Helping out wrap the gifts for Les Entreprises Plateau II !

Holidays are all about giving, and boy did my cousin and uncle at Les Entreprises Plateau II in Brossard (where we have our tiny workshop) nailed the idea of what should be a Christmas party this year!

It was a surprise for all of us when we arrived, ready to have a fancy lunch party, and were told we were going shopping at Zellers instead. But we weren’t going shopping for ourselves, we were shopping for a women’s shelter, for victims of domestic violence.

We were divided in two teams and had an hour to find 10 seventy dollar gifts that would help those women who will have to start their new lives with nothing. From the kitchen, to the washroom, living room and bedroom, we couldn’t believe how many gifts we got for the price, it was amazing! We then went back to the boutique and wrapped all the gifts together while drinking wine and eating pizza, so much fun!

I actually got the privilege to deliver the gifts with my cousin at the end of the day, I can’t hide the fact that I got really emotional. What a better gift for yourself than to give to others in need.

Besides offering the Christmas gifts, Les Entreprises Plateau II have also offered to re-design the shelter’s lobby in January. I am so proud of my cousin and uncle for their generosity, I strongly recommand to everybody to create a similar experience for themselves, it is a great feeling!

We have been waiting so long for this opportunity, and it is finally here, we are so proud to introduce you to our brand new Holidays online store!
How much fun is it to be able to shop for your Holiday flowers in the comfort of your own home or office! With our new service, you are now able to choose modern and elegant arrangements to decorate your home or simply to offer as a gift for a loved one. With our detailed pictures and precise description of the arrangements, you know that what you see is what you get, no disappointments, only magical flowers for this very special time of year!

The store will be opened for a limited time, so start shopping today!

Flower Arrangement for Kim Vallee

A couple weeks ago, we told you we created floral arrangements for Kim Vallée, but never got to show you the pictures, well here they are!

I loved working with this odd combination of flowers, gourds and squashes. From green shadow hydrangeas, to golden celosias, to orange kniphophias, raspberry cordyline leaves and bittersweet orange berries, these are my favorite arrangements in a long time; for their originality and unusual color palette, they won their way to my heart.

It’s always great to get a good design challenge, keeps us motivated and inspired!

Flower Arrangement for Kim Vallee

Flower Arrangement for Kim Vallee

Honey: a product of flowers!

This subject came to my mind this morning as I was pouring a spoonful of beautiful golden honey inside my lime, ginger and mint herbal tea. I was just amazed when I remembered that this wonderful substance came from our friends the flowers!

Honey is created by bees as a food source, in cold weather or when food sources are scarce, bees use their stored honey as their source of energy. People have been able to semi-domesticate the insects, and harvest their excess honey. In the hive you’ll find three types of bee: a single female queen bee, a seasonally variable number of male drone bees to fertilize new queens, and some 20,000 to 40,000 female worker bees. Leaving the hive, these worker bees collect sugar-rich flower nectar and then return. In the process, they release Nasonov pheromones, these pheromones lead other bees to rich nectar sites by “smell”. Honeybees also release Nasonov pheromones at the entrance to the hive, which enables returning bees to return to the proper hive.

In the hive, the bees use their “honey stomachs” to ingest and regurgitate the nectar a number of times until it is partially digested (Yuck!). The bees work together as a group with the regurgitation and digestion until the product reaches a desired quality. It is then stored in honeycomb cells. After the final regurgitation, the honeycomb is left unsealed. However, the nectar is still high in both water content and natural yeasts which, unchecked, would cause the sugars in the nectar to ferment. The process continues as bees inside the hive fan their wings, creating a strong draft across the honeycomb which enhances evaporation of much of the water from the nectar. This reduction in water content raises the sugar concentration and prevents fermentation. Ripe honey, as removed from the hive by a beekeeper, has a long shelf life and will not ferment if properly sealed.

I find this hole process quite incredible, nature never ceases to impress us, in the mean time I decided to randomly eat a spoonfull of honey! Cheers!

O.xide Design au marriage de Jennifer et Mike au Chateau Vaudreuil

Enfin notre à tour de s’amuser! Habituellement c’est nous qui travaillons les soirées des mariages, mais pas cette fois-ci! Non, non, c’était le temps pour Stéphanie et moi de danser, prendre un verre (ou deux!) et de retrouver d’anciens amis et collègues de travail à cette merveilleuse soirée pour le mariage de Jennifer et Mike au Château Vaudreuil.

Nous avons travaillé avec Jennifer, la mariée, pendant notre parcours de 5 merveilleuses années au fleuriste Alain Simon Fleurs. Que d’histoires nous avons ensemble et tant de beaux souvenir, nous sommes si fières d’avoir eu la chance d’assister à cet heureux événement.

Nous souhaitons à Jennifer et Mike des tonnes d’amour, de bonheur et de succès pour les années à venir!

O.XIDE Design, Montreal's little wedding & events flower atelier is turning 2.

