As a photographer, I have strong opinions about anything visual, especially flowers. Flowers and websites. We’ll get to the websites later, but lets talk about flowers first. As a wedding photographer, I have seen a lot of the same old-same old weekend after weekend. Occasionally flowers are so unique and interesting to me that I have to step back and take notice. I’ve mentioned a few notable exceptions in the past and today I’d like to point out another.

Meet Karmen.

Karmen recently began Orchid & Willow: Contemporary Floral Design I had the pleasure of working with Karmen when she styled for my shoot of the Sari Bari quilts. I was really impressed with her eye and her creativity.

She asked me to shoot a few photos for her website and this is a sampling of what I shot. Isn’t she GORGEOUS?

Since I didn’t have any photos of Karmen’s floral work, only her quilt stylings, I took the liberty of stealing these photos she posted on her facebook page. These are arrangements she did for last Friday’s opening of Cerulean Indianapolis. The idea of my favorite restaurant and my favorite florist collaborating makes me all kinds of giddy. These arrangements aren’t the kind of thing that blends into the background. You have to stop, stare, notice the textures and shapes, and sometimes wonder where in the world Karmen gets these incredible visions from! I LOVE these arrangements!

Just to reiterate, I did not shoot the floral photos. I poached them.
I only take credit where credit is due. 

I also had the privilege of doing some photos for Karmen’s husband! Here are Karmen and Chris together…

It’s not often that there are two entrepreneurs in one family. It’s risky enough to start your own small business, but two have one family start two small businesses is not for the faint of heart. However, Chris and Karmen are both so talented, it’d be silly for them to not follow their passions and dreams!

Chris is the owner of Studio 625 a web design and development company in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Since the Fall of 2009, Chris has been working to create unique and user friendly web experiences.

This is Chris’ business partner, Jacob.

These two are friendly and not too techy to be personable. They are a great resource for anyone who needs a website and will deal with you in a way that is professional and reliable without being too corporate or talking above your head.

They’re basically the exact opposite of Nick Burns.

Do all three of these awesome small businesses a favor! Go like the pages for Orchid & Willow: Contemporary Floral Design,  Cerulean Indianapolis, and Studio 625 on Facebook. Please support these local businesses with your business whenever you can. Not just because it’s good for the local economy, but because they’re awesome people who will work hard to take care of you! And who doesn’t love great service?