WILTON — Kathleen Chenery began her wooden flower business, SKC Sola Creations in 2021 as a hobby and a form of therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic when she couldn’t go home to the Philippines and visit her family.

Since that beginning, she has become known and her business has flourished and grown.

Chenery recently shared information about SKC Sola Creations with the Livermore Falls Advertiser.

So much has grown/changed in the last three years, she said. “First, my social media following has grown so much this year and many people in Farmington/Wilton area already know about my wood flowers,” she noted. “Some others recognize me by face which is surprisingly amusing for me. Some clients have became friends and a few became really close friends like almost family. This I believe is because of the power of word of mouth.”

Rustic Elegance and Peak Nutrition in Farmington now carry items crafted by Chenery as does Vera’s Iron and Vine in Wilton. She also has wood flower items at LocalCentric ,a gift shop in Gray. “Majority of my orders though comes in thru Facebook,” she noted. “Some clients email or inquire through my website [currently a landing page for people to look up my work and how to contact me].”

The process in making these wood flower pieces is fun, but what really draws Chenery in are the memories they bring or give to her clients and to herself. “The meaning and stories behind each creation and the smiles I see every time they see the flowers,” she explained. “The excitement and reaction after knowing they are not real flowers but made of wood. All these are the reasons I love what I’m doing with these wood flowers.”

The techniques Chenery uses for creating pieces have improved and she is now able to create items faster than when she first started. She has kept track, knows which items are best sellers or not selling compared to when first starting out. Creations that have recently sold the best are now available in Farmington/Wilton area stores. “Of course I am no expert and I am still fairly new on this venture but ready and eager to learn and grow better each day along our ever changing world,” she said.

Chenery has released a few new pieces this year. “These are the Mother’s Day frame [where I use vinyl cut name of mom’s garden and her children as stems with their birth flowers on it], the car vent oil diffuser bottle with wood flower to diffuse the essential oil and the wood flower succulents [new paint technique used and color combinations] in animal planters,” she noted. “These are all giftable items or home/office décor category. I have been always searching and planning on new items to offer each year to keep my audience/clients engaged and excited.”

No special tool are required to make the wood flowers, Chenery stated. Materials she uses are sheets from the plant “shola” (Aeschynomene aspera), scissors, pencil [optional], crochet thread, water in water bottle spray, paint [optional] and hot glue. “The sheets are the main material and can be bought online and abroad,” she said. “Depending on the style of the flower, I cut them into whatever shape is needed and then assemble through all petals in one bunch to make a flower using the thread. I sometimes use the hot glue for more hold and security. Sometimes, I paint the petals before assembling them, cutting the process shorter.”

While the main items in every piece are the wooden flowers, Chenery also uses other materials such as the vessel or the vase [can be ceramic, glass or wooden] with her creations. “I also use faux greenery or preserved/dried greenery that I buy online or from craft stores,” she said. “Wire stems are also used to make it look closer to being real. And of course other embellishments like ribbons and faux fillers to complete the overall look.”

Recently, Chenery has enjoyed making the Hawthorne flower for the Mother’s Day frames and sunflowers and lilies! All these are special orders. I don’t make a lot of them only when there is a special request. Special request are just special for me, it holds meaning and sentiments sometimes and I feel honored to be able to make a special gift or item for such memorable moment.

For an average size arrangement or project it takes one to two hours minimum, Chenery said. “It also depends on how complicated the request and how many items I need to make,” she noted. “If there will be a lot of items to make, I outsource the flowers themselves from different small business to make the process faster and also to help other businesses. A small wood flower succulent in an animal planter doesn’t take long to create [30-35 minutes average]. I also have this process which I call “batch making” or “step by step making” where I paint all flowers, then stem them, then arrange them. This process makes it easier and more organized for me.”

When asked about the longest time Chenery has put into a creation she told of using almost one day to create mini bouquets for a local dance studio’s dance recital. “I am a one woman show and I don’t have any help in the creative side of the business so I do everything from start to finish,” she explained. “That was a fun project but exhausting.”

For most custom orders Chenery likes to have a working time of about one to two weeks depending on the size of the project. “Weddings I prefer to finish one to two months before the wedding date and should be booked at least six months before the wedding date,” she said.

Someday Chenery wants to have her own brick and mortar wood flower shop. She envisions it as a place where people can browse and shop their favorite wood flowers, make memories and in general bring happiness to everyone around. Another goal is to grow more and learn as her business grows.

“I hope I can sustain through the coming years and be able to accomplish our mission/vision,” she added.

For more information visit https://skcsolacreations.square.site/.