Mrs. Liz Gets Married

Our bride, affectionately nicknamed Mrs. Liz, married her groom on the breathtaking Endless Bridge at the Guthrie Theater. The Lace/Hanky lassies created some beautiful photo eye candy with the amazing architecture and lovely view of the Mississippi River and the Stone Arch Bridge. We love Linda's non-traditional orchid-hued wedding dress -- so grown up, so big city, so very Mrs. Liz.

ARTCRANK 2009: A Poster Party for Bike People

Our wheels are spinning as we plot something fabulous for ARTCRANK 2009
The show opens on Saturday, April 4 at One On One Bicycle Studio, located at 117 Washington Ave. N in the Minneapolis Warehouse District. You'll find foxy posters from the likes of Seventhsin, Aesthetic Apparatus, Joanne Grobe, and Adam Turman, The irresistible Millions Billions will make you shake it (not that there will be room to dance). Oh, and did we mention apps by Chowgirls Killer Catering and free beer? Woo hoo!
We were in earlier this week and, escorted by the always charming Charles Youel, we got to dig through the bowels of the one on one basement to scavenge for bike bits. If you haven't been, you really need to go, but make sure to tell someone where you are -- otherwise you could be lost for days... and a tough girl/greasy metal/lush swampy fresh floral installation from us will make you wish it were (really) spring.

Black and White at the Walker

Now that we have black and white on the brain, we thought we'd whip out another gorgeous spread of black and white wedding deliciousness. Chambers Hotel and the Walker Art Center make such lovely, graphic backdrops for events and photos. These of Heather and Neal's March wedding, shot by Andrew Vick, are no exception.

We really, really love the face our bride (on the right) made when she saw the bouquets. This face (as well as the teary face) is what makes our job so great.




Black feathers, stephanotis blooms with black pins, fabulous striped ribbon, and black detailing on Heather's dress add serious punch to a white wedding.

It's Official:Our Website Rocks (and don't just take our word for it).

The Bastian+Skoog website, designed by our friends at the superfab EightHourDay, is officially h-o-t. AIGA Minnesota, a professional association for design, held it's 2009 Design Show of Excellence for print and interactive media last week. Big kudos to EightHourDay who were recognized for their design work on not only our site, but their Minnesota Opera project, as well.

Black and White at the Weisman

Lovely images by Sally Jorgensen of La Vie Photography of the recent winter wedding of Carla and Jack. Their black and white scheme was punctuated with bursts of color complements of the Weisman Art Museum. Effective touches we loved included custom table runners and table numbers printed on wine bottles -- so graphic and foxy.

My Cheeky Valentine

As many of you know, we held a contest where we invited out clients to create the cheekiest sentiment for their Valentine's Day flower order. The winner of the contest received their flowers for free. While we had several quality submissions, there was a hands down winner. Originally, we were going to announce the name of the winner and keep the sentiment private, but with only a little prodding our winner is kindly letting us repost his card here for your enjoyment and inspiration.

Tied up in knots
a bite on the shoulder
i tugged at her hair
e’re my heart ‘gan to smoulder

‘twixt sheets, silken black
lo! - a spank on the bum!
nervous.. am i naughty?
mayhaps too tame?
mayhaps ho-hum!!

then, a crash!$%
my friends,
- a cloud of smoke! -
i hung from the ceiling
prisoner,
to gravity’s heavy yoke

and in this moment she approacheth
e’re my moment of despair
kisses to my forehead
gentle strokes to my hair

she cackled with delight
bit hard on my lip.
candles and oils…
- hey-o! what’s with the whip? -

t’would kiss her
would i could
like a great prince of yore
be kama to her sutra
make her cry out “more! more!”

my situation you see, was desperate but not dire
distance it seemed, sparked my heart’s russian fire

and so, i waited,
bound but still brave
to plot Act II
self cast
as Handsome Knave

So it will go,
through months and years
the drama will unfold
many climaxes - few tears

and as I gaze to the West
I wait for a sign.
for the curtain to rise,
‘tween me and
my heart’s rowdy Valentine.

Secrets of the Sweethearts

Our studio was mentioned by Kate Iverson for Secrets of the City's Valentine's guide. We liked it so much we're reprinting our writeup here, but do check out the entire article for other sweet finds including our cupcake dealer, Sheela, at Miel y Leche.

