We caught up with the brilliant and insightful KELLY JAMES a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

KELLY, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Lilac and Sage.

Lilac.

Lilacs were my Grandmother’s favorite flower. As a woman in her late 70’s she would climb up and down the rolling desert hills I grew up surrounded by, and we would race down them to see who could make it to the bottom first. She would watch as I emptied out the contents of her purse (mostly lipsticks and mints) and smear all of her makeup across my face, never to criticize, only to laugh. She always had the most pristinely and tightly curled hair, never left the house without wearing something purple, and had the biggest smile, along with the most contagious laugh, a childlike giggle. Her pristine teeth always framed by the mauve toned lipstick created the most gorgeous smile, all while always saying. “Oh, my Honey.”
As I grew into my teenage years, my Grandma grew weak and sick with Alzheimer’s. Her nickname at her nursing home was Giggles, too confused to answer questions thoughtfully, but she always had a smile and giggle to offer.
I lost her at too young of an age on my 16th Birthday. As I spent only a very small fraction of my life with my wonderful Grandmother, and experienced such a pure and unconditional love, lilac season has always not only reminded me of her, but of the seasons of life. Lilac, a beautiful word that rolls off the tongue elegantly, and the flower – a gorgeous shade not found in many other blooms with a heavenly scent, all unique to its own.
Lilacs, very similar to poppy or peonies, have a very limited and short season. A mear blink of an eye in a Colorado spring. Blooms with such short lifespans teach us to live in the moment, be present, soak in their beauty and scent, the softness of their petals against fingertips, the bees humming in between each bloom. Because tomorrow the bees may have left, the scent may have faded, and the soft petals may have fallen.
Live in the moment. Soak up life’s beauty. Be present. Flowers are life’s greatest teachers.

Sage.

I grew up in the hot and arid desert of Western Colorado. Born and raised where sunsets shined bright red – filling the vast sky, earth cracked beneath your feet, lips ran dry after a day in the sun, coyotes howled at dusk, and fragrant sage peppered the desert floor. The soft green of the wild sage add what seemed like the only color to the valleys and hills of sand. Its tangy and herbal aroma filled the air. I pull the leaves and crush them between my palms, a minimal aloe like substance coats my hands. This is home, this is where I belong, where the surroundings smell of sage and the skys shine bright as the coyotes begin to howl.

Lilac and Sage represents my home, unconditional love, and life’s greatest teachings to soak up the beauty of the earth, the artform of each flower, the canvas that is each petal, the beauty that surrounds us everywhere.

KELLY, 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?

I am a wedding florist, providing custom wedding florals to the most wonderful clients at the most gorgeous weddings in the mountains of Colorado.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met, Amanda, my business partner, when inquiring for rental studio spaces. Amanda had a darling downtown Loveland Art studio, and I had a huge desire to no longer work out of my kitchen.

I emailed her, and asked if she had any extra space for a florist to come and make a mess, and we met later that day.

I walked into Amanda’s studio and immediately felt like I stepped into a home design magazine with the whitewashed brick walls, herringbone pine wood floors, floor to ceiling windows where light seeped in, and white walls filled with original abstract paintings created by Amanda.

We hit it off, and felt like old friends, as artists both professionally and at heart, it felt like we had our entire worlds in common.

Amanda, the dreamer and cultivator of incredible ideas, brought up collaborating together on workshops. Both of us, masters of our crafts, had so much beauty and knowledge to share.

Blooms and Brushes was born, Blooms, the form of floral design taught by me. Brushes, the art form of abstract painting instructed by Amanda,

Throw in some wine and cheese, and our Blooms and Brushes workshops make for the most fun Girls nights out on the town. Each attendee creates the most beautiful custom paintings and floral arrangements to take home and enjoy.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Perfectionism.

I thought you had to be perfect to make it, to succeed, to thrive and survive.

I have to be perfect. My business has to be perfect. My studio had to be perfect. My emails have to be answered perfectly. My social media has to look perfect. The list goes on and on and on and on…….

Perfectionism is an illusion.

I was driving myself into a pit of anxiety, one I could barely crawl out of. My hands grasped for the top only to miss and fall down to the bottom of the deep hole I dug myself into.

I felt unhappy. I felt insecure. What I was searching and reaching for, the illusion of perfectionism, was false, inaccurate, a flat out lie society led me to believe was true.

I let go. I let go of the illusion that I had to do everything right and at 100% high quality at all times, because rarely is my tank fully filled at 100.

If I have 40% to give and I give only 30%, that’s a success, that’s something to be celebrated. Because even though I may have only had 40% to mentally give, my body really only had 10%.

By allowing my mind and body to rest so I can give 100%, there’s less personal backlash. When I can commit to a project, task or idea at 100% and most importantly, allowing myself the grace and patience to wait until I am ready and at 100%, the task is accomplished and completed just as I imagined.

No hurry, no hustle. Just rest, wait and allow yourself to fill your tank, replenish your energy. Functioning at high capacity at all times is the reason I felt encumbered with severe burnout and anxiety.

I am worthy of rejuvenation, and I will allow myself the grace to rest. I am perfectly imperfect.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lilacandsagestudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilacandsagestudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lilacandsageweddingflowers/

Image Credits
Lumen Creative https://lumencreativeco.com/