So we are officially in our new location and although we are still working on little decorating details we are fully functioning as normal. The weekend we moved in we had three weddings (and my two little girls were flower girls in one of them- yeah!) so the production room got all of our attention. I can now focus on the fun stuff- decorating the showroom! As I mentioned earlier, we will be having an open house and will keep you posted. But, please visit us anytime to see what new and cool floral designs we are coming up with in our new inspiring space.

For anyone living or working in the downtown LA area - or anyone up to a metro train ride into Downtown to explore- come visit our boutique in the Jonathan Club on the corner of 5th and Figueroa. Tenely and Malorie are busy making beautiful arrangements just waiting for you to take home or send to someone.

These are just a few examples of what you might find on our tables at our LA shop.

Semi-recently we were invited to a soft opening of a new restaurant on 7th called Bottega Louie, which opened up a couple of months ago and is fantastic (food and decor- they just need some fresh flowers in there!)- think Dean and Deluca for the West Coast. If you have not ventured into Downtown LA lately try to make a trip out of it. All the traditional places are still there- Taquitos at Alvera Street; French dips at Phillipe's, pancakes at The Pantry (my mom's personal fav); Grand central Market- but there are so many new and exciting things happening between art shows/gallery openings and new restaurants and music venues. We are excited to be a part of it!

so, I have a blog.....Welcome!

So...this is my first post and just a warning- I am not a techi kind of person....flowers are more my thing! It doesn't seem like college was that long ago (but I guess it was--denial!) but somehow I made it through without email or even my own computer! So, to have my very own blog is pretty amazing!

OK- I hope I didn't date myself by my previous comment (I'm not that old!!!) but a little about myself: Graduated Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture and went to work for a pretty reputable florist in the Pasadena area. After about 4 years there my own personal design and party work was getting to be too much to handle, plus a full time job at the before mentioned florist. My then boyfriend (now husband!) encouraged me to start my own business.

I started small- I mean, real small! My dad is very handy and built me a little studio on their property in a beautiful canyon in Sierra Madre. That lasted about 9 months! I soon outgrew my very cute little studio and moved into a historic adobe building nearby. My weddings and events just kept getting bigger and more frequent and soon I had full time employees! My husband and I got married, renovated a 1931 canyon bungalow... life was busy but good!

in 2005, a fantastic opportunity came up to open a retail location in Pasadena. It was fantastic- I got to design the store from the floor up and create a great place to show our work, meet with clients, showcase the beautiful flowers and offer really unique gifts. My husband left his job in the financial market to be "Mr. Ixora" and we had our first baby girl, Violet (how appropriate, right?) 3 months before we opened the doors. In September of 2007 we opened our second store at the Jonathan Club ...and had our second little baby girl, Faye (or Faye-B as we like to call her).

Our clients have been great and the events get better and better every year. I would like to thank everyone that we have worked with in the past and hope that you will check in to my blog frequently to see what is new and happening in the Ixora world! I plan to post all our current events and hopefully offer some "professional advise" on the ever-changing and beautiful world of flowers and design. Oh and by the way...our official new and improved web site will be launched by the end of July!!!!!