Frances Palmer Archives - Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing

Episode 558: A pottery studio and cutting garden visit with ceramic artist Frances Palmer (Slow Flowers Summit 2022 speaker preview)

Wednesday, May 18th, 2022

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Portrait of Frances Palmer (c) Jane Beiles

Today, you’re invited into the pottery studio and cutting garden of celebrated ceramic artist, Frances Palmer of Frances Palmer Pottery. We recently recorded a preview of Frances’s upcoming presentation at the Slow Flowers Summit. Our theme this year is Flowers as Artists’ Muse, and in the conversation that follows, you’ll learn why we invited Frances to the Summit.

Frances Palmer is a renowned potter, gardener, photographer, cook, and beekeeper. Over the course of three decades, she has caught the attention not only of the countless people who collect and use her ceramics but also of designers and design lovers.

Pottery by Frances Palmer — (c) Frances Palmer

Life in the Studio book cover artwork Her pieces have been carried in dozens of stores and galleries, among them Barneys New York, Takashimaya, and the Neue Galerie. They have recently been exhibited at Object & Thing and her photographs at Wave Hill Garden in the Bronx. Frances has made special limited collections for Moda Operandi, Aerin Lauder, and MARCH in San Francisco.

In 2020, Artisan Books published Frances’ Life In the Studio. The book is as beautiful and unexpected as Palmer’s pottery, as breathtakingly colorful as her celebrated dahlias, and as intimate as the dinners she hosts in her studio for friends and family.

Find and follow Frances Palmer:
Frances Palmer Pottery on Facebook

Frances Palmer Pottery on Instagram

Order your copy of Life in the Studio

Her presentation takes place on Monday, June 27th (Day Two), followed by a Q&A and book-signing.

Click Here to Register for the Slow Flowers Summit

This week’s News

If you missed joining the May Slow Flowers member meet-up, last Friday, May 13th, check out the replay video, which I’ve posted in our Episode 558 show notes at slowflowerspodcast.com. In a Designer’s Preview of the upcoming Slow Flowers Summit, we welcomed Xenia D’Ambrosi of Sweet Earth Co. and TJ McGrath of TJ McGrath Design as each shared their floral enterprises and how they stay true to their individual missions. As a bonus, both showed off seasonal and sustainable floral design, discussed their individual design processes, and shared how they connect clients, customers, and their communities with the beauty and meaning of flowers. Click the replay video above — you’ll want to check it out!

Thank you to our Sponsors!

This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.

Thank you to our lead sponsor, returning for 2022, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.

Thanks to Store It Cold, creators of the revolutionary CoolBot, a popular solution for flower farmers, studio florists and farmer-florists. Save $1000s when you build your own walk-in cooler with the CoolBot system and an air conditioner. Don’t have time to build your own? They also have turnkey units available. Learn more at storeitcold.com.

Thanks to Details Flowers Software, a platform specifically designed to help florists and designers do more and earn more. With an elegant and easy-to-use system–Details is here to improve profitability, productivity, and organization for floral businesses of all shapes and sizes. Grow your bottom line through professional proposals and confident pricing with Details’ all-in-one platform. All friends of the Slow Flowers Podcast will receive a 7-day free trial of Details Flowers Software. Learn more at detailsflowers.com.

Thanks to CalFlowers, the leading floral trade association in California, providing valuable transportation and other benefits to flower growers and the entire floral supply chain in California and 48 other states. The Association is a leader in bringing fresh cut flowers to the U.S. market and in promoting the benefits of flowers to new generations of American consumers. Learn more at cafgs.org.

Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 849,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.

If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button in the column to the right.

Debra in the Slow Flowers Cutting Garden — Thank you for listening! Sending love, from my cutting garden to you! (c) Missy Palacol Photography

I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & the Slow Flowers Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time.

Music credits:
One Little Triumph; Turning on the Lights; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue

Lovely
by Tryad
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In The Field
audionautix.com

Posted in Book reviews, Creativity, floral design, Flower Farming, Gardening, Podcast Episodes, SLOW FLOWERS Podcast, Writing | No Comments »

Week 7 // Winter-blooming camellias paired with a Frances Palmer vase

Saturday, February 21st, 2015

Red garden camellias (Camellia japonica) and glossy green foliage look stunning as a single variety in my Valentine’s Day vase. I believe this is called the ‘anemone’ form, but the cultivar is unknown.

Welcome to Week 7 of the Slow Flowers Challenge!

My wonderful husband and our two sons gave me this beautiful vase for Valentine’s Day. It is a one-of-a-kind bud vase by Frances Palmer, a Connecticut-based ceramic artist whose work I admire greatly.

