Strawberry Fields is proud to be a part of our community! Starting in November of 2017, we were given the honor of creating our own floral department at Ellwood Thompson’s. As of December, we were asked to provide a taste of our locally made gifts too. Now, we have an additional terrarium & gift area in the produce department. How did we get so lucky? We are thrilled to be showcased in such an amazing Richmond icon & working with so many great folks. Check us out next time you are shopping at Ellwood Thompson’s! Thank you for your support.
Over the last few years we have been working hard on our workshop program. It has given us the wonderful opportunity to meet so many new faces and collaborate with other businesses in the Richmond community. We are so grateful for the enormous amount of participation over the last several years and are looking forward to growing our workshop program even more in 2018!
If you are interested in attending one of our workshops- check out the workshop tab right here on our site! To inquire about a private workshop send us a message through our contact form.
Here is a look back at some of our previous workshops!
Mount a Staghorn Workshop at the shop
Private Bachelorette Terrarium Workshop at Strawberry Fields
Floral Crown Workshop at Blue Bee Cider
Silver Tree Everlasting Wreath at Isley Brewing Company
Floral Crown Workshop at Anthropologie (with an impromtu photoshoot in the store)
Private Wreath Making Class at Blue Bee Cider for a Corporate Work Event
Private Floral Arranging Workshop at the shop
Wreath Making Workshop at Blue Bee Cider
Cactus and Crystals Terrarium Workshop at the Veil Brewing Co.
Last year we started a new tradition at Strawberry Fields. On small business Saturday we offer dog photographs with the Grinch right outside the shop. All photos are free but we accept donations for local animal shelters in the Richmond area (This year we did AARF!). Thank you so much to those of you who came out to support us on small business Saturday! We hope everyone enjoyed their doggy photographs as much as we did!
There is a certain ethereal quality to the beautiful, curly leaves of the tillslandia plant. The muted grey tones often help to compliment a moody arrangement of flowers or offer a lightness when working with pastels. These textural gems were the perfect addition to a recent collaboration with two amazing local creatives. The instantly recognizable photography of A Girl Named Leney put some of our favorite air plants front and center with some stylish and cool toned linen pieces from Yesterday’s Heroes. The perfect balance of lightness and shadows, we will let the photos tell the story..
Thank you for taking a look..be sure to stop in and grab your own sweet air plant to take home!
We have been spending the last few weeks at the shop fighting off the winter doldrums with spring tulips, blooming branches and beautiful plants! Some local brews helped with that too at our terrarium workshop last week. Our friends at Strangeways Brewing were kind enough to open up their space for us to host a terrarium workshop! We wanted to share some special moments from the evening and tell you about our other workshops that will help you beat the winter blues and add some green to your space!
Let’s get down to the most important part, beer. Strangeways Brewing is really one of the best breweries and tap rooms in Richmond. Their 8.400 square foot production brewery is open daily and features over 25 unique beers on tap. Their space is eclectic, industrial and extremely welcoming. They craft their beers with two things in mind, Think Strange and Drink Strange. This is accomplished using the finest ingredients and carefully aging their beers to perfection. We’ll wait here while you run out to grab a growler of their Albino Monkey Belgian White Ale before you read on.
Now that you have a delicious beer, you’re halfway to beating the winter blues! The best way to enjoy a craft beer is with friends and plants! Our workshop at Strangeways was taught by our plant fanatic, Brenna, and focused on creating an open terrarium centered on succulents. Brenna started with a layering technique of gravel, activated carbon and fresh, clean soil. Next she explained different ways to artfully arrange a collection of succulents showing how the different textures and colors play off of each other.
After the succulents were in place it was time to fill in with additional soil. Using a mixture of gravel, large river rocks and fresh green sheet moss, Brenna instructed everyone on how to creatively cover the soil and secure the plants. Lastly, we all decorated our creations with over sized dinosaurs, geodes, scary bugs and adorable garden benches! Who doesn’t love a little Jurassic Park world?
Didn’t get a chance to attend this workshop? Don’t fret! Here is a list of our upcoming workshops! Reserve your spot on our website!
