We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hayley Sawyer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hayley below.

Hayley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Learning to press and preserve flowers is a lot of fun, but also extremely challenging and time consuming. I’ve been practicing for over 15 years now, and it’s forever been a revolving door of perfecting the process since every flower is different.

Time is truly the biggest factor in this craft, and there is nothing you can do to speed up the learning process or the flower preservation process. The more you rush, the higher the chance of moldy flowers or bent petals and leaves. Being patient and deliberate is crucial for successful pressed flowers. And since flowers are organic, you aren’t allowed to have an “off day” or procrastinate like you could with an email. Flowers need constant attention, so you always have to be prepared to put in the extra TLC!

The biggest obstacle I’ve faced so far has been space. A few years ago my flower business was growing faster than I expected, and I was working out of a small bonus room with only one flower press. I was using every book in the house to press flowers, and eventually had my husband teach me how to build more flower presses. Now I have 9 flower presses that are perpetually full of fun projects, and an entire basement to work out of. Most people don’t think of the space it takes to preserve flowers, but it definitely makes a huge difference.

Hayley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hey hey! I’m Hayley, and I’m the owner of Bear Flowers Preserved. I’m a flower preserver and dried flower florist, and am probably most known for preserving and framing bridal bouquets as well as creating very unique dried bridal bouquets. Within the last couple of years, I’ve also started doing wedding floral design and recently even held a flower pressing workshop. I participate in art markets around metro-Atlanta throughout the year too, so be sure to follow me on social media to see where to find me next!

I’m truly a creator and designer at heart, and flowers are my medium to make it all happen. I offer pressed flower art, pressed flower cards, bookmarks, resin letter key-chains, resin ring holders, resin jewelry trinket dishes, dried flower arrangements, dried flower wreaths, and dried flower bath soak salts. I’m usually experimenting with a fun flower prototype at any given point too, so I always have something new and different to share.

In addition to the items I offer on the regular basis, the biggest side of my business is bouquet preservation and custom projects. It means a lot to preserve the flowers from someone else’s special day and moment, and that’s something I don’t take for granted. I put all my love into each project I’m a part of, and really aim to make one-of-a-kind flower art. I try to make each piece as personalized as possible, and I think that adds an extra layer of excitement for my clients.

I’m really proud of where my craft has taken me! I’ve grown so much as a person and an artist, and have met a lot of wonderful people along the way. As a one-person business, every project and detail are personally curated to meet my client’s expectations.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part are the connections I get to make with people through my art. I really didn’t anticipate the relationships I would build either; some of the vendors and clients I have worked with have turned into close friends in my life.

I recently had an event and struck up a wonderful conservation with a woman I had just met. I made her a custom fern frame, then we talked for roughly 15 minutes while we shared flower photos and laughed about gardening mishaps. I received an email the next day from her where she simply thanked me for the genuine interaction, and said it meant a lot to her. Her email brought tears to my eyes and was a gentle reminder of how impactful art can be.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

It’s really vulnerable to be a creative, especially one where you’re presenting handmade art. I think a lot of people get wrapped up in the idea that being a creative is as easy as “going with the flow,” or being able to take pictures all day for social media, but it’s so much more than that. Each post/story/picture is a glimpse into your heart and brain; a piece of your creativity that you’re sharing with people. It can be very nerve wracking to share things and not get much support and attention back.

It’s also somewhat exhausting to try and constantly be turned “on” in a artistic mindset. While each interaction is very fulfilling, there can be times when it is also very draining. It’s an ebb and flow of sharing yourself and replenishing yourself, and it’s not possible to feel creative every single day either. There are days when I literally can’t stop creating art, and then there are some days where I don’t even want to go into my office. These feelings are a side of being a creative that I didn’t expect myself, but I think it’s important that everyone remembers we’re humans at the end of the day.

Contact Info:

• Website: bearflowerspreserved.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/bearflowerspreserved
• Facebook: facebook.com/bearflowerspreserved

Image Credits
JT Photography Eye of the Dier Lety Altam Photography Anna Rush Photography Sarah Van Hecke Photography