section: garden 
When we realized that we’d be doing a post so close to Halloween we decided to look for inspiration beyond a cleverly carved squash. We wanted to assemble an arrangement that embraced the darker, more macabre side of the holiday. Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the terror-ium!
Right up the road from San Francisco, California Carnivores looks to be merely a little greenhouse off the main drag. Upon closer inspection we found the equivalent to a botanical bestiary: hundreds of little meat eaters all under one glassed roof. The grounds of this carnivorous plant farm are more like a B-movie set than greenhouse, decked out with plastic creepy-crawlies and vivisected vegetation. But don’t let the campy decor fool: proprietor Peter D’Amato is a serious guy. He’s a walking, talking encyclopedia of carnivorous knowledge, having written several voluminous books on the subject. He guided us through the selection of our plants and gave us all the information we needed to successfully raise our little ankle-biters for years to come.
CLICK HERE for the rest of Studio Choo’s Terror-ium post after the jump! read more … October 29th, 2009 - 01:00pm 
One of the best things about writing this column is now we have an excuse to get to know some of our favorite artists better. Patty Benson of Papaver Vert is a great example: Jill first stumbled upon Patty’s felted wool bowls a few years ago and instantly fell for the amazing quality and beautiful texture of her work. These vessels and bowls are a perfect display when cold weather rolls around, lending an instant cozy feel to whatever is placed inside them. And with Halloween and Thanksgiving fast approaching, we thought Patty’s newest round vessel (she’s been a bit obsessed with pods and seeds lately) would make a playful substitute for a pumpkin with the addition of some pretty vines!
On a little island across from San Francisco we were lucky enough to meet up with Patty at her Alameda home/workshop. Up until a few years ago Patty was paying her bills the old-fashioned way: a nine-to-five job that left her feeling less than fulfilled. Although she has a background in fashion and has worked creatively at both Old Navy and Crate & Barrel, the corporate life was not agreeing with her. It was only when a friend taught her how to crochet that things clicked in to place and she found herself wondering if there wasn’t a better way to make a living. A few experiments with wool felting were inspirational, and she took the plunge.
CLICK HERE for the rest of the papaver vert post after the jump! read more … October 22nd, 2009 - 01:00pm 
All it takes is one big rainstorm to make everything feel like fall all of a sudden. Luckily we made it out to San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market last Saturday, one step ahead of the cold front, and found some inspiring autumnal treasures to build this week’s Market to Table arrangement.
We knew we wanted to use warm, fall colors, but we arrived at the market without anything specific in mind and just let our imaginations take charge. With tons of vendors selling everything from rustic honeycombs and pungent cheeses, to geranium plants and coffee brewed by the cup (yum), this market hosts farmers who bring their best produce and freshest flowers straight from the field to your table.
And it’s a great place to test your produce knowledge. For example, did you know that carrots don’t have to be long and lean? Apparently they also come as thick and stout as russet potatoes (and our favorite shape- a pair of small pants). When we saw these crazy carrots we flipped for them and knew we had to use them in this week’s arrangement, hence the carrot vase was born! CLICK HERE for the full arrangement how-to (and 8 more pictures) after the jump! read more … October 15th, 2009 - 01:00pm 
We knew we were going to be busy with events, weddings, consultations, and walkthroughs last week so we decided to keep it simple for our new post and just bring you along.
Fall was unavoidable at the market…arrangements for the week included bittersweet, oak leaves with tiny acorns, roses, dahlias, ranunculus, and amaryllis. 
We cleaned and organized our acquisitions from a recent Reno thrifting vacation. The theme for the trip seemed to be white, silver, and our favorite of all- gold. When we go hunting we try to narrow our focus to just a few kinds of things (color/shape/size) to avoid being completely overwhelmed.
CLICK HERE for the rest of the post (and 12 more images) after the jump! read more … October 8th, 2009 - 01:00pm 
In this week’s feature we’re getting our hands dirty with Lauren Anderson. An artist and gardener, Lauren added CEO to her list of credits this year when she single-handedly founded Produce to the People, a San Francisco non-profit that works to distribute backyard- and community-grown produce to low income individuals and families free of charge. We got a chance to visit her in her sweet little garden where she served us homemade beer and Beet Velvet cupcakes and we chatted on her afghan-outfitted yard furniture (she swears the acrylic tenacity of these granny blankets makes them ideal for outdoor use- they never mildew- and they look so darn good!).
Produce to the People, which often consists of Lauren and any good-natured tree-climbing friends and volunteers she can scrounge up, travels throughout San Francisco harvesting fruits and vegetables from private gardens and gardeners who simply have more apples, plums and oranges than they know what to do with. In a single season a fruit tree can produce 300-400 pounds of fruit. Seriously. Think of all the front yards you’ve passed covered in moldering lemons and squishy plums and thought, “What a waste.” Well, Lauren thought so too and decided to do something about it. Now people can contact Produce to the People to arrange picking parties: PttP comes to your house, harvests your goods, and gives them to hungry people throughout the city.
CLICK HERE for the rest of the post after the jump! read more … October 1st, 2009 - 01:00pm 
Ceramicist and sculptor Diana Fayt just officially became a rock star. This summer Fayt was featured on the cover of Ceramics Monthly (June, July, August edition), which as anyone in the world of ceramics knows, is basically like being on the cover of Rolling Stone. So we were thrilled to get to spend some session time with her in her San Francisco studio this month as she prepared a new batch of vases for the fantastic Heath Ceramics.
As florists we were always struck by how few flowers it took to make one of Fayt’s vases look fantastic. Little did we know that this was deliberate on the part of the designer; after spending several years working at companies that preferred making wide-mouth vases and bowls, vases that would quickly eat up a fresh flower budget, Fayt set out to create work that was both economically and aesthetically minded. Her uniquely styled vases are perfectly happy holding a handful of blooms or none at all:
“Some things I consider when making a new vase shape is how many flowers will fit in the vase. Most people buy one bunch of flowers, not three. I want people to be able put their blooms in my vases with ease and not have to fuss too much but also to enjoy the vase without flowers as well.” CLICK HERE for the rest of the post (and all 15 images on one page) after the jump! read more … September 24th, 2009 - 02:00pm 
lately i’ve been daydreaming about what it would be like to have a garden, so i though it would be fun to focus this week’s under $100 column on garden themed accessories. some are ready for dirty work in the yard, others are just inspired by plantlife and the great outdoors. either way, there’s something here for everyone- and any budget. click here for more budget friendly product roundups.
[image above, clockwise from top left: clover dome $60, daisy water bottle $16, herb garden paper napkins $5.50, folding bird house $50, outdoor thermometer $24, garden scissors $12.99, bell jar terrarium $78, ant mirror button $12, lavender garden in a bag $9, 1,000 garden ideas: a visual sourcebook $25.55, stoneware garden markers $30, green thumb readers $28, annie garden tools $34, garden carrot gift wrap $4.50 per sheet, diptych vert candle $68, glass and rope terrarium $28, ceramic plant pod $98, magic number pot $12]  September 22nd, 2009 - 12:00pm | 
