How Elsabette came to be

I have always known that my my dominant creative and artsitic nature would direct my career choice. As a child, I taught myself to draw in church. When I was a teen, I taught myself to sew, and paint. The only thing that kept me in high school was my art class- thanks Mrs. Chiackmakis! When I was 19, I enlisted my good friend to help me redo my bedroom- painted the walls so it looks like an abstract, pixillated floral wallpaper, covered an old lampshade with fabric and fringe trim, and hand-painted a floral motif on my old washstand table. I'm glad my parents weren't mad at me for doing so since I didn't ask permission before I did any of this decorating.

My first job was working in a fabric store. When I started college, I worked backstage in a theater. I came to Utah to finish college, and took a job as a Wedding Hostess at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I graduated from college with my interior design degree and spent a few years working in that field. For the past 5 years I have volunteered as a florist of sorts for Art & Soup, a local hospice program's fundraiser. I've come to realize a few things: first, I'm actually quite good at floral arranging; second, I love the organization and pressure of planning within a budget and strict deadline; and third, I want to do something that I actually enjoy with my life.

I sometimes think I would like to be an interior designer still, but ONLY if I can do what I really want- children's spaces. By that I mean bedrooms, hospital rooms, schools, etc. That's my dream job! If anyone can get me a gig doing that, I'd be much obliged. In the meantime, I have other plans!

So, what exactly am I doing here, and what is Elsabette Design? I mentioned working with Art & Soup. This year, I've had several calls from people familiar with my Art & Soup work, asking me to help them do their wedding flowers. I thought to myself, "I think this is something I can do!" And so here I am.

My main area of focus is doing floral arranging- bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, centerpieces. I didn't want to strictly limit myself to just doing flowers though. I wanted to include doing party and event planning, as well as doing the occasional interior design consultation still. But mostly, I'm the flower lady! I love weddings and fun parties. I love making beautiful things and pretty spaces. I like taking someone's ideas and making them a reality. I love helping to plan tea parties, showers, birthday and anniversary parties, and helping friends put together their weddings.

I'll post my work as it happens- let me know what you think!