LOGAN SQUARE — An artist who shifted her floral design business online during the pandemic has opened an in-person studio In Logan Square to showcase her creations and host workshops.
Artist Amanda Forgash, of Humboldt Park, opened the Petalpushr studio at 3013 W. Armitage Ave. earlier this month.
Forgash was creating fresh flower designs for weddings when the pandemic hit and brought the industry to a standstill. Forgash pivoted, starting Petalpushr, through which she creates arrangements and sculptures using dried plants instead of fresh ones and selling them online.
“I had to think about how I could make this work for me,” Forgash told Block Club last year. “It is such a shame that after you create something artful with floral, with fresh floral, it’s gone in a week. So I wanted something that had longevity and could be used in more of a permanent art installation and sculptural piece. So I started working with dried florals.”
Now, Forgash has been able to return to in-person work with her studio. She’s already hosted two floral design workshops there where people learn about floral arrangements and get to take home their creation.
The space can hold up to eight people per workshop, and classes usually last 90 minutes. For each session, Forgash teaches concepts such as color theory and principles of design; provides all materials, including clippers and vases; and offers food and drink like mimosas, cold brew and pastries.
“I always provide drinks and food and create an environment where people feel really comfortable to get to know each other, because you are working next to somebody on the workbench,” Forgash said.
Credit: Jacob Hand PhotographyForgash hopes these workshops give people a chance to flex their creative muscles and make something they are proud of, she said.
Forgash’s first round of workshops focused on colorful, dried arrangements. Upcoming sessions are all about fresh, mossy florals, she said.
“All of the [dried] arrangements were absolutely stunning, and I have several people from that class who have signed up for my next round,” Forgash said. “I think that’s a testament that they enjoyed it.”
Future workshop could focus on making floral domes, terrariums and more seasonal pieces, like wreaths in the fall, Forgash said.
“I have lots of ideas flowing; it’s just getting the word out,” Forgash said. “People just seem really excited about it.”
Forgash looks forward to interacting more closely with customers and having a space to house her work, which she couldn’t do while she was online, she said.
The Petalpushr studio is filled with plants and dried, colorful florals and displays — eyecatchers in an otherwise minimal and neutral studio.
“I have storefront windows so I can do rotating displays,” Forgash said. “I like to do these big [hanging plant] clouds, and before I was designing them on the rod of my shower curtain.”
You can sign up for workshops and browse Forgash’s shop here or on Instagram.
Credit: Leen Yassine/Block Club Chicago
Credit: Leen Yassine/Block Club Chicago
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