each experience forward from those she most admired and learned from who encouraged her to create her own vision.
Trying to find balance in life, it seemed a natural progression to become the owner of Flowers on 9th. That balance transferred to the workplace — a unique combination of the art and science of floral design, the logic of business, and the emotion that goes hand-in-hand with gifting a floral expression.
Hand-tied bouquets are Sharon's favourite floral creation with soft, romantic, compact arrangements a close second. She loves soft, rounded flowers like hydrangea, peonies and ranunculus in hues of pinks and purples. It gives great pleasure to design with many elements of greenery, flowers and fillers in varying depths to create a design seen naturally.
There are too many fond memories of people over the years who have chosen flowers as a token— the fellow who planned an arrangement of sunflowers to have waiting after proposing while sky-diving, the woman who made a lightbulb vase for her grandmother's birthday, the men who come in faithfully to by a rose or two each week, the men and women who takes part in each creative expression, and overwhelmingly the support from the neighbourhood and community.
Sharon was certified as a PCA, has a Communication Arts: Print Journalism Diploma, a BA in Professional Communication, and completed the execuserv plus self-employment business program. When she's not at the shop she's spending time with her boys and dogs, finding a quiet spot in nature, reading, writing or practising karate.
Katie
Katie can often be found in the flower boutique caring for plants; ensuring they are watered appropriately and visually kempt., but is naturally-gifted for floral design.
In November 2007, Katie was invited by her aunt to help out for the Christmas season and answer telephones. After the bustle of the season, she asked if she could stick around to help out: She liked where she was at, with a desire to learn more. With upcoming seasons of Valentine's Day, Easter and Mother's Day, Katie's help was welcomed. While she never thought to be a florist, on a quiet day she asked if she could learn more about flowers and design.
Katie started with the basics, and laughingly recalls her first arrangement was “hideous.”She continued to watch and learn from each designer she worked with, and developed her natural ability to create and design elements and styles in arrangements with careful placement and attention to detail. She was surprised to see how well she designs and liked the feeling of being able to create something beautiful.
That beauty carries into everyday designs and a specialty in wedding work.
Gravitating towards unique arrangements, she finds her strength lies in simple lines with few flowers , tropical leaves, twigs and curly willow with appropriate negative space. While Katie also finds she struggles with vases, her colleagues and the recipients of floral arrangements see otherwise. Her favourite flower is the white anenome, and traditional Ikebana is a style she would like to learn.
Katie fondly recalls a customer who calls twice a year to send flowers to her sister on Christmas and her birthday. This lady always asks for her on the phone and says, “it's your friend... calling,” when placing her traditional order. This relationship has come with an appreciation and trust developed for Katie always looking after well her gifts of flowers to her sister with the perfect design.
When she's not at the shop, Katie likes to spend time with her family, bake, and explore ghost towns with her hubby.
Sami
Sami can often be found focused on task, working quietly and efficiently with an excitement to design with tropicals and find new lines.
Sami's sister, Katie, asked her to help get deliveries ready for the Christmas season of 2009. Some months later a position became open in September of 2010 and she asked of the opportunity. Sami started part-time; filling out invoices and following colleagues; helping customers and answering phones. The role turned into a full-time position and expanded to flower design. Her creation of three sunflowers in a bubble bowl was a hit with customers and dubbed the “Sami Special.”
Sami, too, followed a natural progression in the industry, designing simple arrangements and working from pictures to naturally develop her own style. Designing in quiet times and tending to shop duties during the bustle of floral seasons, she more enjoyed the design aspects. Initially, she found it challenging with the placement of flowers to make each arrangement look right, but Katie helped her with lines and flower placement. Using a knife was also a challenge, so clippers were her tool of choice. After lovingly being told to “suck it up,” Sami started using a knife and has never cut herself – knock on wood.
Blue dendrobiums are Sami's favourite flower, and she gravitates towards tropical arrangements with few flowers and simple but stately designs. She also likes country arrangements with wheats and fillers and aspires to design wedding bouquets.