LOVE IN BLOOM

Forget the red roses this year -- that's been done. If you want your gesture to be original and memorable, we suggest thinking beyond the baby's breath!

Bastian + Skoog Urban Flower Studio

Liz Bastian and Heidi Skoog are green-thumbed art stars. As owners of the hottest floral design studio in the Twin Cities, these ladies share some very key ideals that include "a hunger for good design and culture (and shoes), modern aesthetic sensibilities, and most importantly, discriminating taste." And these qualities are definitely evident in their unusual, custom floral designs, and their long, impressive roster of high-end clients. For those who hold art close to their heart, an arrangement from the contemporary perfectionists at Bastian + Skoog is equally satisfying to give and to get. But, beware. You'll likely become a regular, scheduling artsy arrangements for business, special occasions, and special people.

Vote for Bastian+Skoog (again). Pretty please?

We, the ladies of Bastian+Skoog, kindly ask you to vote for our studio in the MN Bride Best of Bride contest in the categories of "best overall vendor" and "florist". Note: this is different than the Downtown Journal contest we asked for your help with recently.

Bastian+Skoog won "best florist" the first two years of this competition when it was voted on by wedding vendors. The rules have changed and voting is now done by brides (and the general public), thus favoring the bigger businesses who work with piles of brides. As such, we, who have exponentially fewer wedding clients, rely on you (you, with the impeccable taste) to prettyplease follow the link and fill out the ballot to show your support for our studio.

VOTE HERE: http://www.mnbride.com
for Bastian+Skoog in the categories of "best overall vendor" and "florist".

FINE PRINT:
Voting closes March 1st, 2009.
At least six categories must be completed for your vote to count (not too difficult -- you can vote for your favorite DJ, caterer, spa, restaurant, hotel, jeweler, photographer, etc.)
Only one vote per individual, and you must fill out the starred personal information for your vote to count.

If you really, really like us, please post or forward this note along to other B+S allies.

Eternal gratitude and big kisses from your B+S girls,

Liz and Heidi

Vote for B+S!

Downtown Journal is having their Reader Raves contest. If you happen to have time and you happen to like us, would you be so kind as to fill out their ballot and vote for Bastian+Skoog as your favorite florist? It's a great opportunity to support and promote your other neighborhood businesses, as well. The deadline for the contest is this Friday, the 13th of February, so be quick about it!

http://www.downtownjournal.com/index.php?&story=13178&page=65&category=105

Big thanks from your girls at Bastian+Skoog,
Liz and Heidi

Almost Famous

Our flowers are going to be pimped out by the effervescent know it all Alexis Walsko of Lola Red PR. Check her out as she offers tips on foxy Valentine's Day gifts on Kare11 at 4pm today. Image by Dane Cree (danecree@hotmail.com).

Valentine's Day Alert (and a contest for the cheeksters among you!)

Hey friends,

Valentine's Day is a-comin'. If you'd like flowers for your sweeties please place your orders with us soon.

In an effort to keep ourselves entertained and inspire you to greatness, we are having our first annual racy sentiment contest. For the steamiest, cheekiest, cleverest sender, your flower order will be free! The winning sender will be announced, but all secrets and sentiments are safe with us! We won't think less of you if you don't participate, but we just might think more of you if you do.

In world news, Bastian+Skoog can now have foxy flowers delivered across the US through a super chic wire service. Contact us if you've got a long distance love, and we'll give you the details.

Pricing: Arrangements start at $50 plus tax and delivery (but wouldn'tcha like to see what kind of luck you'd have with a hundred?). Delivery is $10 within the metro area, or you may pick up from our studio if you'd prefer.

Timing: Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday this year. Consider if you'd prefer a Friday or a Saturday delivery (flowers are like babies: Minnesota winter means someone must be available to receive the delivery). We can accept orders until Thursday the 12th. After this time you are out of luck unless your bribery skills are exceptional, although we will have hand tied bouquets available in the cheese shop at Surdyk's Liquor and Cheese Shop in NE Minneapolis.


