THE SHY FLOWER

When Lanie Coldwell opens the door to The Shy Flower floral studio in Hubbard Woods’ design district, sunshine pours in and the scent of fresh flowers pours out. Arranged hither and thither on worktables throughout, fluffy white ranunculus nod in the breeze, next to cream and peach poppies, purple and green parrot tulips, ruffled green lemonade roses, and little sprays of grape hyacinth adorned with lacy ferns. Tucked in the corner of the Tower Court artist’s alley, this charming space is where Coldwell creates the artistic arrangements and teaches the floral classes that have made The Shy Flower so popular for North Shore flower lovers.

“This is far better than working out of my home, where we had flowers spilling over every surface, including my kids’ air hockey and ping pong tables!” laughs Coldwell, who started The Shy Flower in her basement in January 2021.

She comes by her floral passion naturally. Growing up in a large Southern family whose matrons gardened and arranged what they grew, Coldwell’s formative years were flower-filled.

“I had two amazing grandmothers,” says Coldwell, “one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the other in Chattanooga, Tennessee where I grew up. I have many flower memories from both of them. My Louisiana grandmother used to hand pollinate her yellow and pink ‘four o’clock’ flowers so that the seeds would produce blooms striped with yellow and hot pink the next summer. It was slow work, but was really fun to see the flowers bloom the next year.”

Meanwhile, Coldwell’s Tennessee grandmother, affectionally known as “Brooksie,” loved to entertain, her tables set with full silver services and arrangements of cut flowers from her garden. “Roses and hollyhocks, different kinds of lilies and, in the spring, Lily of the Valley,” Coldwell remembers. “She used to make me little dolls from hollyhock blossoms. And she was on the altar guild at the Episcopal church. So on Saturdays, if I was lucky, I got to go with her to help carry the buckets while she’d be up on the ladder arranging the altar flowers.

But even more influential, Brooksie learned the art of Ikebana, the meditative practice of Japanese flower arranging. Her Ikebana texts and vases were passed on to Coldwell, who followed in her grandmother’s footsteps and became certified in the art herself. “I trained in the Ohara School of Ikebana under Yuko Inoue-Darcy, president of the Chicago Chapter, and hold an instructor-level certificate,” says Coldwell.

“I think what I love about Ikebana is that it is a meditative art,” shares Coldwell. “Also, having a math degree, I love that Ikebana prescribes proportions for each part of what you do, the angle at which you place each flower or stem. You create triangles and shapes as you work that look very natural in the finished arrangement but are actually quite calculated in their placement.”

Prior to opening The Shy Flower, Coldwell was busy raising her three children but nurtured her interest in everything floral by volunteering to take school field trip groups to the Chicago Botanic Garden. She then worked at Evanston’s Bloom3 flower shop and started taking professional florist classes. When her kids were older, she took the leap to launch the business, naming it The Shy Flower in a casual reference to a principal she loved in Ikebana: “The term refers to the flower that sits behind the focal point. It is meant to stand in the background and highlight the arrangement.”

The Shy Flower is a perfect metaphor for Coldwell’s approach not only to her business but also to life. “There are so many times when you can do the smallest thing on the side or in the background and it makes all the difference,” she says. “People face so many hardships, my family included, and I think when we take a little time to recognize the small things we can do to help in the background, we change the world for the better.”

The arrangements Coldwell sells online are not Ikebana but are made with similar intentionality and underpinnings of mathematical principles. They have a natural feel to them, artistic and dancing with movement. Coldwell sources her blooms primarily through local wholesalers using the sustainable guidelines she admires from the Slow Flowers Society. Once flowers for arrangements have arrived and are properly hydrated, The Shy Flower team gets to work creating and then delivering the finished arrangement.

“There is nothing better than meeting someone at their door who is not expecting you, and seeing their face light up when they realize you are delivering flowers,” says Coldwell.

When not arranging flowers, Coldwell is often prepping for one or another of the classes she offers. Some sheer fun and others practical, they range from flower arranging classes that change topically each month to immersive sessions in “flower bathing”— the meditative practice of steeping all senses in the scent, sight, and touch of flowers while creating an arrangement. She often holds private events such as a recent bachelorette party that featured flower wearables and is working out details for upcoming kids’ summer flower camp sessions.

Coldwell says the work is challenging but also rewarding. “Floral work is surprisingly physical, often not the glamourous thing that people imagine,” she observes. “I learn something new every day. And just as the forsythia I have behind my house needs a little pruning as it grows, there are always tweaks I am making with The Shy Flower. But no matter how a day is going, when you are working with flowers you can’t help but feel good.”

For more information, or to sign up for classes, visit theshyflower.com.