Behind the Scenes: A Collaboration with Wild Season Florals

If you've been following us for any amount of time, you undoubtedly know we have a big ol' soft spot for anything floral. When we allow them to, flowers can be natural buoys for our spirit, lifting us up and reminding us that life is good… life is beautiful.  So, when florist & author Jill Rizzo reached out this Winter about working together on a collaboration where we would illustrate and print some of her floral arrangements, we were humbled and beyond excited! You see, I have followed Jill’s work since I got a copy of her first book The Flower Recipe Book. I’ve had it on my bookshelf for 8 years now, and it is a book I regularly visit when I’m looking for color, texture, and arranging inspiration. This was a literal dream come true.

For this collaboration, Jill wanted it to revolve around her forthcoming book, The Little Flower Recipe Book. As I took my first look through this book, I was bouncing up and down in my chair as I turned the pages wanting to pinch myself that I would have such an incredible opportunity to try to translate some of its beauty to letterpress. The arrangements in it are not only gorgeous and creative, but Jill lays out her “recipes” for each arrangement in such an accessible and achievable way. There is endless inspiration packed into it! (Also disclaimer, reading/oohing and ahhing over the gorgeous work that is her book will 100% make you want to visit your local antique or second hand store to find some tiny, teeny vases to start creating your own tiny arrangements!) 

It took me three weeks of illustrating and a few more weeks of back and forth to land on the 6 designs that you’ll see in The Little Flower Card Set. Each of the cards in this set is named for one of the flowers that is highlighted in Jill’s book —they are Bachelor Buttons, Daffodils, Fritillaria, Herb Bouquet, Nasturtium, and Veronica. This card set has the most colors (32 runs!!) of any that we’ve ever created! Because we print each design one color at a time, and because there were so many different runs to orchestrate, we created a schedule for not only what colors needed to be printed, but also the order they needed to be printed in, when we needed to clean the press and which press would be used for each color. Type A, spreadsheet loving people unite! When we print, it’s important to make sure that 1) the colors are consistent throughout the collection, and 2) we layer them correctly as each design is built up, color by color. Below you can see how the daffodil card comes to life...

For this project, we used both the Vandercook and Heidelberg printing press. Without getting too sentimental, it’s wild to think that this is most likely the last collaboration we’ll print in our current studio set up as the new studio is getting so close to being done (it’s been a marathon, not a sprint!) and we’re approaching move-in ready status very, very soon. We decided to offer each card with the option of white envelope or curry (yellow) so you can choose between the simple classic or bright springtime sunshine vibe.

We hope this new card set with its 6 unique floral arrangements will spark joy, creativity, and happiness for both you and the lucky recipient you send it to! We highly recommend pairing them with a fun, floral stamp for an extra pop in the snail mail world. If you feel so inclined, we’d love to hear your thoughts and favorite card in the comments below!

Happy Spring, dear ones! 

About Our Collaborator: Jill Rizzo is the author of The Little Flower Recipe Book and owner of the floral design company Wild Season Florals, which she opened in Rhode Island in 2015. Previously, she was the cofounder of Studio Choo in San Francisco. Together with her Studio Choo partner, Alethea Harampolis, she is also the author of the bestselling Flower Recipe Book and Branches & Blooms. Follow her on Instagram at @wildseasonflorals.