April 18 2023
We had a surprise visitor at the 2023 Bloom Battle public display and judging event - flower OG Dave Dowling! Dave has done it all in the floral world including farming, designing, vending, teaching and national leadership as the ASCFG President. He can now add Bloom Battle judge to his resume. Not originally slated to the celebrity panel, we put his expertise to work when he showed up unexpectedly. Dave joined former contestants Jen Majewski, Ian Tresselt and Chris Vaeth to place these arrangements in Bloom Battle renown.
For the second straight year the people and the judges agreed. Amanda won the People's Choice and 1st prize.
Danielle, a former 1st place winner, picked up 2nd.
Jo, also a former 1st place winner, took 3rd this year.
This photogenic beauty by Adrienne won the Instagram Famous voting.
View all of the arrangements and more pictures from the event.
Tweet CommentsMarch 01 2023
We’re so excited to announce Bloom Battle: LoCoFlo’s annual amateur floral design competition! If you’ve ever taken a class at Local Color Flowers or you love dabbling in design at home, this is the perfect opportunity to show off your skills and creativity.
How it Works!
Bloom Battle is a two day event:
How to Participate
Prizes
The Rules
The Celebrity Judges
February 07 2023
Saturdays at LoCoFlo has become our favorite event. It's the bomb. We get to talk about flowers, show off our weekly local display from the farms and our dope shop, hang out with friends, meet new people, have kid and animal visitors.
What is it?
Sat@LoCoFlo is our weekly flower hang out. Bring your Blacksauce. Build a bouquet. Design an arrangement. Pick up your subscription or order ahead. Sat@LoCoFlo is scheduled 8:00AM-12:00PM.
How it Works
Just drop in. We're only a half-block from the farmers market. We display all of our flowers to you to pick out by the stem. We'll also have some pre-mades and other locally made products. Sometimes we host other venders, especially around holidays. Use our order form and we will have your flowers ready to pick up (give us a couple of days notice). Chat with our knowledgeable team about the varieties, the farms and design. It's the place to be.
Hope to see you there!
Tweet CommentsApril 11 2022
It's been three years since our amateur designers have entered the octagon - so long that some forgot they had even registered for the competition back in 2020. The time away showed no diminished skill and no lack of floral ferocity. If anything, the battle was as fierce as ever.
There was a run-a-way winner: Liz Pope crushed it with the People's Choice Award and !st Place prize.
Always the bridesmaid, Chris Vaeth picked up 2nd Place.
First time contestant and flower enthusiast newbie Susan Dumont took 3rd.
Laurel Ady won the Instagram Famous (as though she wasn't already) prize.
Another banger in the studio. Check out all the pictures and videos from the event. What's up with the cinnamon rolls?
Tweet CommentsFebruary 26 2022
Drop-in. Design. Do it.
Flower Happy Hour is just like it sounds, except it's more than an hour, and we don't serve liquor, and it isn't any cheaper than other times we sell flowers. Maybe it needs some explaining...
What is it?
Flower Happy Hour is a self-directed flower design event. It’s super casual. Bring a vase or buy one from us. We have the flowers, the corkscrew, and everything else you need for a magical afternoon of floral enchantment.
Come solo for some alone time with flowers, or bring friends for a unique social outing. (Please give us a heads up for groups of more than four so we can prep or consider our DIY services.)
How it works
Just drop in. We sell flowers by the stem. You pick them out. Stay and design your arrangement or wrap them up to take home. Designers will be available for critique and advice. Order in advance to have a subscription or single arrangement ready to pick up.
Flower Happy Hour is a great mid-week get-away. Practice what you learn at our classes, prep for Bloom Battle, make your weekly arrangement, de-stress, so many possibilities. The flowers will change each week so you can make something different every time.
Pick up your subscription or order.
When Is It?
Wednesdays 3:00PM - 7:00PM Spring and Fall. Check our Classes and Events for the next scheduled Flower Happy Hour.
What Happened to Open Studio?
Flower Happy Hour is the same thing but more exclusive. JK. We are reducing the drop-in schedule to ensure we can have the doors and windows open for ventilation.
