Travel back in time with me roughly 11 years ago, if you will. The year was 2013 and I had just toured Helen Olivia as a prospective new owner for the first time. I fell in love with so many parts of the business the first time I saw it, but none more than the floral workshop program.  

In the decade plus that I’ve owned Helen Olivia, very few things have remained constant. We’ve moved location, we’ve said goodbye to the signature ribbon-wrapped vases so many of you knew and loved, and we’ve expanded in too many ways to count. One thing that’s always been a constant, even in the very beginning, has been floral workshops.  

The Helen Olivia workshop program launched in the very early days of the business and was the passion project of the studio’s original owner, Marianne Raub. Before workshops were ever trendy, and way before Eventbrite was a thing, Marianne was teaching floral design. She built a cult following in Old Town, and each week a devoted group of ladies would clamor for a space in her class. Registration involved stopping by the shop to reserve a space (recorded in a spiral notebook kept under the front desk) in an upcoming class. When I tell you waitlists would wind all the way down and up the margins of the spiral notebook, I’m not kidding. She was in demand. 

Marianne taught countless classes, each with a unique theme. Students didn’t just take one class – they took them all. There were regulars and new students alike in each class. 

Fast forward to today, workshops are still sacred to our team. They are by no means a big moneymaker for our studio, but they are how we connect with our clients when so much of our business has moved to the ‘click to order’ format. And, as of last month, we reached a staggering number of completed workshops: over 500 total! When I stop to think of how many of you we’ve hosted over the years, it honestly takes my breath away. We’ve been so fortunate to share our passion for flowers with our community.  

This summer, look forward to a new wave of workshops being released with all new themes and topics. And, if you’re looking for one of those coveted seats in a holiday workshop, if you hurry, there’s still a few up for grabs for Thanksgiving and Christmas! 

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