Small Claims Court Case Pending
Hazel Lyon, the owner of Black Botanical Press, is more than happy to steal your money . Don't bother saying anything in the phone consultation because she clearly does not listen and you will not get what you want so might as well skip it and flush your money instead.
Let's review my order so we can get the full scope of why you should not hire her...
What I Wanted #1 A Floating Frame (my flowers in a frame between two panes of glass).
What I Got #1 My flowers pasted to a piece of paper inside a regular frame. I can't even put my flowers into a floating frame because she glued them on, so my flowers are essentially ruined. So that's fun because a floating frame was the main thing that I wanted.
What I Wanted #2 To be involved in the planning and design process because I had a very specific vision for what I wanted. She asked on the phone if I could just trust her and I said no and that I have a very specific style and so I wanted to involved in each and every step.
What I Got #2 She sent me one picture and, rather than make the changes that I wanted and send me a new photo for review, she just glued the flowers down in a pattern that I do not like and sent it out. So now, I'm stuck with it because, like I said, she glued them down so I can't change the placing or the flowers will rip and be destroyed.
What I Wanted #3 To have my frames match. I bought two framed pieces for my bouquet and my flower crown and I wanted the frames to match so I could display them together.
What I Got #3 What I got was one dark frame (almost black) and one light frame that looked like it had been spray-painted with gummy, cheap paint. It is horrifically ugly. It looks like a toddler did it. It is isn't even fully painted. How she thought that matched is beyond me.
What I Wanted #4 To have all of my flowers pressed and dried so I could make something with the rest of them.
What I Got #4 Most of my flowers are here (I think) but half of my flower crown is missing. Where it is, I don't know. Probably in a dumpster somewhere.
There is more to say but I will close my essay of a review with a nice quote from Hazel Lyon herself that she sent me in an email after I told her that I was disappointed "At the end of the day, art is subjective." So, brides, don't bother telling Hazel what you want because the concept of a commission is clearly beyond her and you will just have to deal with whatever she decides to send you because, after-all, "art is subjective". It's not like you are paying her to produce something you want and something you would like with the flowers from the most important day of your life. "At the end of the day, art is subjective."
Oh, and to explain my title, Hazel told me that my refund (of less than half of what I paid) would be coming to me on April 29th. It is now May 14th and surprise (!) there isn't anything in my account. So yeah, looks like I'm going to have to take her to court. I am a scorned and hurt bride, I am more than happy to play the part of Karen.