Tweet CommentsJanuary 01 2022
It looks like year nine of our nerdy bookclub will at least start online. Email Ellen (ellen@locoflo.com) for a link if you want to dial in. Meeting online isn't all bad. One author has already asked about joining in! (Hint: It's not Octavia Butler. She will only show up in person.)
Meetings are Monday nights at 7:00PM (dates below). We’re always looking for more flower friends to join the fun!
December 14 2020
The ocho, nerds!
Our book club is super casual - just drop in. Meetings are Monday nights at 7:00PM (dates below). The over/under on resuming the LoCoFlo BookClub in person is sitting on June 21. So, we'll be online for at least the first half of the year. Email Ellen (ellen@locoflo.com) for the link. We will let you know when the book club will be back IRL at the studio We’re always looking for more flower friends to join the fun!
January 10 2020
Here's the deal on our classes: It's probably the most fun you will ever have. For reals, taking a LoCoFlo class is a unique experience in our artsy studio led by creative experts where you develop skillz and learn new things.
We offer a variety of classes related to local flowers. They are typically part instruction and part hands-on and you leave the class with your creation. We also offer off-site classes, on-line classes, demos, classes instructed by experts in other fields as well as private classes for groups and individuals.
Types of Classes
Credentials
We’re legit. Our instructors are Master Gardeners and flower farmers with decades of professional floral design experience. We have training from respected organizations (FlowerSchool New York, Longwood Gardens) and industry experts (Jenny Love, Erin Benzakein, Francoise Weeks). We are members of the ASCFG since 2008 and Ellen won their prestigious Allan Armitage Leadership Award in 2016.
What Else
Classes at LoCoFlo are a fun, one-of-a kind experience where you learn new skillz using locally grown flowers and sustainable practices. Classes are for all experience levels unless otherwise specified. Advanced registration is required. One adult admittance per registration. Check the schedule on our Classes and Events page - there's always something new to do and learn.
Tweet CommentsJanuary 01 2020
December 16 2019
Lucky number 7! LoCoFlo BookClub 2020 is our seventh year. We're so old and nerdy we have returning authors: Mary Oliver and Robin Wall Kimmerer (what!). The line up is a mix of fiction, non-fiction and essays about trees, swamps, moss, parks, streams and race. We're stepping it up! No Darwin. No Mark Cameron picks. Best year yet!
The book club is super casual - just drop in. Meetings are Monday nights (dates below) at 7:00PM at our studio. Bring drinks and snacks. We’re always looking for more flower friends to join the fun!
October 19 2019
Our first ever Flower Club event looks like a keeper. The Mystery Arrangement Challenge was a bit of a risk (really, some LoCoFloers thought this thing was a bust when organizers selected glow sticks and Big Boyz Bail Bond pens as required design elements) but the participants brought their creativity, excitement and good vibes. Add in treats from Bramble Baking and Wight Tea, plus strong support from fans - everyone had a blast.
Here's how the night went down:
Club members were presented with unconventional compulsory items along with our spectacular selection of seasonal local flowers to build an arrangement in a "Chopped" style challenge. The required categories were: a quirky container, a non-traditional focal flower and a mystery item. After determining the selection order for the compulsory items by drawing numbered clippers (including a white elephant twist for the last pick), designers chose their materials. Over the next hour, participants built arrangements using chartreuse gel balls, pumpkin-on-a-stick, loofah, a mail box, long garlic stalks and worse. Much, much worse.
Surprises from the get-go! Liz, a wily LoCoFlo veteran, selected a shallow pink dog bowl found at the Greenmount Goodwill, white peacock feathers from the Sunday Market, and Chinese Lantern grown at Wollam Garden with the first overall pick. Beth found value at pick thirteen in her selections of a ceramic pumpkin (another Greenmount Goodwill treasure), googly eyes of Michael's, and indian corn from Calvert's Gift Farm (more on Beth's arrangement below). Allison drew the final pick, and per white elephant rules, had a run at a the entire field of design options.
After an hour of design, each participant presented their arrangement. In addition to a monologue of their experience with the challenge and what they created, several participants embellished their design with stories and titles including Megan's glowing "Grandma's Midnight Romance" and Liz's John Waters inspired "Pink Flamingos". Our AP friend, J Kupps, even had an accompanying song for her eggplant exaggerated "Don't Get Got".
