Interview conducted by Rebekah Lodos
Alison Montecinos-Johnson built Solstice Floral Studio from scratch in her Lawrence home, propelled by a sense that this is what she was “meant to do.” Now, with the children grown up, she wants to go full force ahead. Kansas Weddings sat down to get to know her.
Kansas Weddings: How did you get into the flower business?
Alison Montecinos-Johnson: It was kind of an accident. I was at school at KU for graphic design, and I needed to have a job too, because I was paying for everything. So, I got a job at Hy-Vee in the floral department. I thought, “That’d be fun.” I’ve always liked flowers. I learned from a man there who was very… well, he’d send his work all over the world.
I had three years left of part-time school and work, and I was like, “I like this better than graphic design!” But I was so far into it, I just finished my degree. From that experience I realized just how much I loved it and how my traditional art education influenced the way that I chose flowers, and combined things the way that most people didn’t. That’s what I was meant to do. I just loved it. So, then I started my own thing in 2006.
KW: You said graphic design influenced your floral design. In what way?
AM: KU is really big on grids – it’s the way that things are laid out. You learn to see the way
that things play off of each other, and the way you can control where the eye moves by where
you place type, or what size the type is. So those principles I applied to floral design. And they
were crazy about craftsmanship, so it made me super meticulous about it. I’m kind of a super
perfectionist anyway, but it really amplified that, so I’m all about the little details, making sure
everything’s perfect.
KW: What are some of your favorite flowers?
AM: My favorite flower is called a cobra lily. It’s a carnivorous plant. I love lady slipper orchids,
they’re very structural. But then I love ranunculi. Any kind of pods or berries, or anything with
just tons of texture is what I love.
KW: I’ve seen a lot of brides who want a modern, more minimalist look to their wedding. Usually, we associate big bouquets and centerpieces with more traditional types of weddings. Why do you think it’s important for couples to have fresh flowers on their big day?
AM: They’re in every single picture that you’re going to have forever. And they kind of tell a piece of the story, just like your wedding dress tells a piece of the story. And I think that they just help to, years down the road, talk about what was beautiful and important at that time. My mom always talks about her wedding bouquet and how it had green spider mums and stephanotis … But those flowers, because they play a role in such an important day in your life – you have like a sentimental attachment to them. It’s a part of all those first decisions you guys make together as a couple.
KW: What should brides avoid that’s clichéd or overdone?
AM: I know a lot of people don’t like carnations. I do like carnations, but done in the right way.
But I just don’t like gerbera daisies, or daisy poms. I know in Kansas this is like blasphemy, but
I’m not a big fan of sunflowers. They just create big, flat dead spots.
KW: Roses?
AM: No, I love roses. I’ll occasionally find someone who doesn’t like a rose, but no, I love
roses. They come in so many colors.
KW: What’s your favorite rose?
AM: I don’t know if I can pick one – some of the blushes are really beautiful. Like a White
O’Hara is really beautiful. There’s a new one called Earl Grey that’s grey with purple undertones, it’s kind of antique-y. It’s got a high petal count, it opens really big.
KW: You often have to work within given color schemes. What’s the worst color scheme you’ve ever had to work with?
AM: For me, I like things that have a really tight color palette. Somebody who wants tons and
tons of different colors is not as much my thing. There are two ways to approach an arrangement: you can approach it with color as dominate and texture as submissive. Or, when you make the color more submissive by making it monochromatic, then the texture speaks like crazy, which is more what I’m about.
KW: Let me run a trend by you. What do you think about plumage in arrangements?
AM: I like anything that makes your wedding unique – let’s make it you, you know? You can
have it be blush and cream with touches of burgundy, which is super popular and has been, but
now let’s add something to it that makes it different, that makes it you.
KW: What are the hot trends right now?
AM: I think those big, open, more elongated bridal bouquets are starting to be what’s more in
style right now, and I like them because the flowers get room to breathe, so you really get to see
each flower, as opposed to like it all clinched together. The woodland look is really big. Texture
is really big: lots of loose, open greenery kind of stuff. That’s what’s on trend right now.
KW: There are many different types of brides: some are laid back, others are perfectionists. What’s your favorite type of person to work with?
AM: I like somebody who really trusts my eye… Because, really, I’m an artist, and you’re going
to get the best work out of me when you allow me some artistic freedom and interpret what your style is. Do you have a theme? Let me see some pictures of the things you love. And I can get the feel of the look that they’re going for, and then interpret that in my own way. A bride that really trusts me.
