Making With Laura
Our Artisans + Makers make up so much of what Bon Ton Studio and Bon Ton Baby have to offer. In our Making With series, our goal is to highlight the behind the scenes process of the beloved-products they craft. Read along to find out what goes into some of your favorite must-haves from Bon Ton!
In this session, we chatted with our very own Laura Young!
Where are you located?
I am a Sonoma County native, born and raised in Santa Rosa (minus a two-year stint in Portland, OR). My family has a beautiful flower garden in our front yard, and I feel so lucky to live in a place like Sonoma County that allows us to grow our own flowers and produce year-round! I’m definitely spoiled to be able to always have fresh cut flowers in my room.
How long have you been crafting your product?
My grandma taught me how to make my first ever flower crown when I was really little, and I’ve loved them ever since. In the past I’ve made them for myself for important events, like art shows and formals in college. They’re great conversation starters, and they feel so special. I took my passion to the next level a few years back by assisting my mom Kari in her floral design business making flower crowns for brides.
What is the most inspiring thing behind knowing that your products land in the hands of people all over the world?
The brides I designed for really inspire the crowns themselves! Each person is so unique, just like flowers. There are so many beautiful varieties of flowers and natural materials to work with, so each crown is totally unique to the person wearing it. I love that something I’ve made gets to be a part of someone’s special day. Whether my flower crowns were used in family photos, a wedding, or even just used for a girls’ weekend, the memories and photos will last forever.
Step by Step Process:
Materials:
- Scissors or shears. I really like using these bronze pruning shears! They’re super cute, too!
- Florist tape. You can find it for a dollar on Amazon, or visit a local floral wholesale shop! Sonoma County locals can visit Sequoia Floral International in Santa Rosa for all of their floral supplies.
- Pipe cleaners. Depending on the size, I recommend between one and two pipe cleaners. For this headband style crown, I used one and a half pipe cleaners. It doesn’t really matter what color you use, as you’ll be covering it all up.
- Flowers! This is the fun part. You can use fresh flowers from your garden, dried flowers, but my secret tip is to get flowers at Trader Joes. They always have a lot of options, and are super affordable. I recommend getting flowers on the smaller side– otherwise, you’l have a super heavy crown and it can get really bulky! I also recommend flowers with a harder step. Flowers like tulips are gorgeous, but with such a soft, water-filled stem, it can be tricky to wrap.
Step 1. Get organized! I like to process my flowers first. This means laying your flowers out, stripping the leaves from the stems, and sorting the flowers by type or size, depending on what you’re using. Cut the flowers so they have a stem of about 1-2 inches. Any shorter and they might fall out of the crown!
Step 2. Make the base! Here you’ll need your pipe cleaners and florist tape. The trick to getting florist tape sticky is by stretching it. Rip off a piece about 3 or 4 inches to start. Stretch it out, and start wrapping it around one end of the pipe cleaner tightly so it becomes very thin. Once you have about an inch wrapped, you can double it back to make a loop. Continue wrapping so the loop is secure and attached. Now you can start with flowers!
Step 3. Party time! I like to plan out how my crown will look. With this one, I have four different flowers to work with. The carnations and mums are about the same size, the hypericum is a bit smaller, and the baby’s breath is a great filler because it can be used for fluff or just be tiny! I like to start small on one end, have the mid-section be fuller, and then taper off again at the end. To add flowers to your pipe cleaner, you’ll take a flower, lay it against the wire, and start wrapping the florist tape around. Keep adding more and more flowers each time you wrap the tape around, and after a while, you’ll have a crown!
Step 4. When your crown has reached your desired length, you’ll create another loop at the end just like the one you started with! You can add more flowers to cover the loop by wrapping the flowers facing the opposite direction. Once completed, string a ribbon through each loop. This way it’s adjustable for any size head! Pop your beautiful new crown on, and you’re all done!
You can find Laura at @laurealizabeth on Instagram