Back to Beth. A LoCoFlo bride in 2018, Beth invited Mr. Trash Wheel to her wedding. Mr. Trash Wheel sent his regrets due to his trash gobbling duties down in the harbor. However he was able to look across the water at the Rusty Scupper to see the reception. He was so happy to be asked he also sent a trove of his merch to the newlyweds. Beth's arrangement: Mrs. Flower Wheel is a floral tribute.
And that's the way it was. Another LoCoFlo classic. See all the pictures in our Flickr album and join us next time.
Tweet CommentsOctober 04 2019
Doing your own flowers should be a fun and creative experience that enhances your event and changes your life for the better. However, without the proper resources, some planning, and a little bit of pro-style help, your DIY floral project could totally blow.
Example: Our new friend, Andrea of The Codex Club, got married just a week before we became besties, and she didn't know about LoCoFlo's DIY services. Let's just say her DIY flower experience wasn't magical.
"There was so much we didn't know. We just thought we would buy some flowers and design the arrangements. It wasn't that easy."
"First, transporting everything was a nightmare. My car still smells from all the dirty flower water that spilled from the buckets."
"We did have a great time designing the arrangements, but that only made our disappointment worse on our wedding day - everything wilted. I loved my wedding. The only thing I would have changed were the flowers."
Oh No! DIY disaster!
Bloom Battler Chris, on the other hand, was on his DIY game. He brought his out-of-town aunts and gran, plus friends, over to the shop a few days before his wedding to make bud vases, centerpieces and accent arrangements. We provided the flowers, some of the vases, the tools and materials, and all of the fun.
"My family was so happy to be part of the floral design. It was a fun activity and a great memory."
"We brought our arrangements to brunch the next day. Gran was still talking about the flowers. She loved it! I'm bringing her back to make our Thanksgiving centerpiece."
LoCoFlo kept all of Chris's arrangements looking fresh in our cooler. We also did the heavy lifting with the large ceremony pieces and handled the deets with bouts and corsages plus delivered everything on the big day.
Yesss! DIY domination!
LoCoFlo's DIY services:
Space to Work Everybody needs a proper workstation to do their best design. And, do you really want all that mess at your house? Design your flowers in our inspiring floral studio. Bring drinks and snacks. Spread out, chill and have fun.
Flowers We will facilitate your flower order from our network of local farmers. Have a brief consultation with us about your requirements and flower availability, variety, and colors. The flowers will be ready when you arrive. Easy peasy.
Materials and Tools We are a full service flower shop with all the materials and tools you need. (As a green florist, we do not use floral foam, but we have alternatives.)
Advice and coaching We got the skillz. Our designers have years of training and experience. We have provided floral arrangements for thousands of events. You got this - we can help (that sounds familiar).
Storage Flowers are dying from the moment they are cut. Proper care and storage will extend their life. We will store your floral creations in our walk-in cooler, and care for them until the big day.
Delivery Arrangements are delicate. We have years of experience safely delivering flower arrangements to weddings and events and a van.
Do it right. Do it fun. Do it yourself.
Tweet CommentsSeptember 16 2019
We built the LoCoFlo studio in 2013 to be a place for our team to do floral work. It was pretty simple: design space, interior loading for the van, a walk-in cooler, meeting space, storage, kitchen, bathroom. We styled the space with art and, later, an exterior mural to inspire creativity. We have a perpetual dried flores installation hanging from the rafters. It got muy dope, muy fast.
Before we knew it, the dopeness started to change our business and people wanted to hang out at LoCoFlo. We scheduled our first weekly in-studio event: Sat@LoCoFlo. Then we began offering classes. After that, it was Open Studio every Wednesday. Add in a few annual events: Bloom Battle and Makers Alley, and our clubs: Book and Flower - now there's always something going on at the Flo.
But there's even extra. Our friends started to do cool stuff at the studio: vegan cooking demonstrations from professional chefs, a political campaign kick-off, an instameet, non-profit farm fundraisers, an underground gourmet multi-course dinner y mas.
Join the fiesta! Make LoCoFlo the place for you to do cool cosas:
Rent the Space The LoCoFlo studio is an inspiring and versatile place for parties, meetings, work, etc.
