Gorgeous and Green

Hello!

It’s been a fun few months here at the new boutique, and as we settle into the new location, I have gotten back into blogging.  I’d like to just share a few pics from the new location of Gorgeous and Green at 2946 College Ave in Berkeley’s Elmwood.  In case you haven’t been there yet, we are smack dab in between Ici Ice Cream and Summer Kitchen, so come by for some unique local gifts/plant/flower bouquets and grab a snack at our neighbor’s.

Here’s our locally hand-painted sign:

And the shop from the front:

And the boutique inside, notice the reclaimed chandeliers and the G’s filled with airplants:

We hope to see you soon!

Pilar and the G&G team

ggboutique.com

Gorgeous and Green decorated another green wedding at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, here in Berkeley.  Reuse of vintage glassware, local flowers, and succulents.  The bouquet came out beautifully, and featured some local succulents I grew for the wedding!

Blog by Pilar Zuniga, owner of Gorgeous and Green,  a sustainable gift and floral boutique in Berkeley.  Pilar specializes in using locally grown and sustainably grown flowers and greens in floral displays for weddings, events, restaurants, offices, gift and home use.  The Gorgeous and Green boutique offers an array of local and sustainable gifts, jewelry, cards and local and sustainable or organic flowers.

More succulents and dahlias for a Bay Area wedding by Gorgeous and Green!  Here’s a few pics from a wedding last weekend, here in Martinez CA at Briones park.

The bouquet is a lovely combination of local non-sprayed dahlias, local non-sprayed succulents wrapped in burlap.  The bride gave me some lace to use to wrap with the burlap to match her lovely gown.

The boutonnieres and corsages were wrapped with twine and all the groomsmen got cute little crespedia.

The bridesmaids all got slightly different bouquets with local dahlias, local roses, local belladonna, etc.  The colors matched their dresses which were a floral pattern with burgundy, yellow, orange, grey, brown and blue just like the bouquets.

Overall, the wedding was very local and actually very DIY.  The bride ordered a large order of flowers at a discount and with her bridesmaids, created aisle and table arrangements in mason jars.  For local brides looking to save money but still have a mass of lovely local flowers, I offer simple arrangement tutorials and with purchase, brides can receive a bulk discount on local flowers in season.

I hope to share more pictures from the wedding at a later date.

In green, beauty and health,

G&G

Blog by Pilar Zuniga, owner of Gorgeous and Green,  a sustainable gift and floral boutique in Berkeley.  Pilar specializes in using locally grown and sustainably grown flowers and greens in floral displays for weddings, events, restaurants, offices, gift and home use.  The Gorgeous and Green boutique offers an array of local and sustainable gifts, jewelry, cards and local and sustainable or organic flowers.

This Spring Gorgeous and Green had the pleasure of working with a bride and groom who walked into my boutique the weekend before their big day. They decided to have an impromptu wedding at a local winery called Testarossa Winery, and I have to admit that their quick decision making and planning was phenomenal. It also turned out to be quite green and sustainable because they were choosing from great local vendors and had sustainability in mind.

Besides myself, another sustainably-minded green vendor that they chose for their wedding was Cara of Cara Mia Photography. Not only is she a lovely person, but her work is beautiful, and I thought I would share some pics from the event as well as some interview questions I asked her.

GG bride’s bouquet with local anemones, peonies, pincushion berry

How are you personally invested in sustainability and being green?

For me being green expands beyond my business which is just an extension of how I live life and the choices I make every day that effect the environment. I like to work with companies and vendors who are conscious of their carbon footprint and who offer real sustainable alternatives like recycled paper products, vegan leather and less plastic packaging. My work is all digital so there’s less paper and chemical waste and I buy used equipment to try to get the most life possible out of electronics. At home, where my office is, we try to eat mostly locally grown organic food and compost our waste. My biggest passion is focused on raising awareness about plastic pollution in the ocean. I have a blog “A Mermaid’s Tear”http://www.amermaidstear.blogspot.com/ where I share information about the devastating affects of single use plastic waste in the environment and ways we can change our habits. As I’ve learned more about this issue my awareness about both our spiritual and physical interconnection with nature has deepened tremendously and permeates my personal and business life.

