One Word: Waiver

The Soap Factory will again this year open up it's doors and welcome you into the bowels of its seriously scary basement. It's so bloody frightening that a waiver must be signed in case you fall and can't get up, have a heart attack, need a lifetime of therapy once you escape, etc. The Haunted Basement runs from October 17th through November 2nd, nightly from 6pm-12am ($15. Not kid-friendly. Not adult-friendly, for that matter). Buy your tickets in advance, or you'll never get in. Greet our Lindsey when you're there. She'll be helping to make your stay more enjoyable...

When they are bad, they are horrid.

Smitten with this centerpiece we did for a new client having a dinner party. Dahlias are fickle beasts, pooping out on us and turning to mush more often than we're comfortable with. But when they are good, they are very, very good. And wow, this was hot (and maybe just the teeniest bit goth, but 'tis the season).

She's got the whole world in her hands...

We have very little information on the whys of this huge mossy floral globe we bumped into at our wholesaler. We didn't make it, but it did make us snicker a little. To help orient you, that's New Zealand by Liz's right hand.

Our name here.

Hooray! We were just named best florist by Minnesota Monthly Magazine in their 2008 Best of the Cities issue. Here's a bit of their write up:

In the world of Bastian+Skoog, there is no flower that can't be transformed into a blossoming work of avant-garde art.
The clever design duo of Liz Bastian and Heidi Skoog enjoys a challenge: Simply suggest a color or a bloom and they'll produce a truly effervescent arrangement...

They had a lovely party to announce the winners (to which we were actually invited -- not naming any names other Twin Cities' magazine: you know who you are) at the Hotel Minneapolis. Bonus points to the lassies from the Midtown Global Market for above and beyond generosity with their perfect figs and goat's cheese and honey. We're fans for life. To Patron, who sponsored the drinks: cosmopolitans served in 12 oz. tumblers is a really, really bad idea. Somehow we ended up dancing our asses off at Aqua (yes, of all places, Aqua). We only had two drinks, we swear...

Meetings

We were recently interviewed for the Fall 2008 issue of Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal. We got a copy today from the writer, Marni Ginther, over lunch at Be'wiched. The article is ever so nice. Thanks to David Ellis for the photo.