3/14 Succulents and Crystals 4/13 Floral Crowns at Isley Brewery (Sold Out!) 4/24 Mount a Staghorn Fern 5/11 Floral Crowns at Strangeways 7/13 Woodland Terrariums at Isley
We also do private workshops with a minimum of three people and your choice of topic! Contact us for more information!
These crisp, cool autumn days will soon give way to those icy winter mornings and frost covered trees. Though, stepping into the shop this week you might think we forgot it is only November. Those familiar holiday scents and colors seem to be popping up in our windows and displays. We wanted to give a little behind the scenes look into what goes on as we shift our seasonal decor with a mission to inspire your holiday decorating, shopping and spirit. In our creative pursuits we often have to start first by creating a larger mess (sorry to those folks who had to witness this chaos first hand), but there is some mild order to our massive chaos.
In an effort to always keep the shop evolving we let go of some of our main fixtures and brought in a beautiful farm table with a warm, wood surface to greet our customers. The painted and distressed base blends perfectly with our rustic and industrial aesthetic while providing ample space to display our merchandise.
The farm table is setup up as a shoppable gift guide with samplings of merchandise from all over the shop. This table features the items and products we love giving as gifts, our best sellers and locally sourced goods. Week by week our gift guide table will change to help you keep crossing off all the names on your holiday list this year and provide that seasonal inspiration to create your own beautiful displays at home. On the table you will find drool worthy cookbooks, ready to go terrariums, holiday candles, locally made soap and so many other perfect gifts (or you know, things to keep for yourself).
Our woodland and rustic trees are full of unique ornaments, furry woodland creatures and plenty of sparkle. Using an assortment of metal and wire containers tucked into the trees we were able to achieve a cohesive and curated look, which is something that you can do at home when putting your own tree up!
We are excited for the holiday season, but also not totally forgetting that little gem of Thanksgiving! We have tons of beautiful autumn blooms, fall foliage and gorgeous arrangements in the shop. Upcoming workshops can be found on our website where you can also sign up and reserve your spot! Stop in soon for some inspiration or for just a bit of quiet exploring in the shop.
With summer in full swing I have noticed a lot of cripsy planters on porches (I’m guilty as well), but all the varieties of sedums and succulents are thriving in this heat. While your geraniums turn to dust and the begonias wilt away, take some time to check out how beautiful and full of texture succulent planters can be. Native to dry, arid climates these hearty hoarders of water are made to tolerate our southern heat waves. Before getting your hands in the dirt there are a few things to keep in mind when selecting and growing succulents.
For outdoor containers you want to be sure you are selecting perennial varieties that are able to tolerate our winters. Surprisingly there are many choices out there and you can usually find them in the outdoor, perennial greenhouses at many nurseries. Be sure to inspect the plants for mold, rot and signs of over watering (leaves that are mushy or are falling off). Since succulents are extremely efficient in retaining water in their leaves you want to be sure you are using a pot with excellent drainage. Also, picking a soil that is a sandy mixture with NO water retention ingredients is very important. Succulents are unable to release excess water and tend to rot or drop petals when potted with soil that isn’t able to dry out regularly. These are great plants to use when playing with texture and shape. Mix rounded hens-and-chicks with trailing sedums or upright blooming sedum for a pop of color. You can also make a big impact by mounding all the same type and color of succulent together in a single pot. When planting keep about 2-3″ of gravel in the bottom to help increase drainage as well. Succulents love to be in a sunny spot on the porch and only need to be watered when thoroughly dry; about every 5-7 days in the heat of summer. They also winter over very nicely and are easy to propagate to create new plants.
Indoor succulents can add the perfect natural element to those nooks where you want a lower maintenance pop of greenery, like the bathroom or a coffee table. These are the perfect plants to use for dry terrariums too. You need to be careful when selecting indoor succulents and keep an eye out for signs of rot, falling leaves or mold. Also picking a container with good drainage or being careful with your watering schedule is really important. Like outdoor succulents, indoor succulents thrive in a sandy soil mixture that will not hold excess water. They need a sunny spot in your home, so pick a western or southern facing window to make sure they are getting enough rays! We suggest watering them every 10-14 days with just enough water to moisten the soil. Signs of under watering are usually presented in the form of wrinkled or shriveled leaves. Succulents typically thrive from neglect and do best with little fertilizer.
