Today I bring you the lovely Natalie , the owner of Hello Darling. Her shop is complete with lovely meeting space, fabrics, vintage vases, botanic art, magazines and inspiration galore. I arrived on a busy Friday afternoon as she was a buzz with amazing local flowers preparing for weekend events. Her "storage room" was overflowing with HUGE pink dahlias, hydrangeas and gorgeous roses. Make sure to check out her portfolio on her website and follow her charming blog to see what she's up to. You can visit her at 450 N. Paulina Street, Chicago and also keep up with her on Facebook! Let's meet Natalie!
Who are you? What do you do? How long have you been doing this?
I own Hello Darling, a floral and event styling company located in Chicago. I work really hard to create picture perfect events that highlight the couple in celebration as well as compliment the venue where the celebration is being held. I love to get to know my clients so that my designs are customized to reflect their personal style. I also coordinate lighting, linens, and rental items to make the look complete! I've been working with flowers for about twenty years and in Chicago's event industry for about fifteen. I opened Hello Darling in 2005 and I'm so excited to have a small boutique company that has continually grown and evolved because of our amazing customers, creative design team, and all of our loyal fans who've continued to spread the word about our work to other couples planning their weddings.
Walk us through one of your typical work days. Your 9am-5pm .
I spend a lot of my time meeting with clients and communicating with them as their plans unfold and blossom into the end product. During that I research products to use for their events, place orders for flowers and other design elements, create sample designs for their centerpiece ideas, and all the planning paperwork that goes into it.
Where do you glean your inspiration?
I'm truly in love with anything pretty and I will never ever grow tired of staring at flowers. I am always the one who says, “hey, you guys have to come look at this flower! It's sssssssoooooooooooooooooopretty!” I love them. Other than flowers being their own inspiration I am really into vintage romance, interior design and wedding mags and blogs, fashion, fine art… and making just about anything. Creativity grows more creativity.
Besides lovely arrangements, client consultations and your time at Hello Darling... what does your heart ache for?
Long drives through open spaces where I can just sing really loud and feel the breeze blow, free time cuddling with my doggie babies, listening to great music, trips to France, or anywhere really… oh, and ALWAYS good food and wine talking and laughing with my husband, family, and friends. That's pretty much my life blood.
Anything else you'd like to tell us?
I love, love, love what I do. I have had a lot of different creative jobs, but none keep my interest like this. There are so many aspects to floral and event styling and I hope to never ever repeat the same event. Creativity and new ideas are what I live for, even more so when they're shared with others.
Want to see the wedding she was prepping for? Click here to see the full scoop on her blog!
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