The West Coast Is the Best Coast

The world is big enough to hold a place for all of us

-Leyandra

Dear bloomers,

If someone would have said that the West Coast was the best coast to me years ago I would have laughed. I spent 23 years of my life living on the East Coast and thought there could be no place better. But it did not take me long to fall in love with LA when I moved here two years ago and it was more than the LA sunshine that stole my heart. In LA I finally found a place where I am able to fully express the side of me that strives to live poetically and inspire art and beauty in everything I do. I've met so many likeminded souls here that have truly touched my heart with their support and inspired me so much with their own creativity. Even more heart-warming is the appreciation for health, fitness and nature that this coast has. The West Coast really has it all.

My move to LA showed me that there is a place for us all. We just have to be courageous enough to seek it out. I am so happy to call the West Coast my home and I'm looking forward to sharing my exploration of it with you all. If you haven't found a place that makes you feel proud to express who you are,  be brave and don't give up searching. We all deserve to feel at home.

For the next four months,  BITA will be celebrating four very creative West Coast cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. We are also undergoing exciting new growth and direction and will be sharing our journey with you! So as the fall season starts we invite you to join us for our weekly posts highlighting four very important things to us:   Writing, Design,  Making and Gifting.

Illustrated Maps by Swiss Cottage Designs

 

New Places, New Flowers

Dear bloomers,

I love to travel. Experiencing the different histories, landscapes, people and food of new destinations is truly a fulfilling thing, but my favorite part about traveling is discovering the plants and flowers that decorate the beautiful landscapes of foreign places. Flowers are a huge part of the identity of a place. There is reason why there is a national flower to every state or country. They are what make a place memorable.

 I recently traveled to my home country of Puerto Rico and was reminded by all the Flor De Maga’s  of my childhood. I remember seeing their bright red blooms burning bright in the Caribbean sun as I played outside. Sometimes I may travel to a new place and see a flower that I never knew could even exist. I fell in love with Birds of Paradise when I moved to LA. I never thought a plant could exist that resembled an animal so well. Flowers are nature’s paintings and there are so many types, shapes and sizes for us to enjoy all over the world.  What is your favorite foreign flower?

With ever-blooming love,

Leyandra

Thank You West Elm & Etsy!

Last Saturday, BITA had the pleasure of being a part of the Studio DIY curated West Elm LA's Esty Pop Up Shop! West Elm and Etsy do such an amazing job of supporting local artists and we are so appreciative! There were so many talented artists, designers and makers there,  it was mind blowing. I'm new to LA and only have been here for a year and half, but I've truly fallen in love with the appreciation for creative arts in Los Angeles. Events like these, with all the support and amazing talented individuals I meet, makes me feel like I belong and I hope BITA inspires other creatives to follow their passions. Thanks again to West Elm and Esty! We look forward to the next one!

photo by megan walker & from studio diy

With ever-blooming love,

Leyandra

Empowering Female Millennial Innovators With Tribemint

BITA has been selected by Tribemint, a branding and communications agency, to be a partner at its first TribeTalk! Tribe Talks are events meant to spark meaningful conversations and ignite connections amongst female millennial innovators! BITA will be providing its one of kind handcrafted floral arrangements to the event on June 13th from 5:30pm-8:30pm. The event will take place at the General Assembly in Santa Monica (1520 2nd Street, Santa Monica, CA.) Tickets are $15 and all proceeds go to the TribeFund to support female millennial entrepreneurs. The designated speakers are the founders of Cool Haus, two inspirational and creative women who will discuss their path to success. Come join BITA and other female creative entrepenuers in supporting each other and sharing knowledge on how to build successful businesses.  For more info please go to tribemint.com by clicking here. If you can't make it to this event, stay tuned for other TribeTalks coming soon!

