I thought I was too busy to create a calendar this year. And then my customers insisted that I find the time.
One particularly insistent customer couldn’t imagine what she’d give to her beloved clients if NOT a Flora-Ly Studios Calendar of Flowers…
“Each year I purchase these delightful desk calendars from Flora-Ly for all my current and former clients to enjoy throughout the entire year – they LOVE them – and so do I!”
Alicia of Alicia J. Nichols Fundraising Counsel, Pittsfield, ME
You spoke. I listened.
This is the fourth year I’m offering the Flora-Ly Studios Calendar of Flowers—a collection of 12 postcard-sized, monthly mini-calendars that perch upon a sweet, wooden easel—perfectly suited to adorn your desk.
I start putting the calendar together in August. I begin by going through photographs of every collage I’ve made during the year. It’s a wonderful opportunity to take a stroll down memory lane. Every collage is attached to the memory of a client and their story; the woman who looooooved her pink roses; the customer whose bouquet was so enormous that we made two collages from it; and the client whose mom and grandmother used to pressed flowers—having her wedding flowers pressed was so poignant for her.
Rather than use images of complete collages (Those one of a kind beauties belong solely to the customers I made them for!), I focus on favorite vignettes from the collages I love the most and digitally re-mix them to make something entirely new.
Every month is a collection of memories from my studio and my life and I offer them to you, ready and waiting to hold your memories-in-the-making.
June’s pink Peony is from my mother’s Peony bush. Her Peony bushes were lush and tall, with blossoms the size of cantaloupes. No chemical fertilizers for these babies–they grew to epic proportions as a result of love, gentle whispers, sunshine and sheep compost. Now they grow in my garden. I’m sure they long for my mother’s whispered-sweet-nothings…but I do give them a kind word along with their sheep shi…compost.
February is a layered vision in pinks and purples created from the flowers in September’s photo. I think of those layers as being like our relationships—they start out simply enough—growing richer and more complex over time.
October is always one of my favorites. This is a photo of “flower ghosts.” The faint—sometimes not so faint—images that a flower leaves on the paper after I remove it from the presses. Sometimes the marks are distinct, sometimes less so. It seems apropos to use these flower spirits for the month that holds All Hallows Eve.
After I’ve settled on 12 images for the year, I add notes or quotes to the back of each month’s card. These are like a mini-journal entry, reflective of the past year and hopeful for next—my wishes for you as your year unfolds.
There’s a trick that time plays on us, as we grow older and wiser. Somehow it seems to speed up. When weeks blend together and months fly by, I feel robbed of my right to savor each moment. That’s why I’m especially grateful that you asked for another calendar this year. It’s my chance to slow down, cherish the beautiful memories from the year, learn from the less beautiful ones, and make wishes for each day, each week, each month in the year ahead.
Just as flowers are a gift—from nature to humankind; from one lover to another; given between friends; meant to memorialize, to symbolize, to celebrate…this calendar is a gift…not FROM me, but THROUGH me. A gift for you…to keep or to share. A gift of beauty, of wishes, memories and good intentions.
Calendar pre-sale orders are now open. I print only a few more calendars than are pre-ordered and they sell out every year. Make sure you get yours by ordering before October 25th.
If you’d like to purchase 25 or more calendars to give as gifts, you’ll enjoy a 25% discount on your order. For my corporate clients, I offer the option of customization with your logo on the back of each month’s card.
Alicia J. Nichols Fundraising Counsel, artisan flower preservation, calendar of flowers, collages, Flora-Ly Studios Calendar of Flowers, flower ghosts, flower preservation, gift, mini-calendars, mini-journal, pink Peony