DIY Do your own flower design. We have all the tools and inventory. We can even provide expert advice, storage in our cooler and delivery services. Do it right. Do it fun. Do it yourself at LoCoFlo.
Private Classes Our instructors (mostly Ellen) can customize a private class for your group (at the studio or on the road). Great for team building, jardin clubs, bachelorette/birthday parties, mom friend group. You get me.
Email or call Ellen (ellen@locoflo.com | 410-262-1494). She will hook you up. Te mola a LoCoFlo, Corey Booker.
Tweet CommentsJuly 28 2019
The first rule of Flower Club is: You MUST talk about Flower Club.
But, before you talk about Flower Club, you have to know all about Flower Club.
Former Bloom Battlers Jen and Meredith were gabbing at Open Studio one Spring Wednesday night. They missed the competition of Bloom Battle and wanted a new challenge.
Meredith: "What if LoCoFlo had a 'Chopped' style competition, where we wouldn't know what the flowers were and we would need to include unusual elements in the design!"
Jen: "Ooh, that would be fun. Or like 'Nailed It', where we would try to arrange a complex floral installation."
Meredith: "Yeah, that would be fun!"
Jen: "Yeah!"
Meredith: "Yeah!
Ellen then put her MBA training to use and recognized the customer need.
Ellen (internal monologue): "I bet I could get this floral shop cookin' with a new LoCoFlo event: Flower Club! It would be a fun floral activity night for our flower MVPs and new friends. Wow, I'm really good."
Ellen workshopped the idea with some other Bloom Battlers, Heather and Liz, and, boom, the ideas kept flowing: floral bingo, large group project, speed dating flower edition, flower trivia night... The possibilities, and flower fun, are endless.
If you love flowers you're already a member of the club. Some meetings will be drop-in, some will require registration. All will be awesome. Look for the schedule on our Classes and Events page, social media and our email.
Join Flower Club. You probably won't get punched in the face.
Tweet CommentsApril 28 2019
LoCoFlo thought we had something special when Jessica A. Rowe Valmas applied for a design job with us. She was in the Future Harvest Beginner Farmer Training Program with an internship at our long-time trusted partner, Butterbee Farm. She was a graduate of MICA with several aquatic-themed commissions completed. She wore a t-shirt that implied membership in The Society of Excellent Women. It was all very promising.
SBJ was on his way, and we needed a new Stacy, so Jess was in.
Flower design training began. Jess built a wall. Everything was pretty, pretty, pretty good. Then, things got weird. Jess started bringing Uncrustables for lunch. She reenacted her favorite signature professional wrestling moves from the 90's (i.e Scotty Too Hotty and George, The Animal, Steel). She would, on more than one occasion, rap the entire theme song from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Real weird.
But Jess had the art skillz, and we asked her to paint a mural on the outside of the building. We set the requirements: Flowers from our logo - Rudbeckia, Zinnia, Dahlia. Easy peasy.
Nailed it!
It turns out our first impression was right: Jess is special. She has transformed our building and our business. She brings beauty to shop even on the days she isn't working. If we could just get her to eat some real food...
Tweet CommentsOctober 16 2018
Note: The PickUp has been discontinued. Subscriptions now available.
The LoCoFlo PickUp has been improving flower lovers’ lives for a few years now. PickerUppers signed up in the winter. After great anticipation, the PickUp revved up in April. LoCoFlo cranked out locally grown bouquets of flowers once per month through October for pick up at the shop. Floral joy for all.
So, what about version 2.0? How can the PickUp improve your life even more?
Imagine this: A dark auditorium. Standing room only. Steve Jobs walks across an empty stage in his black mock turtleneck tucked into unbelted jeans with white sneakers (I know, but it’s just not the same with Tim - where was Queer Eye anyway?). Edge of our seats, mystery, nerding-out, etc. what is THE NEXT BIG THING?
Oh yeah the LoCoFlo Seasonal PickUp!
We are now offering the PickUp not just once a year. More than twice a year. Not even only thrice a year. But fource a year - the PickUp every season! You can now PickUp all year. No more waiting through the dreary winter months. No more missing the PickUp during the holidays. Non-Stop PickUp. Lit!