Don't Lose Sight Of The Poetry In Life

Before I joined forces with Ji for BITA, I would often feel that life was just an expansive routine as we wait for the major milestones society tells us to live for. The diploma, the job promotion, the marriage, the 30th then 40th then 50th birthday and so on.  What if we lived for the beauty in our life that is bigger than we see in front of us all the time? We forget to look up, down and around us and there is so much more to celebrate on a daily basis.

Flowers, nature and pondering the deeper meanings on what this life is and means, along with my passion for putting that into writing and sharing it with you all, is what puts the poetry and beauty in life for me daily. 

What about you? What moments do you have during the day that allow you to reflect on how beautiful and poetic your life is, no matter what is going on. Maybe you've lost sight of what that is and I urge you to reclaim it, even if it is little by little, day by day.  If you have it already , I urge you to share it with others to spread happiness and encourage self reflection.

The existence of each of us is poetic and the different things that remind us of that is what makes humanity so amazing. Celebrate your differences and your interests. Celebrate the world around you. Find what you love and puts beauty in your world, fight for it, nourish it and share it with all of us. We can't wait to hear about it. We can't wait to cherish the poem that is you. 

painting by Clare Elsaesser

With ever-blooming love,

Leyandra

POKETO + BITA: Spreading the Joy Of Paper Flower Making

BITA recently teamed up with Poketo at their amazing new location at the Line Hotel in Koreatown to spread the joy of paper flower making! This was one of the two workshops that Poketo and BITA have done, with both being completely sold out! We are so grateful to Poketo and the Line Hotel for having us and for all the paper flower and crafting lovers out there who signed up for the class. We also want to give a great big thanks to Carte Fini who supplied the high quality Italian crepe paper. With Spring here and Summer around the corner we are excited to share even more paper flower joy with you. Stay tuned for more workshops and collaborations with other amazing artists, designers and crafters coming soon! In the mean time check out Poketo's Recap of both workshops here & here. Enjoy!

workshop at poketo flagship in dtla arts district

workshop at the line hotel garden terrace in la korea town

Collaboration : MK / BITA

 I first came across Sara the baker of Matchbox Kitchen through instagram. Sara's healthy, delicious, beautiful baked goods were so easy to love and follow. I really admire her heart to make the world a better place one baked goods at a time and one daily decision at a time. As for the cookie gram idea, she was the first to make the move and I had it in my head for the longest time and so we hit it off right away. Everything fell into place pretty effortlessly and I can't be excited enough to present to you our very first MK/BITA cookie grams. 

These cookie grams are designed for Mother's Day and are just so fittingly around floral flavors. The lavender almond and cardamom rose shortbread cookies are not too sweet and have just the right amount of butteriness that makes it a perfect companion with a cup of tea or a solo afternoon snack. The colors (fuchsia and ombré pink) are chosen to reflect two amazing motherly characteristics, both strong and sweet. So, this Mother's day, give something that is sure to make the mothers in your life remember how much they are loved one bite after another. And the paper flower is sure to carry that message just while longer. 

To make this even sweeter, we are offering free shipping until Sunday, April 20th. The last day to order is May 5th, so don't wait too long!

BITA & OHF workshop

Spring is here! Yay!!! Along with that excitement, I'm happy to announce that I'll have a paper flower workshop at the Oh Hello Friend's new workshop space in Fullerton in Orange County. As you might or might not know, I'm a self-taught paper florist. All the little tricks and techniques I've learned, discovered and developed will be shared, along with the best crepe papers made in Germany and Italy. Yes, you'll get addicted to these papers and you'll love it. The workshop is designed to make sure you leave with handful of flowers that are both beautiful to give and functional as well to keep.  Click here or the image below to sign up. 

contain & carry

handpainted tiffin carrier... what more can i say. it is just too charming. go get your very own from the new domestic.

inspiration : Luci Everett

I came across Luci Everett, inspiring artist and a "making machine" (according to jacky winters), which makes it even more inspiring, because i dream of becoming a making machine myself. her work carries this playfulness and delicateness I admire. enjoy!

New Reminder No. 4 : Look at the Planner!

