We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Hughes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I had a client come to me with flowers from an anniversary arrangement her mom had recceived that she wanted to have preserved, which isn’t out of the ordinary for me. The arrangement was filled with pink and red roses, and super fragrant lilies. I only realized just how special the arrangement was when I read the card that came along with the arrangement. It read, “Happy anniversary, Babe. I’m sorry I’m not here to celebrate 30 years together. Just know I’m celebrating in Heaven knowing I got to spend my life with you. I love you so much.” I’d be lying if I said I didn’t immediately burst into tears. The client’s father has passed on, but had arranged to send flowers to his wife on their 30th anniversary before he passed. I have the privilege and honor of working with flowers from some of the most impactful experiences in peoples’ lives. The highest highs and the lowest lows. It’s humbling and emotional, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’m Sarah, a lifelong creative who majored in business and wanted to have nothing to do with office life after graduating college. I worked for several years as a floral designer for weddings and witnessed the amount of waste associated with large-scale events, which sparked the idea to use a childhood hobby (pressing flowers) to help people hold onto some of the emotions and memories of their most impactful life events and reduce some of the waste, even if only by a little. I press the flowers from my clients’ events and frame them, allowing clients to keep their special flowers forever. My experience designing wedding florals gives me very intimate knowledge of designing the preserved version of an arrangement’s living, fresh counterpart. I’m profoundly honored to be trusted with such sentimental pieces of my clients’ lives.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I don’t know if I’ve necessarily built an audience, but I do know that posting what I want to post and staying true to my vision has been so liberating, as opposed to posting what I think people want to see. By posting what YOU like, you attract other people who also like what you like. Building a community is obviously easiest when you’re surrounded by people who share your values and respect your creativity and perspective.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Pay. The. Asking. Price. This is something I’m super passionate about. There’s this insidious mentality in American society that art is not a job, which inherently devalues the work creatives put into their craft. Most of us don’t consider the legwork, we just see the finished product when we’re consuming art or entertainment. There isn’t much understanding around the resources and time that are necessary to create art. Materials, labor, and overhead are only the tip of the iceberg.

When you receive a quote from a creative you’re planning to commission, or see the price of a handmade good at a makers market, please do not ask for a discount or attempt to haggle the price down. It’s insulting to the creator, and by asking them to come off their rate, you’re perpetuating the idea that art is not valuable. Sometimes it really does hurt to ask.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.petalandpressstudio.com
• Instagram: @petalandpressstudio