Hi! I'm Andrea.
I love my job and I would LOVE to be your floral designer! Although I consider myself a very good copy-cat, and able to conform to just about any type of floral design, the style I am most drawn to may be considered garden-inspired, a little bit bohemian, sometimes rustic, yet clean and focused (my catch phrase!). I love working with unique and unusual florals and foliage as much as possible, as well as interesting color palettes. It's quite common for me to not have a clue what style of design I'm making until I'm finished with it... for me, designing is very much "in the moment". In a hippy-dippy sort of way, I prefer the flowers to tell me where they're happiest. When it comes to my work ethic, and why people choose me as their floral designer: I suppose it's because I put as much care, concern, passion, and motivation into your wedding or special event as I would my very own.
A New(ish) Passion . . .
To be completely honest with you, flowers were never a life-long passion of mine… in fact, I knew virtually NOTHING about flowers until 2018, when my family took over Laura’s Flower Shoppe in Lake Villa, IL - which I both operated and designed for.
Although I am self-taught in floral design (the learning never ends), I am lucky enough to have had support and guidance by other, AIFD-certified, and hugely talented, floral designers in my area. Even the most basic skills I have learned from them have been instrumental in not only the development of my talent, but also my love for this industry. That said... What I've come to love about floristry, floral design, and weddings/events mostly has to do with the people involved. I love the creative ideas brides come up with for their wedding; I am moved by the love and compassion people have for their loved ones when they pass; and it’s always a fun challenge coming up with new ways to manipulate flowers to create the perfect piece for a customer.
All of this makes for fun, exciting, stressful (in a good way… mostly), and completely gratifying work.
What's in a name?
The name Larkspur & Leo is inspired by my two jobs (passions): a floral designer and a mom! Not in that order... My firstborn child's name is Leo and his birth month flower (July) is a Delphinium. Larkspur is a variety of Delphinium... and voila! Thus I am proud to be known as Larkspur & Leo.
In October 2021, my second child, Eva, was born. She is as sweet as a daisy, so now I need to figure out how to acknowledge her in my work as well. I am open to suggestions, so please shoot me a note if you've got an idea! Special shoutout to my husband, Mike! He's my loudest cheerleader, closest confidant, and a trusty "executive assistant" (i.e. the backbone of our family, who takes care of all the important stuff). I could not possibly be even remotely successful without the love and support of my beautiful family.