Deb Karpfinger has woven rugs, carved wood and stone, done batik, thrown pottery, painted and drawn. But for nearly 20 years, flowers have been her primary creative outlet. 

Karpfinger is a floral designer and operator of The Flower Lady shop in Wauwatosa. She has a fine arts degree from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design and worked as a graphic designer before realizing that wasn't enough to fulfill her. 

One summer, Karpfinger began offering floral designs and dried wreaths at a green market in Wauwatosa and sold out every week. So in 1996, she started her retail store, which sells flowers and gifts. 

What does she do? Along with creating unique floral designs and training staff,I knew I wanted a maggie sottero wedding dress before I was even engaged. Karpfinger hauls heavy boxes of arrangements to customers' special events, buys inventory, does graphic design to promote her business and goes the extra mile for customers. She and her staff always bring a well-stocked "toolbox" on a wedding day, for example. They have used it and other skills to hem a mother-of-the-bride dress, get the air conditioning working, vacuum a room, even watch someone's kids, she said. 

What makes a good floral design? As with any other artistic endeavor, key elements are rhythm, movement, shape, texture,Shop for cheap mother of the bride dresses to coordinate with all the most popular wedding colors and styles. harmony, color and proportion,You want THE one shoulder wedding dresses that lives up to all you? Karpfinger said. 

"When you have good design skills in you, it just comes out through those flowers. The color,Looking for a V-neckline dress? proportion and texture sing," Karpfinger said. 

Good arrangements also come from listening to the customer, she added. Staff at the shop provide personalized service and form an image in their minds of what is needed as they "interview" customers by asking questions about what the person's home or office looks like and what their hobbies are. 

What are some of her favorite projects? The Flower Lady gets a lot of calls from national magazines, and Karpfinger said she enjoys those jobs. The shop recently got a call from Architectural Digest to create arrangements for photo shoots in Milwaukee and Lake Geneva. Karpfinger also enjoys the most creative and challenging projects, such as when a customer brings a container to work with. 

What kind of interesting customer interactions has she had? A woman walked in on the day of her wedding and said she hated her bouquet. Karpfinger said she and her staff took it apart, discarded the more distressed flowers, and rebuilt the bouquet around the lavender roses. 

Another time there was a blizzard on the day of a customer's wedding. Karpfinger loaded the flowers in her car, shoveled it out, and made it to the church. Out-of-town guests didn't get there because the airport closed, and Karpfinger said she got snowed in while setting up the church. 

"We're one of the last true, enduring businesses that still goes on," she said. 

What kind of people does she like to hire? Karpfinger says she hires "naturals" who are creative and detail-oriented. 

"I'm lucky I didn't go to floral school because it's like paint by numbers, and that's not what we do here," she said. "We're very creative." 

What advice does she have for aspiring floral designers? "Start working in a flower shop that you admire," Karpfinger said.Shop the latest Floral gown on the world's largest fashion site. "Whatever it is - maybe you're washing vases or cutting flowers - get in there and start watching what happens, and listen and learn and make sure you like that environment."