A JOYOUS INTRODUCTION!
Greetings!
My name is Mrs. Catherine Talley Townsend, M.A. I am the owner and creative director for Blue Ridge Lady Slipper Floral Design. That's me on the right. I have lived in the high country for 30+ years, working as a faculty member for AppState and, in tandem, working 17+ years in the high country's flower industry.
I began my career in floral design as an apprentice under a remarkably talented and established floral designer, and I fell in love with the art! The sensations of my hands plunged into buckets of blooms and my eyes dazzled and dizzy from the rich hues and endless varieties of flora seduced me effortlessly!
I graduated into a designer in my own right after six years of study and continued climbing the ladder until I decided to open a modest floral business of my very own in 2011.
That first little floral business had a respectable and satisfying 3 year run. Then I was offered a promotion from AppState. The promotion was quite alluring; temptation abounded. But it came at a price; I would have to choose between my identity as an educator and my identity as an artist. I would no longer be able to do both. I chose teaching. And thus said a bittersweet goodbye to my art and that first little business to make room for my students and new teaching responsibilities. That was a decade ago.
