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Extra Features and Video Online FloristsReview.com 11 Looking back, Alpaugh says she realized how connected she was to flowers and how they punctuated every important moment in her life, both happy and sad. However, "I hadn't followed a single florist on Instagram before and had no idea what I was doing." For a year, the new designer struggled to make a profit and spent most of her money learning how to handle and arrange flowers. "I was really distraught and felt like I had failed," she reports. "It wasn't until I was at the bottom of my bank account and, honestly, feeling utterly hopeless that FLWR PSTL was born." An artist at heart, Alpaugh began using the paints, dyes and art supplies she already had on hand to make something completely unique. "So, I started playing 'mad scientist' in my dining room," she explains. "I wanted to be the Willy Wonka of flowers. And that's shortly after can be summed up in one word: unreal. "I was really anxious about how the floral community would react [to the Irithurium]," she confides. "I sent my flowers to several of my fellow competitors from Full Bloom and a few other friends, and the response was overwhelmingly positive." Haus of Stems has since launched a retail component, shipping "Irithuriums" nationwide, when FLWR PSTL started getting noticed." So much so that a casting director reached out to Alpaugh to see if she would be interested in being on the first season of Full Bloom, HBO Max's flower design competition reality show. "I loved every moment of participating on the show—even the tearful ones," Alpaugh relates. "It made me a much more well- rounded botanical artist. I walked away having done gigantic installations—I'd never worked on a crane before—and I made a ton of new best friends." For Alpaugh, opening Haus of Stems and Alpaugh has begun the process of patenting her signature Anthurium painting process. So, what's next? "I can tell you that we plan to expand our hand-painted botanical line," she reports. " You will have to stay tuned!" In the meantime, Alpaugh will continue to push the boundaries of creativity and share her passion with the world. "To me, when happiness is shared, it's doubled. Art brings joy, and the world can always use more of that." To learn more about Alpaugh's "Irithuriums" and Haus of Stems, visit the company's website, hausofstems.com, and check out Instagram @hausofstems. I h o p e t o c o n ti n u e b l u r r i n g t h e l i n e s b etw e e n f i n e a r t a n d f l o r i s t r y. T h e p o s si b i l i ti e s a r e e n d l e s s , a n d I f e e l l i k e I 'm j u s t b e g i n n i n g . '' '' Photos, opposite page: Hailey Millar; this page: Anita Vuong of Guided by Flowers

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