Ladies of Lone Star is our blog series where we get up close and personal with the ladies who make it happen here at Lone Star Living. Our employees help make us who we are and have therefore helped our workplace culture bloom. We’re proud to have them as part of our Lone Star Living team.
Meet Our Floral Designer
A flower company just isn’t a flower company without a floral design guru.
That’s why this month we’re focusing on our very own Kris Kratt!
Since the start of Lone Star Living, Kris has been involved as our in-house floral designer.
Have you seen our recent holiday D.I.Y’s? Kris is the magic behind those masterpieces!
We wanted you to get to know what it’s like in the life of an LSL floral designer, so we asked Kris some “flowery” questions.
Q: How did you get started in the flower industry?
A: I have been a floral designer since I was 17! It’s the only job I have ever had, and I love it. When I started many years ago at a small shop in California, I never imagined that one day working with flowers would take me all over the world! Flowers have certainly been very, very good to me!
Q: How did you develop your own signature style?
A: My style has evolved over many years. Learning the basics in floral design school and practical experience working in a flower shop created a great foundation for me as a result, to grow and experiment with styles and techniques. For instance, I have always loved nature and using flowers in very organic styles. I also love flowers as an art form and being able to use them in unexpected ways.
Q: Where do you look for inspiration?
A: I find inspiration absolutely everywhere! I always look to nature first. For example, I look deeply at textures and shapes and how things grow, like tree roots and how the grass connects to the soil. Paying attention to nature’s forms and colors is fantastic inspiration. Additionally, I get major inspiration from hand-crafted accents and love adding things like decorative paper, yarn and fabrics within my designs.
Q: Can you walk us through some of the ways you incorporate your style into Lone Star Living bouquets?
A: Since I lived in Texas for many years, I love and appreciate the Texas lifestyle. Although I no longer live there, I have a big piece of that style always with me now. I like to bring my passion for flowers together with my love of home decor, as a result. Colors, textures and things that are comfortable to live with all are always in my mind.
Q: To date, what has been the coolest design you’ve worked on?
A: I feel so incredibly lucky to work with flowers in many different ways all over the world. I have a lot of favorites but one that really brought me a lot of joy was a large exhibition in Japan last year that was designed up 3 flights of stairs. It was very organic, all green, white and brown colors and it was titled “Roots.” In fact, I think it is a favorite because that natural style is where I feel most at home, even when designing on the other side of the world.
Q: What do you most enjoy about the Lone Star Living brand, and what would you say makes LSL different from other brands offered at H-E-B?
A: The Lone Star Living Bouquets are not only pretty, but the packaging for easy gifting is also so awesome!
Q: What’s your favorite flower, and what makes it better than the rest?
A: This is always the hardest question anyone could ask me! I love so many—it’s too difficult to just choose one flower! Ultimately, I do love Alstroemeria as one of my most favorite flowers. It comes in so many amazing colors and it lasts and lasts. We always have a vase of Alstroemeria at home on our kitchen counter because it makes me super happy!
Q: Tell us something about flowers we probably don’t already know.
A: Flower history lesson! Humans love flowers. In fact, stone drawings of flowers were found in ancient Egypt 120,000 years ago. They were celebrated in festivals in Roman times and, in China, were created in silk 2,000 years ago!
Q: Do you believe that flowers can affect our moods or are considered a form of self-care?
A: Absolutely! There’s been tons of research on how fresh flowers affect our mood by bringing nature indoors and up close. Without a doubt, they are not only good for our soul but are part of wellness practices through their fragrance and medicinal qualities.
Q: From the perspective of a flower, what advice would you give yourself?
A: Grow strong roots and you will bloom big and beautiful.
Now you’ve gotten to know Kris once and floral. We are grateful to have Kris Kratt here, at Lone Star Living and we thank her for all that she does!
To see some of Kris’s holiday D.I.Y designs, click here and don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly emails.