No Water Necessary

Welcome to Feature Friday! After last Friday's episode where Lisa introduced Nut Monkey, a local business, she decided to make it a weekly occurrence. Now every Friday you'll hear about a different small, local, business with a story to tell.
This week is all about Sola & Stem Wood Florals!

https://www.facebook.com/sola.and.stem
https://www.instagram.com/sola.and.stem/

How Did I Miss That? is hosted by Lisa Blank.
Find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/howdidimissthatpodcast
or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howdidimissthatpodcast

She and her dear friend Aubrey host another podcast,
GGWP: The Good Game. Well Played. Podcast sponsored by 210 Game Con.
https://210gamecon.com/
https://www.facebook.com/210gamecon
https://www.instagram.com/210gamecon/

Transcript

Welcome to Episode 4,

No Water Necessary

I’m Lisa Blank and this is How Did I Miss That? 

Welcome to Feature Friday! I’m a big supporter of all things small business and handmade. In my home, you’ll find lots of things I’ve purchased from my talented maker friends over the years. So, after last week’s episode where I featured my cousin’s cashew cheese business, Nut Monkey, I decided to make it a weekly occurrence to feature a local small business that has a story to tell or an interesting fact to discover.

After doing handmade markets with some of the best makers in the San Antonio area for years, I’ve heard their “spiels” a hundred times and can probably repeat them from memory. One of my dear maker friends greets her customers with a cheery “Have you seen the wood flowers?”. Her name is Stacey and she’s the one-woman show behind Sola & Stem Wood Florals. When I first saw her booth and products, I was new to the market scene, and we hadn’t met. I was impressed that she sold out and was left greeting people in an empty booth. I had to know more!

Many markets and conversations about her business later, she truly has one of the most interesting products I’ve come across and is one of the sweetest people around. She makes beautiful floral arrangements using sola wood flowers. Wood flowers?! You mean I don’t have to water them, and they won’t die?! Perfection! I actually purchased one of her arrangements and then redecorated my entire house based on the colors she used. It’s a gorgeous mix of turquoise, orange, and yellow. I just love it!

These beautiful flowers are made from the Aeschynomene aspera plant. That was a mouthful! Pretty sure that’s why they’re referred to by their common name of sola or shola wood. The plants grow wild in marshy areas and are native to southeastern Asian. They are sustainable, eco-friendly, and can be grown in rice paddies or waterlogged fields.

The bark is removed from the root of the plant to expose the cream-colored cork-like center. Sometimes the bark is left on the root and creates a two-tone look to the flowers. It is then formed into thin sheets from which the individual petals of the flowers are hand-cut. The entire artisanal process of making the actual flowers is done by hand and cannot be done by machines. They are a true work of art! 

Once the flowers are made, they can be purchased by super crafty people like my friend Stacey for her to hand dye and turn into amazing floral arrangements. Stacey selects and mixes the perfect colors of paint to dye each flower individually. It’s definitely a labor of love! And it shows!! Every one of her creations shows her superior creativity and ability to coordinate colors of flowers, foliage, and containers. Have I already said they’re beautiful? Because they are and I’m in awe of her selection at every market!

So far, I’ve purchased arrangements for myself to decorate for Fall and Christmas, but when I was decorating for Easter this year, I realized that I need to check out what she has for Spring. I’ve also given her creations as gifts for Mother’s Day, Christmas, and birthdays, which are always well received. If you’d like to check out Sola and Stem Wood Florals, Stacey has a booth space inside Handmade on Main in Boerne, TX and you can find her on Facebook or Instagram by searching Sola & Stem. 

Now I’m off to peruse her inventory and see what I can’t live without!

Thanks for listening! If you like what you’re hearing, please make sure to share this podcast with all your friends and neighbors. And join me every Tuesday and Friday as I uncover another interesting tidbit of knowledge and wonder… how did I miss that?!