We're in Columbia South Carolina and I'm visiting with
Cristina Segarra. She's has a design studio
Flowers Forever and Bellabeads. Christina you found ways
to help people remember important events in their lives
and that might be weddings or funerals or even the loss
of a loved one or pet and it started with I believe bride
bouquets or floral tributes at funerals that you would make
press flower arangments from. Explain how you started and how
that process works please. About twenty five years ago almost
twenty five years ago a friend showed me how to press flowers
and that it was quite interesting so from that point
I've taken the flowers to a different level by
hand painting each flower and creating something that looks
just as natural as it was originally. So it's quite a
lengthy process but the finished product looks like a
painting. Once you get close to the flowers you can see the
detail and the veining of each one of the petals so absolutely
gorgeous and I love it. When a Bride comes in or the mother of
the bride with a fresh bouquet. You start documenting things
immediately so that you will have a very clear reference
point I believe, is that right? Absolutely from the moment the
Flowers walk into my studio, we will take a photograph. We
count how many flowers. Record the color, every little detail
of the bouquet, so it can be recreated as close as possible
to the original. Explain the process by which
you actually do the pressing I believe it's similar to the way
that herbarium would prepare specimens for permanency.
Absolutely! They are taking apart petal by petal.
Pressed for at least eight weeks until the moisture
is removed and then of course there the color goes at that
point as well. So the flowers are hand painted as I mentioned.
And then put back together again. And you can re create the
actual bouquet or the bride may ask that you make your own
design or if it was from a from floral tributes you may even
include a photograph of the person for whom the service was
held and just make a beautiful arrangement with the flower
petals. Yes, we can include an invitation, photograph, or
anything with pressed flowers anything that is flat. I can
certainly accommodate the taste of our clients. But then some
people decided they wanted to go with three dimensional route
and you said freezers became involved. Yes! Then I was asked
can you freeze dry flowrs? Well at that point I could not and
then I bought a freeze dryer and so now I freeze dry flowers
three dimensionally as well. There in cased either in a
dome or in a frame with a dome over it. And that's just as
beautiful as well. When the flowers are dried though the
color also is lost so each one of those flowers is press
is painted as well. So you are an artist with a paint brush an
full collection a palette of colors to use. Yes! Yes! And I
absolutely love it. You even incorporate the ribbons from
the bouquet, or the pearls things that the bride
may bring or mementos from the person who's deceased. Yes!
Every little detail is accounted for and then framed
along with flowers. And some of the things that you
shown me in the shop are decades old and yet the colors are very
beautiful and fresh. Yes! I have a an example thats almost twenty
five years old. Off a bride and she's holding her bouquet
and of course the flowers looked beautiful and because
the photograph is so old you can see the wear of
the photograph so yes they do last a long time. A process
that's a little bit quicker and perhaps one that some people
prefer because it's something they can have on the actual
person is the bead aspect, which I think is the newest part and
it's not just beads it's other forms of jewelry. So lets talk
about how that happens and I believe you can use flower
petals or in the case of a memoriam it could even be ashes
or pet fur, but let's focus on how the flower petals and those
things are turned into the beads or the cuff links, or the
different objects. I'm well the client will mail the
petals to us and that's what makes it so easy and we can
service internationally. So they come to us we dry
them. And then they're put into a
compound. They are handmade every single bead. Everything
that we do here is handmade and it's set either in sterling
silver or in fourteen karat gold. So it's basically an
heirloom that will last generation. So you can either
have in the case of this beautiful necklace that you
allowed me to wear today. A single color or if it was if
several flowers were involved you can go and then reproduce
those colors using the original flower petals. Yes! But
sometimes you have to add a little color because of the
drying process. Yes! We do infuse color on the flowers that
need it and we can do up to three colors. So three different
flowers into one bead. And the object around which that
material is put I thought probably you just pushed it into
a mold but I think all this is done by hand right on the
premises. Absolutely! I have four very talented girls that
do everything that we do by hand. Yes every bead everything
that you see is done by hand. Besides the the beads that can
be strung together or used singularly and things for girls
I think you've got you've expanded and other forms of
jewelry. Some rings which could be for men or women but then for
men it could be a little difficult let's talk about some
of the things for them. Yes! We have something brand new
that it's a pocket knife. It's it can have feathers from a
hunting expedition or flowers and of course as you mentioned
ashes as well so that's one of our newest pieces, and it's a
litte difficult as you mentioned to find gifts for men related to
flowers but we do have rings and other items and cufflinks
and tie bars that we do for men. And of course as South Carolina
with our wonderful weather people who can play golf you
even got something you can do
that to me. Yes! We do have a golf ball marker and that was an
idea of a client. They called and asked if we could do that.
And I always try something new of course. I learned from my
clients. So we did one and that's a very popular item for
men. And you have someone who what's the the material
that incorporates the flower petals or the pet fur
whatever's involved. You have an artist who then assembles the
finished product I believe. Yes. I do have Cory and he will put
everything together according to the customers request so he
makes all the jewlry for us. Well Christina this is been a
fascinating experience for us today. And if people would like
to know more about your business what's the best way to get that
information. Well they can visit us if they're here in Columbia
of the surrounding area. We are on twenty seven sixty nine
Rosewood Dr and we are right next to the Rosewood market.
You can look us up online. Myflowersforever.com or our
phone number is eight zero three seven seven nine six one eight
six or toll free number is eight eight eight six eight
four three eight three seven. Well I want to thank you for
sharing this fascinating experience into another aspect
of what can happen with the beauty of flowers. Thank you so
much for coming to visit me. 125 00:08:41,454 ♪