Essential Info:
Name of recipient
Address of recipient
Phone number of recipient
Sentiment for card
Method of payment (call us with your credit card number. If you'd rather pay by cash or check, we can send out an invoice)
Billing address/phone
Any flower and/or color requests (Smart kids don't buy roses on V-day. Trust us on this one)
Amount you would like to spend (not including tax+delivery)
Date you would like delivery (Friday the 13th or Saturday the 14th)

If you'd like to see our work, check us out.
If you need hand holding, have special needs, or just want to say "hi", dial us at 612.333.6450.
If you trust us implicitly, just drop us a note with the above information. Something fresh and fabulous will be delivered wrapped in sexy black paper.
If you know people who might require prompting for this sort of thing (i.e. spouses, clueless coworkers), please forward this info along.

A Literary Bride

Bastian+Skoog's flowers were featured today in Style Me Pretty's blog, in a post titled, "A Literary Bride". A good book, sultry tropical flowers, a most handsome reading chair...perfect recipe for a cold day like today.

Congratulations to our web design heroes, EightHourDay, who just finished their new website and identity, which is, of course, a triumph. We still are completely enamored with our new Bastian+Skoog site, and they seem to like it, too, as they are featuring it on their selected works page. There really aren't enough good things to say about EightHourDay -- incredible designwork, eternal patience and hand holding, and they're really, really nice kids. Check out their site to be humbled by their coolness.

It's such a shame you're a boy...

A little ditty to remind you ladies of equal opportunity...

Irresistible: SooVAC's holiday sale event

If you're anything like me, you are still in denial that Christmas is around the corner. Mercifully, Soo Visual Arts Center is here to the rescue with Irresistible, offering fabulous one of a kind art and crafts (without having to go to a mall) by the likes of local gems such as Amy Rice and Jennifer Davis. Irresistible runs from December 17th through the 24th, with a special sales event on Saturday December 20th which will feature our very own Lindsey Borgerson. Her wares will include these sexy maze puzzles packed up in petite little boxes lined with flocked paper -- a perfect stocking stuffer (yes, Dave and Kern, you will be getting them, so act surprised!). If you haven't yet seen her amazing mazes, check out her blog, maze of the day, for your daily fix. And buy a puzzle or a foxy screenprinted t-shirt, print, or roaring fire dvd (approved for asthma sufferers). Skip the mall, support local artists, give an interesting hand-made gift, will ya?

Style Me Pretty Blog Appearance

We were pleased (okay, thrilled) to find that one of our images was used recently on Style Me Pretty's new Little Black Book blog. We were fortunate to be asked to be in their Little Black Book, a handpicked directory of an elite group of wedding vendors. The wedding obsessed among you, of course already know about this resource, but in case you are just starting on your wedding planning -- do not pass go, Style Me Pretty is a bottomless pit of brilliant wedding ideas and life styling ideas.

What? You're dreaming of a BROWN Christmas?

Okay. If you insist...

The super foxy Dowling Studio

Attended (and did the flowers for) a holiday party in the Dowling Studio at the Guthrie Theater on Saturday. Wow. Fabulous. Gorgeous. Perfect. A totally dramatic and flexible space with black walls, black floors, black linens, disappearing walls, amazing city views and INCREDIBLE lighting. This is simply the hottest space we've seen in a long time. Hot boys not included (big thanks to our unwilling models, Homme and Dave).

Oh, and did I mention the food? How I love thee, Cue.

Christmas has landed at St. Olaf

We came, we saw, we conquered (the trees at St. Olaf, that is). This year we went for a retro aqua and red combo -- lots of foil, lots of flocking, lots of saturated color. For those of you spying on us with the Hi Mom cam, here is a front-view of the trees, per your requests.

Sea Salt: fresh spot for a wedding

One of the most unexpected and wonderful weddings of our season this year was that of Lisa Lynch and Tom Pinney. We'd never worked at Sea Salt by Minnehaha Falls, an unorthodox spot for nuptials, but it cleaned up real nice and made for a terrifically relaxed and festive reception. A knockout bride in a $12 dress (!!! Thank you, J. Crew), the most darling flowergirl ever (Hi Lark!), and a perfect day made this wedding truly eyecandy. Thank you to Stephanie Colgan for the fabulous images!