Kristina Lemon began buying flowers for herself each week about three years ago.
It became an act of self-care and something she’d been doing for others for more than two decades, arranging and gifting flowers to family and friends.
“It’s just been my thing. ‘Oh, call Kristina, she’ll take care of it,’” Lemon said.
“ And then when you start to find yourself doing the same thing over and over again, that you really find you love it’s like, why am I not just doing that?”
Lemon started tilling the soil for her new flower studio about three years ago before finding a space to open Sticks & Stones Co. at 631 Sherman St., Unit 2 in Ridgway, in the former location for Dragonfly Creative.
She began looking for a space right after moving here from Seattle, where she worked as a landscape designer, a field in which she spent more than 25 years. She found herself inspired by the mountainous landscape and Ridgway’s community of creatives and business collaborators.
“It felt like a really welcoming place to be in a town that’s kind of hungry. I think they’re hungry for the culture, the different opportunities for buying stuff here,” Lemon said.
Rather than a standard flower shop, she opened Sticks & Stones as a flower studio, more centered around production and design. She said studios aren’t typically open to the public, but she’s excited to have her doors open.
“I feel like my concept being an open studio was even more fun because I could engage people,” she said.
She also plans to host events like flower design workshops.
Lemon considers her floral designs more wild and nature-driven, mirroring her environment.
“I think people (here) really have a different sense of what flowers are, because we drive around and we see it. It’s just all integrated, and I think that flair is what I really bring to the table,” she said.
Many of her designs include locally foraged greens like willow and rabbitbrush.
“You should be able to look at your flowers and have some connection to the fact that you are in this part of Colorado, the Southwest,” she said.
But she also said she’s open to bringing in flowers from across the country or globe, depending on the customer.
“You’re not just tied to mums and roses,” she said.
A handful of her first customers are real estate agents, property managers and local inns and lodges, which have subscriptions to get arrangements routinely.
She’s excited to already see the impact of her designs at locales like Greenwood’s restaurant, which has one of her arrangements on display.
“It’s an experience people are commenting on, and I just think it’s just a little something extra,” she said.
The studio offers a wide variety of designs, all of which are arranged in unique vessels. Right now most of her arrangements come in locally sourced vintage wares, but she’s working on partnering with local pottery and artist groups for their glass and ceramic wares.
On Fridays she’s excited to offer a $30 in-store special: a bundled selection of leftover inventory called “Wrye’s Wraps,” named after her dog who often helps sniff out flowers on foraging adventures and hangs out in the studio.
For more information, visit sticksstones-co.com.