Sami holds fond memories of an elderly married couple. Every once in awhile the wife is gifted with a dozen roses either vased or hand-tied. There was also a sweet elderly gentleman who loved his wife dearly and came in often to buy flowers until she passed. Shortly after he joined her. And with a bright smile she speaks of an elderly gentleman from Coaldale who would come to buy two roses for his wife every Saturday even if it was storming. He'd visit people at the hospital, and everytime he came in, he always gave a hug.
When she's not at the shop, Sami likes to bake, spend time with her family and go for drives.
Stephanie
There's never been a day Stephanie has not wanted to come to work at the flower boutique. It's a happy job and she likes her time spent on shop tasks, talking with clients and learning the fundamentals of floral design.
Stephanie joined Flowers on 9th in November of 2015. And while fairly new to the industry, flowers are in her genes. He grandparents were florists for 50 years owning successful shops in Timmins, Ont., Idaho and Lethbridge. Stephanie was introduced to working with flowers at her aunt's shop one Valentine's holiday before working part-time at a city flower shop and then, landing here.
Her genuine kindness and willingness to help shines through in helping clients find the perfect floral expression. She loves seeing when people are happy to receive flowers and are excited when she calls to let them know. Steph also finds delight in seeing the joy in people who come in and pick an arrangement to gift to someone they care for.
Her fondest memories are of an elderly gentleman who could barely walk, see or hear. He came in to buy three stems of daisies for his wife, as he would each week for their entire lives together. And she could never forget the couple from Germany. In their youth, they were in love, but life took them separate ways for much of it. Years later their paths again met and he was not going to let her go again. He proposed, and they stopped in the day before their wedding for a simple dendrobium orchid bouquet and boutineer, their love in every expression.
Steph's favourite flower is ranunculus and she loves white waxflower. As she learns to design, she has a penchant for hand-tied bouquets and compact arrangements. Many different elements with flowers and greenery appeal to her, and she gravitates towards a rustic wildflower theme in mason jars to reflect the prairie country.
When she's not at the flower shop, Stephanie is completing the final year of her BSW degree, picnicking, biking, walking, and spending time with her honey, John.
Vanessa
Vanessa can always be found placing this, that or the other just so in the boutique; creating different focal points and careful lines. She always secretly wanted to move items around the shop, and now does so at liberty. She finds presentation crucial.
When she was super little, Vanessa fondly recalls gardening; helping plant different flowers and caring for them. Though not an aspiration to work in a flower store, it seemed a natural fit when she was asked by her sister to help out at Mother's Day in 2013.
When she could, Vanessa continued to help out at holiday times performing basic shop duties — getting deliveries ready, making boxes, picking flower food and cards, and filling water picks. She returned to more consistent part-time work in October 2015 and her role quickly expanded. Vanessa's background lends itself to interior decorating the space and displays, photography, branding and marketing and website design. She has recently ventured into beginning to learn the foundation of the art and science of flower design.
With an arts background, Vanessa enjoys creating with different mediums on different scales. Creating with flowers represents the same idea. With photography, she loves to capture different elements of floral designs to obtain different perspectives and highlight different qualities.
Peonies are her favourite flower and she remembers them fondly in the garden as a young girl as they were always the first to bloom. She likes romantic loose florals with muted pastels, contemporary designs with whites and greens, and modern, streamlined, simplistic looks.
Vanessa's fondest memory is of an elderly gentleman who came in to buy a gift for his wife's 82nd birthday. She helped him pick out a bromeliad plant he was very pleased with. He was complimenting the different elements of the shop and told her he was proud to be married for so long. With a chuckle he said, “And you'll never believe it. I still love her.” She thoroughly enjoys talking to people, helping them create a visual of what they are looking for.
Vanessa has a Bachelor of Fine Arts, a Bachelor of Environmental Design and a Master of Architecture. When she's not at the shop, she enjoys gardening, yoga, rock climbing and trekking in the mountains – virtually anything outdoor-adventure based.