I'm a list maker and love my planner. BUT... I make the list and don't look at it often enough. I just make the list and fill it in as a way to organize my mind and then too often abandon it in my bag and get busy. And too often get distracted and let things fall through the crack. So, below is the planner I got this year from Muji and hope to make it my best friend.

New Reminder No. 3 : Making is Caring

Hand made gifts all year long. It's simple. Making is truly caring.

New Reminder No. 2 : Who's Birthday is Next?

This one has been on the list for the past couple of  years. I want to send out birthday cards on time (at least within that month, please laugh with me). It's not suppose to be that hard, but it is for some odd reason. Every year, I come up with what I think will help me take this reminder off the list next year. I'll let you know at the end of the year if this year's idea worked. 

New Reminder No. 1 : Embrace My Curls.

I have curly hair.

Very few people know this because I straighten it all the time.

It's very true that the grass is always greener on the other side and so if it was up to me, I would choose straight hair in a heart beat. Now, as I'm getting older and wiser (?), I recognize that life doesn't let you deny & hide who you are. So, to live life the way my designer intended me live, I'm going to embrace my curls and see what happens. It will take time because of all the habits I've formed around straight hair. But I'm going to do it. I need to because I was born with it. I was designed with curly hair and I'm sure there was a reason for it.

2013 Unqiue LA Holiday Show

 I'm grateful and totally proud of the road I traveled this year with craft shows. Thank you to all those who remembered me from my first show and I'm so happy to have made vendor friends that are creative, kind and hardworking. 

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Artisanal LA

Fall is here, my favorite time of the year. I can start layering clothes, admire all the colors turning and plan for holiday craft & decorations. Makes me so happy just thinking about it. And of course, I can't forget all the warm and cozy comfort foods. Just did a happy dance. If you're just like me, you can't miss the Artisanal LA Fair. It's this weekend 10/12 & 13. You can expect to taste and shop loads of local and handmade goods. Trust me, you can probably get a full meal out of tasting all the samples. It doesn't stop there. There is a whole floor of workshops and demonstrations that is sure to make you leave the fair feeling good. The best part is that I'll be there with my OVERSIZED flowers. I don't plan on selling these online and they will be made in very small batches, so be sure to get them now!

Renegade Craft Fairs LA & SF

AHHHH~ I'm excited to share with you that I'll be at both LA & SF Renegade Craft Fair.  Be sure to come say Hi! BTW, great applause to the renegade gang for such beautiful buttons. I'm loving it. 

Patchwork Show

Patchwork Show has a free sprit. It has "firm ties to and a passion for the handmade craft and artisan food movement as well as encouraging small local businesses." The two ladies in the picture above delilah snell and nicole stevenson reflect the energy of the show. I'm totally excited that my flower shop will be at the Long Beach Show 6/2nd Sunday. Be sure to mark your calendars and come say hello. 

Unique LA

It's simple, this is what UNIQUE is all about and I'm proud to say that I'll be a part of the 5th Spring Show on Mother's Day Weekend 5/11 & 5/12. Unique is a thoughtfully & passionately curated event to bring the attention to "American Handmade". To take the extra step, Unique gives back 10% of the tickets sales to the community. I too started crafting paper flowers to craft the joy of giving. Therefore, I admire the commitments Unique has made. To share in the commitment, I'll be donating 10% of all Unique LA sales to two nonprofit organization that reflect my creative background Create Now and Architecture for Humanity. SO! be sure to purchase the pre-sale tickets here and get your tote bag, free drinks, come say hello and be a part of the community of American Handmade. 

Fresh Blooms

​Super Excited!!! Blooms in the Air will have a flower shop at Unique LA! This is big because it's the first time my flowers will meet and greet the public in person. I'm working hard to bloom as many blooms as possible. And as a result of it, I'm discovering new color combos and new forms with different techniques and materials. I will in the near future do a series on these new materials and techniques. However, for now, I'll have to make sure my first flower shop impresses the world. Here are snippets of couple of the new blooms. Enjoy!