Long before Main Street was such a coveted retail address, one of Vancouver's institutions, Flower Factory moved in, and has been making beautiful floral bouquets and stunning floral installations for many an event, wedding and charity since. Next week marks their 20th anniversary. So amazing!

We dropped by this week and hung out with owner Gloria Cheung, where she graciously shared a super-easy wreath DIY idea to share on Poppytalk!  Using a grapevine wreath as a base, this project is not only easy but everything also will last a very long time! Yes even the roses!


Psssst! If you are in the Vancouver area, the Flower Factory is hosting a couple of wreath making workshops this season, the first is on Saturday, December 3rd/16 (11-12:30) at Figaro's Garden. Click HERE for more info. And the second will be held at Flower Factory's shop on Main - date TBA. Both workshops will be making a more traditional wreath.

But if you're interested in making the one like we made yesterday, check out the how-to below (and stay tuned for a couple more sweet holiday floral-inspired projects coming soon)!




We were inspired by the wreaths Gloria made for Tamara Taggart last year (which we posted about here), and using that as a starting point, Gloria came up with this magical combination. Here's what you need.


Materials Needed
1 Grapevine Wreath base
Dollar Eucalyptus
Cotton Stems
Preserved Roses or fresh flowers
Pine Cones
Crab apples on stems
Florist wire
Wood faux stems with wire  (see image below)
Florist tape

All supplies are available at the Flower Factory here in Vancouver (3604 Main Street).  See at the bottom of this post for directions and contact info. And also a little tour of the shop!

Special wooden stems with wire attached to create faux stems - available at Flower Factory

To start, cut various sizes of the dollar eucalyptus (approx.  5 to 7 inches) and place by intertwining between the vines into the wreath in different directions as you go. This creates a more fuller effect. Do this until you have filled up the desired space around the wreath. You can go half way around like Gloria did for us, or fill out the entire wreath if you prefer.




To add in the cotton, cut off the stems at the top (just under the cotton), leaving enough of the stem on to wrap a wire to it. Using a special wooden stem with wire, and once wrapped, wind with florist tape to look like a real stem. Check out our Instagram Stories which we will post early morning (Pacific time) to see how Gloria does this step. Repeat until desired amount of cotton stems are created. Place into the wreath, securing by winding the wire around a piece of one of the vines. Continue until all are placed.




Do the same with the flowers. Gloria used preserved roses for this project, which are real roses that have been preserved and will not wilt, so no water vials are needed.  They are about twice the amount of a regular rose, but so amazing right? If you wanted to go with a fresh flower, Gloria says you can get special water vials (available at the Flower Factory) that are thinner that work well for being able to fit in between the wreath vines. The fresh flowers will last approximately 3 days in the vials. The preserved roses last forever.


Add in some crab apples here and there into the wreath (the stems again were trimmed, wired and taped).   These really add a festive feel to the wreath.




And finally add some pinecones if you like,  however you could just leave it as is if you wish also.  The result is a stunning fresh and modern wreath for the holidays! So simple right? 


Here's a few photos we took inside the shop!

Love all these air plants!

Stay tuned for another holiday-inspired floral project Gloria showed us how to make coming very soon!

Flower Factory
Drop by: 3604 Main Street, Vancouver BC V5V 3N5   (the corner of Main St. and 20th Ave.)
Phone: 604.871.1008
Email:
General inquiries and orders: info@flowerfactory.ca  
(if your order is within 48 hours of the delivery day it must be called in)
Weddings: weddings@flowerfactory.ca
Accounting: accounting@flowerfactory.ca
Facebook: theffactory
Instagram:  @flowerfactory
Twitter: @FlowerFactoryCa
Hours:
Monday to Saturday  10am – 6pm
Sunday  11am – 5pm