The Studio
My name is Tweeny Kau and I am a florist, letterpress printer, and lover of handmade crafts. I live in Santa Monica with my high school sweetheart and hubby, Josh Jones. I have a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, but more importantly, a certificate in Floral Design from the New York Botanical Garden! In my previous life, I have worked as a cancer biologist and a clerk at my parents' Hallmark store in Northern Virginia.
The Flower Lab was founded in 2007, and we are a floral design studio specializing in wedding and event floristry. (Sorry, no everyday bouquets, arrangements, or deliveries!) We initially worked from a home-based studio, but after three years, we moved into a commercial/retail space in downtown Santa Monica. We are by appointment only, located at:
1431 7th Street
Suite 102
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Today, The Flower Lab is comprised of three women: me, Una Yeh, and Tiffany Hampton. Tiffany has been working with me since the first year of business and specializes in delivery and set-up. Una joined the team at the end of 2010 and has been helping with the floral arranging in addition to delivery and set-up. With these awesome women, it doesn't feel like work to me, but rather hanging out and sharing laughs while we get in deep and dirty with the flowers or sweat our bottoms off setting up!
People often ask me why I decided to leave science to pursue flowers. Well, it definitely was not an easy decision to make and probably took about 2 years to make the move. Although working in the lab was challenging, enjoyable, and afforded me a certain amount of autonomy, I also just wanted to do my own "creative" thing. So after working in the lab for several years as a student and then a post-doctoral researcher, I borrowed a line from my sister and said to myself, "Life is too short!" and took the plunge. Sometimes my training as a scientist actually comes in handy, and starting a small business has been challenging as well as a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoy meeting all my clients and learning about them!
I hope you find some creative inspiration for your wedding in some of the blog posts here! There are posts of real weddings and events we have done recently. And hopefully my random musings of non-floral related items will be somewhat interesting too.
Any questions or comments, feel free to direct them to info[at]theflowerlab[dot]com!
Happy wedding or party planning!
Tweeny