Prior to Valentine’s Day, Frances Palmer Pottery released a special limited edition collection of handmade white ceramic bud vases. There were only 36 in the series, so I knew they would go quickly. I hinted not so subtly to Bruce, asking if he would consider selecting one of the vases as my gift. When I opened it on V-Day, the card read: “Your wish is our command,” love Bruce, Benjamin and Alex.

You can really appreciate the classical form of the vase in this photograph.

I can’t think of a better gift for a flower-lover than an extraordinary vase in which to display favorite, seasonal stems – from the garden or the flower farm.

By now, you may realize I am obsessed with American-made vases as ideal vessels for containing American-grown flowers. When you know who the artisan or maker is behind the vase, it heightens your appreciation for that object.

We gain similar appreciation when we know the story of the flowers, including the farmer who grew those stems.

Another closeup with camellias against the creamy white glaze

In this case, my camellias are straight from the landscape. I live in a community of four houses – three are only 10 years old, including mine; one is from the 1950s. The landscape here is mature and I’m guessing this camellia dates back to the era when the first home here was built. It is tree-like in scale, prolific in bloom, and provides a distinct vegetative “screen” to the southern perimeter of our property.

As you may know, camellias aren’t long-lasting cut flowers. But over the years, I have found two things about camellias:

1. When they are cut in bud or only partially open, the flowers do last longer in the vase; and

2. When you have such an abundant source of flowers, you simply replace the spent blooms whenever you wish, at least during the four-week period when camellias are at their peak.

Back to our artist. Here is a statement from Frances Palmer’s web site, which tells a little more about her philosophy:

I don’t make or grow things to hold onto them, but rather to send them out into the world for others to live with and enjoy. My handmade ceramics are functional art – dishware or vases that can be used on a daily basis. Each piece, no matter how large or small, is considered and individual.

I am honored and happy to think that people across the USA are using my work when they gather in friendship to share a meal and good times.

More from Slow Flowers
Design 101: A very special vase.

“Summer Confections,” from my book, Slow Flowers. This design features local flowers with a Frances Palmer vase.

I was first introduced to the work of Frances Palmer when Stephen Orr profiled the American potter and her Connecticut cutting garden in Tomorrow’s Gardens. Then Frances appeared on Martha Stewart’s television show, where she discussed how she creates her exquisite one-of-a-kind vessels and dinnerware, including vases for the flowers she grows. Her delightful pottery style – classical with a touch of whimsy – is a floral designer’s dream come true.

Naturally, I set my sights on acquiring one of Frances’s pieces. I chose this fluted vase because of the generous diameter of its opening (nearly 5 inches). And to me, this butter-yellow glaze is a perfect foil for all sorts of flowers, but especially the zinnias and dahlias.

If you want to learn more about Frances Palmer, I recommend listening to this fabulous interview of her by Design*Sponge’s Grace Bonney on her “After the Jump” podcast.

Posted in American Grown, Blog Posts, Creativity, floral design, Gardening, General, Slow Flowers Challenge | No Comments »

SLOW FLOWERS: Week 33

Sunday, August 18th, 2013

SUMMER CONFECTIONS

The stars of this arrangement are the alluring ‘Queen Red Lime’ zinnias.

Ingredients:

5 stems Zinnia elegans ‘Queen Red Lime’, grown by Jello Mold Farm

5 stems Dahlia ‘Rebecca Lynn’ in flower and bud, grown by Jello Mold Farm

4 stems Sedum ‘Green Expectations’, grown by Jello Mold Farm

7 blades green millet (Setaria viridis), grown by Jello Mold Farm

5 stems golden ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Luteus’), grown by Jello Mold Farm

Vase:

8-inch tall x 5-inch diameter fluted vase by artist Frances Palmer

Potter, artist and flower-grower, Frances Palmer created this yummy buttercream vase.

Design 101

A very special vase: I was first introduced to the work of Frances Palmer when Stephen Orr profiled the American potter and her Connecticut cutting garden in Tomorrow’s Gardens. Then Frances appeared on Martha Stewart’s television show, where she discussed how she creates her exquisite one-of-a-kind vessels and dinnerware, including vases for the flowers she grows. Her delightful pottery style – classical with a touch of whimsy – is a floral designer’s dream come true.

Naturally, I set my sights on acquiring one of Frances’s pieces. For the vase-lover on a budget, her Pearl Collection reflects the artist’s signature style at everyday prices. I chose this fluted vase because of the generous diameter of its opening (nearly 5 inches). And to me, this butter-yellow glaze is a perfect foil for all sorts of flowers, but especially the zinnias and dahlias.

Posted in American Grown, Creativity, floral design, General, Plants, Slow Flowers: 52 Weeks, Writing | No Comments »