MANIFESTOMANIFESTO he inspiration for Slow Flowers begins in gardens, meadows, orchards and fields, where the timeless act of cutting or harvesting botanicals season by season is part of the natural cycle of a year. For millennia, humans have picked flowers, foliage and branches from nature to use in the domestic environment for décor and display. Flowers, herbs and leaves have played an equally important role in cultural and spiritual practices for many people and traditions. They have been ever-present in the history of humankind, symbolizing the essence of life. As the industrial age reshaped modern life, commerce formed around flowers, reducing many floral crops into commodities that are produced, sold and used with little regard to the environmental and human costs. This has resulted in a floral industry largely based on high-volume, low-cost production, greatly devaluing flowers to the point where it has been quite challenging to make a living wage as a flower farmer in the U.S. For various reasons, be it economic, trade or government policy, the floral industry since the early 1990s has undergone a major shift in the way flowers are grown and marketed. Slow Flowers began in the U.S., where 80 percent of cut flowers sold are imported from other countries and continents. The Slow Flowers Movement recognizes that this is not sustainable for people or for the planet, particularly when flowers are often considered a luxury. Slow Flowers believes that it is impossible to support the continued production and consumption of a perishable product that devours so many valuable resources (jet fuel, packaging material, water, to name a few), especially when there is a fresh and beautiful domestic alternative. Slow Flowers is a response to the dramatic changes of the past 25 years. It recognizes that most humans are disconnected from fragrant garden flowers and small-scale flower farming. It aspires to take back the act of flower growing and recognize it as a relevant and respected branch of agriculture. Slow Flowers aims to reconnect flower consumers and professionals in the floral industry with the source of their flowers. We believe that when the marketplace uses transparent origin labeling of all botanical varieties, it elevates the value of local, seasonal and sustainably-grown florals. Slow Flowers commits to the following practices: • To recognize and respect the seasons by celebrating and designing with flowers when they naturally bloom. • To reduce the transportation footprint of the flowers and foliage consumed in the marketplace by sourcing as locally as possible. • To support flower farmers small and large by crediting them when possible through proper labeling at the wholesale and consumer level. • To encourage sustainable and organic farming practices that respect people and the environment. • To eliminate waste and the use of chemical products in the floral industry. The Slow Flowers Movement puts a priority on sourcing domestic flowers. In a way, this also means that we are redefining beauty. T 8 MANIFESTO Hillary AlgerHillary Alger“I am able to feel even more enriched by the beauty of a floral creation when I know that it has a low carbon footprint.”TOBEY NELSON 15 obey Nelson’s childhood with “eco- hippy parents” together with a first career in organic gardening and landscape design led to her past eight years as a sustainably- focused wedding and event designer. “Having a lifetime of values about sustainability and organic gardening, it just felt really natural to me to bring that into floral,” she says of her professional evolution. “My overarching commitment for everything I do falls under the umbrella of sustainable floristry,” she explains. “I first source sustainable and locally-grown flowers and I make sure that I work without floral foam in my designs.” Tobey’s adherence to green practices reflects the place she calls home: Whidbey Island, a bucolic island in Washington’s Puget Sound, located about 30 miles north of Seattle -- via a short ferry ride. Whidbey is a favorite for destination weddings and an emerging hub for locally-grown flowers with several boutique cut flower farms. Tobey Nelson Events & Design specializes in all-local sourcing for couples who value everything from seasonal flowers to slow food and local wine. It comes natural to Tobey to design an ambitious, large-scale botanical sculpture or suspended floral chandelier for a client’s ceremony or special event using smart, eco-friendly installation techniques. “It’s important to find the mechanics that match the design intention,” she maintains. “Sometimes florists have to be engineers and