Greening Petalos di Pauli

The Sustainable Practices Group at Petalos di Pauli has been busy and creative. They have launched a three phase program to further their mission of being a conscientious servant of what the earth provides. The First Phase was the installation of at least 90% of our studio's internal and external incandescent lighting with highly efficient low cost illumination. Entry room occupancy sensors were installed in the major thoroughfares in the office. The Second Phase is the step towards water conservation at the home studio. We have replaced the nearly 900 square feet of lawn at the entrance to the studio with drought tolerant plants in order to do our share in preserving nature's most valuable resource. The Third Phase will be the installation of Solar panels in a move towards being totally self sufficient with regard to the power needs to run the main office electrical needs. We will keep you posted on our progress.

A Billion Acts of Green!

Photo by iwannadance

Earth Day is coming (April 22) and to celebrate, why not make your pledge one of a billion that the Earth Day Network hopes to collect to help save our planet? A Billion Acts of Green initiative is already underway, and you can get in on it. For example, you can vow to plant a garden, switch to LED lightbulbs or eat more local foods. Make your pledge count by sharing it at act.earthday.org. Millions have already joined the cause. What will you do?

Meet Flyboy Naturals

Petalos di Pauli is so fortunate to work with some of the best vendors in the country and we consider freeze dried flower petal supplier Flyboy Naturals (www.flyboynaturals.com) to be such a talented and creatively generous partner in so many of our projects.

 Says co-founder Jami Brown: “Our petals are all natural and we do our part to help the earth and environment. We use wind energy to process our freeze dried petals (including roses, lilac, peony and hydrangea) and grow all our flowers using a certified green pest-control program.”

We love talking to “petal specialists” at their Myrtle Creek, Oregon operation whenever we have a question such as how many petals will line a specific size presentation box. We left petals out overnight on a major design project recently and it was Flyboy to the rescue when during a California heat wave, the petals became dry and a bit difficult to work with. Flyboy Naturals provided just the right solution to restore their beauty and suppleness. Likewise, they feel free to call on our expertise, such as recommendations for the best kind of glue for using with petals.

Jami’s freeze drying expertise started back in 1988 doing whole flowers and a line of everything from wreaths and topiary to swags, garland and centerpieces. Former pilot husband Jim and Jami started Flyboy Naturals in 1992 and the couple “found our slice of heaven on the mighty south Umpqua River in Oregon.”

 We consider Jami a creative soulmate because, like us, she and Jim love being surrounded by beauty and making others happy in sharing that beauty by providing a beautiful, natural, eco-friendly product at very affordable prices.

The Petalos di Pauli studio has a palette of 100 varieties of petals from Flyboy in various petal sizes and color blends which we love showing to clients. Call us to make an appointment to see this fabulous collection and hear ideas on how you can use Flyboy petals for your next project. 

Did you know that freeze dried rose petals are preferred for most wedding venues today? That’s because live petals can stain and are slippery on floors. No such problems with freeze dried petals! So many of the wonderful botanical effects created by Petalos di Pauli are made possible using freeze dried petals from Flyboy Naturals.

Creative Collaborations

The most successful special events are always a collaborative creative effort. We recently had the pleasure of working with Santa Barbara event planner Merryl Brown (www.merrylbrownevents.com) to support the elegance and charm of a Bohemian Chic wedding her firm designed for an open air venue.

Normally we work from our Orange County studio, but it was a special treat to work onsite for this occasion smack dab in the middle of the woods, so a lot of this design was done on the fly. The bride’s wedding dress and fondness for daisies inspired our use of this flower on the sweet heart table, crowning the menu cards, for the escort cards designed as miniature take-home daisy bouquets and the wedding invitation featuring a bright yellow gerbera daisy with metal embellishment. The results, as you can see from these photos, are magical, combining heirloom tradition with a little bit of 70s funk!

Natural wooden elements are used in chair signage.

Yellow, white and lime green hues centered around a daisy theme.

The daisy theme is carried out in the menu cards.

The wedding invitation sports vibrant colors to carry out the Bohemian Chic theme.

Burlap sacks provide an eco-friendly take-home daisy bouquet.

Fresh flowers accent the heirloom objects

Event design by Merryl Brown Events. Photography by Melissa Musgrove Photography. Floral design by Cody Floral Design. Lighting design by Bella Vista Designs. Creative Consultant Kimberly Anderson.

Five ways to make special event stationery eco-friendly

Image by Organized Light Photography

Kermit the Frog may think it’s not easy being green, but when it comes to designing eco-friendly special event stationery, we beg to disagree, dear Kermie! Here are five things to consider when designing your invitations, menus, reply cards, envelopes and other special event collateral that will make your efforts more earth friendly:

1. Less is more: using less paper is not only eco-friendly; it will prove more economical for you in the long-run. 
2. Double the pleasure: consider printing on both sides of insert cards instead of using two separate cards.
3. Tree-free doesn’t mean paperless: investigate the many wonderful paper options that don’t require tree kill.
4. Toxin-free papers and inks: vegetable dye-based papers and soy inks are the earth-friendly way to go. 
5. Choose local first: whether a local printer or using locally grown flowers, eliminate the environmental emissions caused by transporting or importing your design elements long-distance by choosing local whenever possible. 

Petalos di Pauli has lots of crafty ideas when it comes to designing good-looking and eco-friendly stationery products.  As purveyors of paper, we bring to you a range of post-consumer recycled paper sources and feature choices, including Saa (Mulberry tree) and  Lotka (Daphne bush), for sustainable style. Going green may be easier and more beautiful than you think, with our team of knowledgeable creatives ready to help.

Gracious Greening,

Paula Estes
Botanical Artist
Petalos di Pauli