We recently connected with Sivan Shilo and have shared our conversation below.

Sivan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was preserving one of my best friend, Sara’s, wedding flowers. Prior to her wedding, I had only pressed flowers I’d been given and created pieces for myself, family, and friends with those flowers. Whenever I had worked on those pieces, I would share them on social media. Sara mentioned that she loved my work, so I told her I would press her wedding bouquet for her as a gift. I pressed her bouquet and designed it in a double glass frame and also put her wedding invitation in a shadow box with dried flowers. I was so glad to create something for her that is so meaningful, a piece of her wedding that will last her a lifetime. After creating these pieces and posting them on my Instagram page, I started getting inquiries from so many brides to be. I quickly realized that the wedding world is where my business would thrive.

Sivan, 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?

On June 10, 2022 I received so many beautiful bouquets and flower arrangements for my birthday. I didn’t want to throw them all away so I researched ways to preserve them. After lots of researching, I chose which way I was going to attempt and began the process of preserving these flowers. They came out beautifully and I found the process to be soothing. This quickly became a hobby for me. Every time I had flowers in the house, I’d press them before they’d go bad. I learned all the things that could go wrong with flower preservation but this didn’t deter me, I kept practicing for months. Family and friends told me I should try selling some of my pieces. I posted a poll on my personal Instagram account with some photos of pieces I had made, asking if people would buy them. I got so many Yes’s so I decided to create an Instagram account for my art. The name Press Those Petals quickly came to me and no one had taken @pressthosepetals on Instagram or TikTok. It felt like it was meant to be!
I created the account in March of 2023 and posted all the pieces I had made. I received great feedback in the comments and lots of likes, but made no sales. Though I was not selling my pieces, I was getting inquiries about pressing people’s bridal bouquets. I began to accept clients. After posting my first clients bouquet, followed by the pieces I made for Sara, I continued to get more clients and even had to turn people away because I am only 1 person and have a full time job.

I preserve any flowers any client would like to keep! I have mostly done weddings flowers but would love to do baby showers, bridal showers, bar/bat mitzvahs, any special occasion.
I can also do custom pieces, friends have told me their favorite color or favorite flowers and I have made pieces for them to decorate their homes with.

My account has been public for about a year now and I have preserved 8 bridal bouquets. Each takes about 8 weeks so I am very proud of this number since I am doing this all on my own, all the while working a full time job. The testimonials I have received from my clients makes it all worth it. The last client I had sent me this message when she saw her frame, “I’m speechless!!! It’s so perfect and exactly what I had hoped for when it came to preserving my wedding flowers. I can’t thank you enough!!! I’m just obsessed!! I’ve always dreamed of something like this.”

Her full testimonial she sent me: I have always known that I wanted to preserve my bridal bouquet and I’m so happy that I found pressthosepetals on instagram! She has been so flexible and understanding while we coordinated pick up / drop off. The final product is everything I have dreamed of and hoped for, I was speechless when seeing it at first! She asked if I wanted any say in the design and I told her I wanted her to run with it, she could not have done a better job <3 I would recommend her to any and everyone. I’m so happy to have this keepsake for life.“

Another one to show someone who wanted to be part of the design process: I cannot thank Sivan enough for the amazing job she did preserving my wedding bouquet. She was amazing with communication and made sure I loved everything before she finalized it in the frame :) I cannot wait to hang my bouquet up and have it preserved forever!

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

After creating my Instagram page, my first step was of course sharing it with my personal networks and having them share with theirs. This was a good starting point but that only gets you so far. I had to think of who I wanted my audience to be. When I learned that weddings were where my business would thrive, I started to follow event planners in my area, venues, florists, photographers, etc. Through following accounts like these, I was able to gain access to more brides to be that were looking for flower preservation artists. Think creatively and don’t be afraid to reach out to people on social media to gain more exposure. People are more willing to help than you’d think!

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

The most rewarding aspect of being a flower preservation artist is the joy I am able to bring to clients. Pressing a wedding bouquet isn’t easy. There are days that I get home late from work and the last thing I want to do is switch out presses, but when I give a bride her frame with her bouquet in it, and she is overwhelmed with joy, nostalgia, and gratitude, it is all so worth it in the end.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: pressthosepetals
• Other: TikTok: pressthosepetals