Keith Kralik
Flower Press Studio
Flower designer
Paonia, CO, USA
Botanical bursts
- A lifelong love of nature has inspired Keith’s creative practice
- He transforms seasonal blooms into intricate, pressed flower compositions
- Through his craft, he prizes seasonality and preservation of the natural environment
Keith Kralik has always been drawn to the details of the natural world. He expanded this practice with his partner Rachel Parri, experimenting with backyard-grown flowers, making friends with small-scale flower farmers and salvaging wedding blooms that would have otherwise gone to waste. Pressing thousands of flowers, they refined their technique and launched Flower Press Studio in 2021, making pressed flower compositions that celebrate seasonal materials and invite a slower, more attentive way of engaging with nature. “Once you start pressing flowers, you begin to see the natural world differently,” Keith says. “Walking through a park, you notice weeds, plants, herbs and little details you would have overlooked before. Now, I look at these elements and think, 'I can imagine how that will look once pressed.'”
INTERVIEW
I would pick one or two wildflowers, grasses or weeds that I found while walking, press them, and make small designs for my partner's birthdays. Eventually, I found pressing flowers and composing with them to be extremely satisfying and relaxing. I realised that if something interests me, I should just do it. Hobbies do not have to be expensive. I started small and learned as I went.
The intention from the beginning was always to make my own work. At first, wedding bouquet commissions were a way to keep learn, build relationships with florists and farmers, and create a sustainable practice while still developing my own designs. Over time, that gave me the confidence to pursue my own creative practice.
In my craft, I have to understand each flower individually: its moisture content, pigments and response to pressure. I only get one shot at pressing, and some flowers stay exactly as they were in the garden, while others completely transform. The process is about embracing change and observing nature closely.
Having a garden lets me work with flowers at a much more intimate level. I spent the first couple of years rebuilding the soil, weeding and planting, letting everything grow and establish itself. Now I am paying attention to what is coming up, pressing things like poppies and flax, and experimenting with how those materials shape my work.
Keith Kralik
Flower Press Studio
Flower designer
Paonia, CO, USA
ADDRESS
Address upon request, Paonia, CO, USA
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
English
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