We always have beautiful succulent terrariums in the shop for sale and are always happy to source our succulents to plant in your own container. Click here to view and sign up for our upcoming terrarium workshop!
Each and every wedding we work on here at Strawberry Fields is a unique opportunity to develop a relationship with our clients. We are able to understand their personality, style and help create the wedding of their dreams that reflect their individual aesthetic. Every so often a couple we know well comes into the shop to sit down and talk flowers for their big day, which is usually centered around a lot of laughing and catching up. When my best friend announced her engagement this past fall I immediately started bombarding her with flower questions, I was excited to help create something beautiful for two people who are like family to me. Knowing their individual style and color palate made the flower selection very easy and the planning process a lot of fun. Both Elizabeth and Jaime are extremely creative and active in curating their beautiful, mid century home, so I thought it would be really special to invite them to the shop to help construct the wedding flowers.
Jaime showed up with coffee in hand, for me of course (they really do know me well), and we got to work creating Elizabeth’s bridal bouquet. We played off the ivory lace from Elizabeth’s dress and used a mix of pastel colored flowers to create a simple, flowing bouquet. The trailing jasmine with its soft pink blooms gave the bouquet an organic and natural shape.
The following day Elizabeth joined me to make Jaime’s boutonniere. She wanted something simple, but still with a lot of impact. Using a peach ranunculus bloom, locally grown gomphrenea and a deep green galax leaf, Elizabeth was able to craft a stunning boutonniere.
Gather, the venue for the wedding, was the perfect intimate spot to showcase the couples love of antiques and vintage finds. The eclectic vibe of Gather inspired me to use vintage silver containers and natural greenery to accent their farm tables. Soft lighting, lots of books and tons of friends and family made for the perfect setting for this wonderful couple. Elizabeth and Jaime have a love for books, both old and new, and used a collection of varied titles as place card holders and wedding favors.
The sparkler send off at the end of the evening was the perfect way to end the night and a beautiful start to their life together.
We wanted to welcome you to our wonderful new website, our creative new branding and share with you our continued passion to serve the Richmond community. Over the last year we have been carefully crafting all of the details that make up our website and our natural aesthetic for our new business cards, logo, shopping bags and so much more. We have had the pleasure of working with talented, local designers to help curate a vision that will carry Strawberry Fields into the next 10 years and beyond. Being a fixture in the Richmond community has allowed us to evolve and grow into the creative and thriving business that so many of our loyal customers have made possible. As you browse our website you will see our fresh logo as designed by Sue Corral and a simple, clean layout by Midlothian Web Solutions. Our artful photos come to us from local photographers that include Jason Collins Photography, Jessica Madia Photography and Brenna Coady Photography. All of our floral arrangements are crafted in our shop with fresh flowers that are sourced locally when available. Our team of designers strive to create arrangements that reflect our individual style and deliver to our clients an arrangement that exceeds their creative expectations.
Stopping by the shop you will find an eclectic mix of locally made goods that have been sourced and hand picked by the owner, Deanna, to curate a shop that reflects a proud, artist city. A mix of vintage and industrial pieces are used by Casey as he styles our shop and maintains window displays that bring in curious customers passing by. Terrariums in found vessels are loving planted by Brenna who also keeps us informed with her beautiful chalk art updating passerby’s on upcoming workshops, holidays and seasonal happenings. Our website, our shop and our staff reflect this creative community that has been so generous, supportive and committed to our passion. It’s a commitment we have seen from the couples who married 10 years ago and continue to seek us out for their floral and gift needs, a commitment from local publications that source out creative arrangements to use in their editorial pieces and a commitment from all the local folks that discover us on their lunch break and then bring their friends by too. We hope that as you explore our new website you feel inspired and that when you visit our shop you feel at home.