But that’s not all. We totally BK'ed the PickUp. You can have it your way. Choose the dates you want (as long as it’s a Wednesday) (update - now Saturdays!). You can pick up every week during the season, or every other week, or every Wednesday for just one month, or go old school and pick up every third Wednesday (that would be weird, why every third Wednesday? whatever). You get the idea. The options are endless - well not really - but you get to choose your PickUp dates. Sick!
Stick around after your PickUp. Make an arrangement with your PickUp or enhance your bouquet with some extra.
So, there it is. Kinda like when cheese showed up inside the pizza crust, you thought the PickUp couldn’t get any better and BOOM!
Tweet CommentsApril 27 2018
Note: Open Studio has been discontinued. Flower Happy Hour is now our seasonal weekday drop-in event.
“Aren’t you the flower shop that is never open?”
That’s not the response we are hoping for when meeting someone new, but we hear it.
We’re not a retail shop. Most of our work is for events, classes, subscriptions and deliveries. So, we get it.
But, come on, we’re open anytime for orders or appointments. Plus, we’ve got Sat@LoCoFlo where you can get your flower fix every Saturday 8:00AM-12:00PM. Stop over during the 32nd Street Farmers Market (check updates before dropping in).
Open Studio is a self-directed flower design event. It’s super casual. Bring a vase or buy one from us. We have the flowers, the corkscrew, and everything else you need for a magical evening of floral enchantment.
Come solo for some alone time with flowers, or bring friends for a unique social outing. (Please give us a heads up for groups of more than four so we can prep or consider our DIY services.)
How it works
Just drop in. We sell flowers by the stem. You pick them out. Make an arrangement as big as you want. Designers will be available for critique and advice.
Open Studio is a great mid-week get-away. Practice what you learn at our classes, prep for Bloom Battle, make your weekly arrangement, de-stress, so many possibilities. The flowers will change each week so you can make something different every time.
So, yeah, we are not never open. Saturday mornings and Wednesday nights. Totally make sense.
Tweet CommentsApril 02 2018
Note: The PickUp has been discontinued. Subscriptions now available.
Imagine you could go back in time to make a different choice. Maybe you would make a decision with your heart, instead of your brain - like selecting UMBC for a first round win on your bracket. Maybe you would go against the crowd and keep your online personal data secure by never joining Facebook. Maybe you would act like a normal human and not use a secret home equity loan to get your super-rich buddy out of a bind.
We can’t go back in time. We live with busted brackets, busted data, and busted leaders. But we can imagine a future where today’s decisions make our future selves not busted - decisions for an improved life.
Fast forward to next New Year’s eve. You are totally smashed and get reflective while Auld Lang Syne is hazily sung in the background. You ask yourself: What did I do this past year that was awesome? What decision could have I made that would make me say right now - Sweet Baby James, that was the best thing I did all year and I am better for it!
Let me help you out. The answer is The PickUp. This game-changing, can’t miss, no regret, best thing you will do all year panacea is a monthly subscription of locally grown flowers offered by LoCoFlo. It isn’t even difficult to obtain this sweet elixir. All you need to do is fill out this form and fork over a little scratch, or you can just show up at the shop each third Wednesday of the month April - October. (Update: now seasonal and available year-round - check out our The PickUp 2.0 post.)
Here are some made up quotes overheard at The PickUp last year:
“I’ve lost weight since joining The PickUp - I wasn’t even trying. In fact, I am eating more and exercising less. Plus my hair is thicker and less grey. It’s magic!”
“I’ve been feeling real frisky since my partner signed me up for The PickUp! I’ve been showing how much I appreciate it with some special attention." (I’m pretty sure that means sex.)
"The flowers have a calming affect on my children. They are delightful - the flowers, not the kids. The kids are still monsters, just a little more bearable.”
“After I joined The PickUp, my boss gave me a pat on the back and raise! Thanks LoCoFlo!”
“I’ve traveled the world, met with shamens, gurus, holy people. Nothing could cure my ills - then I found The PickUp.”
“Everything is better! Everything is wonderful!” Then fancy-pants actually started signing “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and twirled out of the shop.
Joining The PickUp makes you the kind of person who says “Hell yes I picked the Retrievers, totally called it”, “no way I’m giving that nerd my info”, and “yeah, you’re on your own with that Stormy chick, bro”.
Join The PickUp. Your future self will thank you.
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