GG local ivy garland with hanging amaranth, roses and local anemones

What are some of your favorite green ideas you’ve seen at weddings?

I always enjoy seeing handmade or eco-friendly favors like homemade jam or candy, plantable seed cards or beeswax candles. Any couple who chooses to work with a green caterer or florist that specialize in locally harvested and organic produce and flowers is my most favorite idea. That’s the single most environmentally friendly thing a couple can do.

GG boutonnieres with local and non sprayed callas

Thanks Cara for your beautiful pictures and lovely thoughts.

G&G

Here are a few sneak photos from a wedding Gorgeous and Green participated in at Flora Grubb in San Francisco on July 30th.  We created the table centerpieces, bouquets and boutonnieres as well as a large 4 foot wide arrangement that hung above the wedding party table.  Lots of local succulents and dahlias!  It was a grand affair with the planning help of Vera Devera of  Va de Vie Events.  Beautiful.

Bubble cognac vase with gathered local blooms and succulents

Repurposed wood drawer with local dahlias, scabiosa pods and succulents.  No floral foam was used, I have a secret trick that included more reusing….

Planted terrariums (one borrowed from Vera) are so interesting to look at and classy.

A large arrangement of blooms and succulents in a footed glass vase.

And the amazing hanging box………..

Cheers to the newlyweds,

G&G

As you know, every day is Earth Day.  Especially here at Gorgeous and Green!

A local and green certified Event Planner, Karine Brighten, also treats each day as earth day.  Apart from being green certified and having connections with local green vendors, she is also committed to education as we are.  This past April 22nd, the traditional Earth Day, she put on an event in Berkeley that highlighted her commitment to the environment and her belief in eating and living as a vegan.

I asked her to share more about her event:

1. What was your vision in creating a vegan earth day in Berkeley?

My vision for the event was to start a new tradition, and that new tradition was to celebrate the link between veganism and a healthy environment in honor of Earth Day.

There are many events in the San Francisco Bay Area that take place on this day, but none that focus specifically on the positive effects of veganism on the environment. My goal was to have people leave the event feeling inspired, and with tools that they can use to help the planet.

2. Please describe the event and who you chose to include in the day?

The event consisted of the screening of an award-winning feature documentary, “Call of Life, Facing the Mass Extinction” by Species Alliances. The film investigates the growing threat to Earth’s life support systems as a result of dwindling biodiversity.  Following the film there was a panel discussion of 4 experts in vegan lifestyle, nutrition, and sustainability. After the panel discussion there was a catered vegan reception that everyone loved!

3. Do you feel like your vision was achieved?  What else would you like to include in up and coming vegan earth days?

I couldn’t be happier with the ways things turned out! The event sold out and people walked away feeling motivated to make changes in their lifestyle. The tradition will indeed continue next year, and I hope to make it a full day event.

Gorgeous and Green was hired to provide the cute edible baskets for the event:

in Green and Health,

G&G

Another week of Gorgeous and Green arrangements for a local restaurant.  This last week at Revival, I brought in some lovely japanese maple branches and some wispy asparagus branches.  The asparagus added a lovely texture and soft lines.

I added a few hydgrangea inside the branches, so they could peak out as people see it from different angles.

Here you can see wisps of asparagus leaves  and kale trailing from a simple bouquet of roses and gerbera that were left over from a past event.

We are getting some great local birds of paradise (summertime is a good time to get my hands on more “tropical” flowers that are locally grown) so I added in a couple to this vintage vase arrangement of local organic bells of ireland and celosia that will open in the next few days.

Here’s a little arrangement I made for the front host table, some lovely maple leaves, local and organic scabiosa pods and organic scabiosa flowers and local crespedia.  I love their shapes.

In Green and Health,

G&G

Last Saturday we had a great Airplant sale!  So many folks came out to buy airplants, make airplant terrariums and branch designs and chat it up with us at Gorgeous and Green.  It was a fun time all around and I hope to offer more opportunities to get the community creating!

Many people brought their own glass jars and containers to make airplant homes.  What a great way to give new life to old things:

And of course some of the best creative expertise came from the young people who participated:

Thanks to all that came, and don’t hesitate to get on our email list if you want to hear more about our quarterly events.

In Green and Fun,

G&G