We are dedicated to providing New England with wild & whimsical floral arrangements and artisanal gift items. We specialize in weekly floral arrangements, curated gifting, and weddings & special events. Come visit us at our new shop location at 72 Ocean Street, Suite 105, South Portland, ME to really experience Petalage in full! We are here to inspire you inner creative!
My husband and I along with our dog and two cats are located in beautiful Portland, Maine. The rocky, New England, coast never ceases to inspire me. I started my floral business after I left my corporate career of 7 years in commercial property management. Within a short window of time I’ve built up to a brick & mortar studio shop in South Portland, ME where we run a full service floral design business.
I have a true and deep passion for design. It runs in my veins! Flowers just ended up becoming the gateway to create, expand my imagination, use my hands, and to give beauty in a world that needs it desperately.
My clients & patrons are the most important piece of what I do. I love the opportunity to connect with new people and create a partnership focused around something unique, romantic, and whimsical. It’s my priority to stand out and provide exceptional design & customer service while inspiring the people around me who appreciate our craft!
I am a born and raised East Coaster from Upstate, NY. I had been bopping all over the place for the past 10 years, but flowers have always been a constant. I taught science at a boarding school, then focused on flowers; tended a school garden at another boarding school, then returned to flowers. I traveled a bit, and still, flowers were a central part of my life. I kept falling back into the grasp and complexity of growing and arranging, the people I’ve met through it, and the joy the industry brings to clients.
For many years, it served as a placeholder for me— a place where I could figure out what was next. It took me a while to realize that working with flowers was where I was most confident and content. My hearts set on this part of the coast for a long while and I found a home here at Petalage, ready to use the local goodness for your weddings and provide you with the best retail arrangements too.
I was born and raised in small town Kansas and lived there for the first 24 years of my life! During college I started working at a flower shop in Manhattan, KS where my love of flowers was born. Color and whimsy were our best friends there and we churned out some really fun and wacky arrangements in our little shop. I left Kansas to live abroad in France with my partner Zach in 2020 but our time there was cut short due to the pandemic so we spent the next year and a half in upstate New York figuring out our next move. We took a spur of the moment trip to Maine in August of 2020 and a year later decided to move here because we loved it so much! We live in a shoebox apartment in downtown Portland with our 3-legged cat Ferdinand. I spend my days working from home, crafting, and watching old episodes of Survivor. It's been a breath of fresh air being on my feet and working with flowers again. It's been so fun diving into the world of Petalage and exploring a style that's completely new to me. The best moments are seeing someone's smile after they get a surprise arrangement delivered to them. I'm looking forward to learning more and more from Michelle and Alivia and seeing where my floral journey takes me!
