Annika McIntosh is a garden & floral designer and micro grower in Bellingham, Washington. She is the owner of Hazel Landscapes + Design LLC. After working with children’s gardens, streetscape design and food security projects, she entered the world of flowers through the side door of landscape design. Annika is always dreaming about fantastical botanical installations and thoroughly believes in the power of natural spaces and (local, seasonal) flowers to ground us in the Here and Now.
Rayne Grace Hoke is enamored with the beauty of nature and loves the thrilling mix of magic and science. "The graceful weight of a tulip in the hand and the intoxicating aroma of mimosa brings pure joy and a bit of awe. It’s these nuances of the natural world which fascinate me. And soaking in these experiences is for me a point of divine expression and inspiration."
Her floral path has allowed Rayne many opportunities to explore other artistic curiosities beyond flowers. In the 1990’s, she interned at the Textile Conservation Lab at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Additionally, she is an Ambassador and graduate of the Beyond Startup and New Ventures business program. Via this inspiring organization, she advocates for small women business on state and federal levels. Rayne also has tapped into weaving, perfumery, fashion design and even metalsmithing and is currently a Maine-based Slow Flowers practitioner offering Slow Flower meetups in he region.
Becky completed her gardening and landscape design training in New York, Calgary, and Chicago and has completed floral design training with many leading florists who specialize in environmental-friendly florsitry and who support the Slow Flowers movement.
She previously worked as the Horticultural Therapist at the Alberta Children's Hospital, where she oversaw the design and management of five acres of gardens. In creating prairie girl flowers, she wanted to utilize all of her training to bring sustainable beauty to Calgarians - and to cultivate a change in the floral industry. A change that makes florals better for the planet and creates opportunities for clients to make a conscious choice that supports local growers and our environment.
Becky is the Canadian Ambassador for the new Sustainable Floristry Network - a global industry initiative supported by a collective of experienced florists who are dedicated to environmentally sustainable techniques and practices.
Lisa Thibodeau is a writer, flower farmer and late bloomer. Five years ago she swapped a cubicle for her 1-acre backyard and created Happy Road Farm. She lives in an old house in Loomis, California with her husband, two teenagers, and way too many books.
Gretel & Steve Adams own Sunny Meadows Flower Farm in Columbus, OH. Their farm ships flowers to florists across the US with ranunculus and anemones being their main focus starting in March, then moving through the season with peonies, lisianthus, dahlias, mums, and more! Send an email to sales@sunnymeadowsflowerfarm.com for more details about how to get signed up for our florist availability list.
Founder of The Gardener’s Workshop and Flower Farming School Online and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Award-winning Author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers. Watch Lisa’s Story, visit the Field & Garden Podcast and view the Blog. Connect with Lisa on Facebook and Instagram.
It all began in 1998 because Lisa wanted to work in her garden as her career. At first, she sold her cut flowers to local florists and Colonial Williamsburg. The business soon grew to include florist throughout the Hampton Roads region, supermarkets, farmers markets, a members-only on-farm market, and a bouquet drop-off subscription service.
Lisa’s farm, known as The Gardener’s Workshop is still a small market flower farm (100% outdoor field grown), and an online garden shop. The online store sells the same seeds, tools, supplies, and seed starting equipment that Lisa uses as well as signed copies of her books. Lisa’s simple, instructive, and delightful gardening messages are reaching far beyond any expectation she ever had.
Jenny has been passionately pursuing creativity all her life and she is fortunate to say that it is the foundation of her career. When Jenny was a kid, drawing and creating fueled her desire to continue to learn more trades in the art field.
Fifteen years ago, Jenny started as a graphic designer and she continues doing graphic design to this day. During the last five years, she has booked photo sessions from shooting fruits and vegetables to capturing the most important day in someone's life.
"My heart is fully involved in every project I take on and I am crazy lucky to have the clients I work with and the people that trust me to capture their special moments on camera."
Jenny is Slow Flowers' art director. She designed the new Slow Flowers Journal - Volume One book. And she was a 2019 American Flowers Week Botanical Couture designer.
Alyssa O’Sullivan is the owner and founder of Sweet Alyssum Farm on Vashon Island, Washington. The farm grows specialty cut flowers to nurture creativity within her local floral community, while her focus on sustainability nurtures the earth, animals and people these flowers touch along the way. Follow her on Instagram @sweet.alyssum.farm.
Gina Thresher AIFD EMC
Gina Thresher is owner of From the Ground Up Floral, a wedding, event + special occasion floral studio. She is also the operator of http://www.fromthegroundupfloral.media, a podcast, teaching, and learning adventure for florists and creatives. Gina is a contributor to Fleurvana learning and the EMC mentorship program. She is AIFD NW Chapter President and AIFD National Social Media committee president.