Hope Flower Farm with Holly Heider Chapple
““The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.””
Compote designed by me at a floral intensive with Holly Chapple at Hope Flower Farm. Photography by Theo Milo Photography.
A year ago today, January 12, 2019, I wrote my first blog post, Flower Expressions. It was written from a place of renewal and optimism in my floral journey. The next day, I emailed Amy McGee to inquire about the possibility of arranging a floral intensive with Holly Chapple.
As a result of the initial email to Amy, in November I visited Hope Flower Farm in Waterford, Virginia to study with Holly. I love to travel, but this was only the third time in my life traveling alone. And both previous times, I was meeting a family member on the other side. This trip was outside the norm for me.
If you’re interested in an in-depth look at Hope Flower Farm or learning more about Holly’s story, check out their respective websites. But for context, Holly is a studio florist in the Washington, D.C. market that produces luxury events. (Think Kennedy Center and The St. Regis.) Though she continues to focus on wedding and event floral design, over the last decade, she has founded the Chapel Designers, cultivated Hope Flower Farm, developed a product line with Syndicate Sales, and is a passionate educator and speaker within the floral industry.
Bridal bouquet designed by me at my floral intensive at Hope Flower Farm. Photography by Theo Milo Photography.
Full tablescape with compote centerpieces, budvases, and sideboard arrangement. Photography by Theo Milo Photography.
I arrived in Virginia on Sunday, November 10. I had some time before I was expected to arrive at Hope Flower Farm, and since I can’t resist doing one more thing while traveling, I visited Manassas National Battlefield. It was a great transition for me. I’m so glad I had that time before hand to take a minute to breathe.
Manor House
When I arrived at Hope Flower Farm, Holly greeted me in her very genuine way and made sure I was settled into the guest house for my first night on the farm. The comfortable sleeping quarters were a blessing, because as I found out, it’s called an intensive for a reason.
Photography by Theo Milo Photography.
Bridal bouquet designed by me on the workbench at Holly Heider Chapple Flowers.
Intensive - Day One - Comfort Zone
I went into this experience without really knowing what to expect as far as an itinerary. But day one was definitely my kind of day, my comfort zone.
We went to Holly’s studio, chatted about business, I asked questions about process, she gave some great advice and coached me through aspects of the client experience specifically related to wedding and event floristry. And then, we designed. So great. Tons of luxury flowers to design with and no budgets to worry about. Bridal bouquets, compotes, elevated designs. I loved every minute of designing in Holly’s studio, meeting her team and family, and learning new techniques. All the designs within this blog came out of day one, with a few exceptions that I’ll point out later on. Day one was definitely fun, a real sweet spot.
Holly’s studio is attached to her home, and there’s lots of kinetic energy, which is something that really feeds my soul. This was a living, breathing studio space doing its work for that week’s upcoming event. I gleaned a lot from observing the functionality, organization, and inner workings of a floral studio that produces large-scale, luxury events.
Photography by Theo Milo Photography.
Intensive - Day Two - Learning Zone
I’ve been working in this industry the majority of my life. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on what makes me comfortable and what makes me uncomfortable. I know my optimal place is designing at a florist workbench with a cooler, sink, and supplies all conveniently nearby. I love it. Can and will do it all day long.
Elevated design integrated into the tablescape at the styled shoot, intensive day-two, Hope Flower Farm. Photography by Theo Milo Photography.
But working outside that environment causes me a lot of anxiety: designing on-site at a wedding, setting up a large installation on location, loading in and tearing down at a reception venue, etc. One of the reasons that I chose to study with Holly is her apparent fearless approach to these working situations.
Constructing the floral installation at Hope Flower Farm.
In my first blog post that I mentioned earlier, I reflected on a three-day long styled shoot for our new funeral and memorial portfolio. That was totally outside my comfort zone, but I was absolutely determined to do it. It was an amazing experience, but I remember this intense feeling of exhaustion at the end of it, not just physically, but mentally. I had a similar sensation at the end of day two of this floral intensive.
But that was the whole point of studying with Holly. On the diagram of personal growth there’s comfort zone, fear zone, learning zone, and growth zone. I’ve spent a lot of time in the comfort zone, and as my blog post, Anthophobia, suggests, I’ve also spent some time in the fear zone.
Theo Milo shooting at Hope Flower Farm. Modeling courtesy of Sydney, administrator at Holly Heider Chapple Flowers and volunteer model.
Day two put me in the learning zone. It was all about setup, building installations, designing on the spot, and working on location. The end result of that day are the styled shots of my work that you see within this post.
Theo Milo was on-site to photograph all the work that I produced on day one and a few pieces I designed on the spot.
The floor-to-ceiling installation was designed on-site, as planned. Evan Chapple, Holly’s husband, gave me a flash-course in installation mechanics and structures. The installation I designed was constructed on one of Evan’s custom-designed structures. This natural design used foraged elements and fresh-cut flowers to coordinate with the toffee rose bridal bouquet designed on day one.
The pieces I designed while the other florals were being photographed were the flower crown and the flower cuff. These were spontaneous additions made by Holly. I’m really glad she pushed me to add these two designs into the photo shoot. Theo captured some really nice images that added a more intimate feel to the overall additions to my portfolio of work.
Below is some of the photography that came out of day two. It was such an amazing experience visiting and studying at Hope Flower Farm and learning from Holly. As a result, I have beautiful photography that we’ve mounted and framed for use in our wedding meeting space, updated our events website, and redesigned our wedding proposal layout. But more important than the physical results, I have a new community of support and education through the Chapel Designers and a new foundation for growth in floristry.
The above photography by Theo Milo Photography.
I owe a huge thank you to not only Holly, but everyone at Hope Flower Farm and Holly Heider Chapple Flowers: Evan Chapple, Jess, Sydney, Teresa, and the whole Chapple household. They were all welcoming and beyond helpful. Thank you to Theo Milo for capturing the beautiful images of my designs, as well as his patience and kindness. And one more special mention for Jack the farm cat, who kept me company during my time at the guest house. It was an inspiring experience, and I can’t wait to visit again.
Jennifer Schuitema
Co-Owner of Wyoming Stuyvesant Floral, Wyoming, Michigan
Third-generation florist working in the same location established by her grandparents. She’s worked in flower shops most of her life but only in earnest since 1998, when she graduated from Western Michigan University with a BBA. She lives in Grand Rapids, MI.