Ce rêve que nous avions de se lancer en affaire dans le domaine floral est devenu réalité il y a maintenant 2 ans, que le temps passe vite et que les choses ont évoluées !

Nous nous souvenons de notre premier meeting qui a eu lieu en camping (le budget était serré ! Lol). Deux jours complets de brainstorming, loins de toutes distractions et d’une productivité incroyable, lorsqu’on part de zéro il y a définitivement plusieurs points à discuter.

Après plusieurs contrats produits dans nos cours arrières ou bien dans le sous-sol chez Gen (oui! oui!), nous avons décidé qu’il était grand temps de faire le pas vers la location d’un atelier et avons investi dans la construction d’un frigidaire, quelle bonne idée !

Depuis, nous sommes extrêmement fières du chemin ou se dirige O.XIDE Design, nous avons des clients géniaux et des amis fabuleux dans l’industrie de l’événement qui aident à rendre ce rêve une réalité. Merci à tous ceux qui ont confiance en nous et qui nous obligent à nous creuser la cervelle à la recherche de nouvelles idées, lorsqu’il n’y aura plus de défis à relever, O.XIDE Design, le petit atelier de création florale à Montréal, n’aura nulle raison d’exister.

Levons notre verre à deux années mouvementées et à plusieures autres !

O.XIDE Design's tiny flower wokshop in Montreal

Who says you need a big fancy boutique to create wonderful things? We certainly don’t think so and we can prove it!

Meet our tiny lovely flower workshop located in Brossard in an interior design store called Les Entreprises Plateau II.

Thanks to my favorite uncle Luc, or as I call him “mon p’tit mononcle”, who owns the place and saves a space for us in the back, we can store our great inventory of vases, chandeliers, and so much more cool stuff.

We have tons of counter space to work on and a fridge to keep the flowers happy. What more can we ask for? Oh, how about an espresso machine? Well, he just bought one for the girls … ok, that’s luxury but we love it!

We are treated like queens over there and my uncle, being a contractor, loves to try and help us build new things. My cousin Claudia, who takes care of the store, always loves to give us a hand and her honest feedback on our creations. She is great!

What can I say, it’s a family affair and at any time in life where would we be without our family?

Steph and Gen in Hawaii, the birth of O.XIDE Design

It has almost been three years and a half years since Gen and I took the most amazing vacation of our lifes and went for 3 weeks in wonderful Maui, Hawaii.

Time goes by so fast! It is in this heaven that we started seriously thinking about starting our own floral art business while sipping on exotic drinks by the ocean, feeling the light breeze and surrounded by plants and flowers you can only dream about having here in Montreal.

Maybe we should return for a little vacation to re-energize ourselves, I think Hawaii misses us and we certainly miss it too! What do you think Gen?

It was fun working with you Alain Simon. Thank you!

As much as I believe the artistic side of a human being is something that cannot be taught but that is inborn, I also believe that once you realize you possess this gift so many life experiences and people can help you evolve in this great and exciting journey that is the life of an artist !

In both Gen and I’s cases, we were fortunate enough to come across a person who would impact our lives to a level we could not have imagined at the time. What started as being a job in a tiny wonderful flowershop evolved into a quest to perfect an art we never thought would become our passion! Alain Simon soaked us inside the flower world, always teaching us to break the boundaries and take risks, he was our mentor and we were his protégés for five years and we still look up to him with great respect.

On a more personal note :

Cher Alain,

Tu es une inspiration pour Geneviève et moi, nous te souhaitons le bonheur et la créativité infinie et te remercions pour toutes les heures et l’énergie que tu as consacré pour collaborer à faire de nous les artistes que nous sommes aujourd’hui.

Tu nous manques,

Bisous

Genevieve Lamarre, Stylist and Creative Director at O.XIDE Design

Who said it is not a good idea to work with your friends? Not me! I would even go further and say that the friendship Gen and I are proud to have, make us always encourage each other to go further, and push the limits, because we always secretly wanted the best for the other. A strange, but efficient way of business management!

Here are a few things you should know about Gen:

Gen is not creative. She is incredibly creative! Coming from a design background, she is always on the look for new trends.

Gen is detailed oriented. Having worked as a stylist for a long time, you’ll know that Gen is always looking at the smallest tiniest little detail that will make her creations more perfect.

Gen loves sports. You won’t believe the list she has on her CV: skier, cycler, tennis player and Dragon Boat member. I am jealous! This translates into a highly energetic, fit and healthy person. Most of the time when you’ll see Gen on site you will surprised at how she carries all these big vases (that are as tall as I am), being as tiny as she is! Well now you know how!

Gen loves life. Always dressed like coming out of a magazine, if you see her walking in the street you’ll feel this thirst she has to live the good life. Fashion, jazz, wine, good food, are few among the long list of Gen’s interests.

Gen is one of the essential forces behind O.XIDE Design. A force that makes our team a successful, dynamic, and uniquely creative one.