very much ‘MacGyver’ things. I want to encourage other designers to think through their design choices and choose the best solutions for the end goal.” Through her Whidbey Flower Workshop series, hosted each spring for an instruction-packed two days, Tobey strives to demystify foam-free design and inspire others to elevate their work with new techniques. From commonly used techniques to site-specific challenges, over time, Tobey has identified riggings, hardware, hidden water sources and attachments that are recyclable, reusable and compostable. “As I study with and alongside florists from the world over, I see why they value the floral tools and supports that they do. Many florists feel that eco-friendly techniques are only appropriate for gardenesque styles, but I’ve played around with a variety of mechanics and feel that there are natural options even for fairly precise designers. “The type of mechanic you use, and the sort of design you make, present continuing opportunities to make a choice away from the convenience-lifestyle products that are not great for the environment. For me, this choice and the time it takes to produce it, is worthwhile. I am able to feel even more enriched by the beauty of a floral creation when I know that it has a low carbon footprint.” T Tobey Nelson Events + Design Langley, Washington SLOW FLOWERS JOURNAL | Volume 1 TOBEY NELSON EVENTS + DESIGN | TOBEYNELSON.COM | @TOBEYNELSONEVENTS Suzanne RothmeyerCASABLANCA FLORAL | CASABLANCAFLORAL.COM | @CASABLANCAFLORAL 40 THE FLORIST FARMER Maura Whalen began her design studio in 2014, pursuing a lifelong dream of having a business connected with flowers and the natural world. Her love of flowers was inspired by a childhood spent in the glorious upstate New York and Connecticut gardens of her mother and Italian grandmother, Flora, and creating floral arrangements for the family table as a “reward” for her weeding chores. To this day, she recalls working in a flower shop to pay her way through graduate school as one of the best jobs she ever had. Casablanca Floral is the culmination of these experiences expressing creativity through flowers. Maura’s studio has flourished, serving residential clients, retailers like Neiman Marcus and Seattle area restaurants and offices. The Whalen family property, a 12,000-square-foot city lot, “is still a residential garden,” Maura says of her verdant borders that surround the 1903 farmhouse. “I’ve been obsessed with plants forever, unable to say ‘no’ to any cool specimen that catches my eye. Now I only choose plants I’ll be able to use in my arrangements. “We also have a designated rose garden and an English border along the front of the house where I’m continuously encroaching on the lawn to add more flowers. Luckily, my kids aren’t using that space anymore.” CASABLANCA FLORALCASABLANCA FLORAL After years designing out of her children’s play fort and later, a storage shed, Maura recently upgraded her headquarters to a 220-square-foot studio, designed and built by one of her floral clients, Pete Tabor of The Ricochet Lab. Complete with a large double sink, counters, work tables, shelving and ample windows and doors that overlook the heart of her urban garden, the structure is nestled beneath two century-old cedar trees, but is also light-filled, with a high ceiling and an outdoor deck. “I’m calling it ‘Brooklyn-meets-Paris’ -- it’s a very elegant and beautiful space,” she says. Operating out of a beautiful backyard studio rather than a storefront keeps Casablanca Floral “close to home and close to the heart,” Maura says. “Locating my studio in the garden was very deliberate. Knowing how I design and create arrangements, I want to amble through my garden and clip that extra something -- a begonia leaf, heuchera foliage, a little vine, a peony bud,” Maura says. “Everything is super fresh and of the moment. It’s so lovely to find just the right element that I’ve grown myself.” The dedicated studio gives Maura a professional space that rivals a European flower shop. She also stages photo shoots and hosts classes for private students here. Maura believes her garden gives her an edge to “embellish my arrangements with that little extra botanical to round out the design.” MAURA WHALEN Seattle, Washington Alessandra BresciaAlessandra Brescia “ II t’s so lovely to find just the right element that I’ve grown myself.”THE BUSINESS OF Flowers SECTION 3 Creating a marketplace that connects customers with local and seasonal blooms. Kyle Johnson Honnah Weber in the floral shop at The London Plane, Seattle, Washington. 43Next >

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