Bryce Vann Brock (left) and Kelly Revels (right), owners of the Saint Simons Island, GA based garden market and landscape & event design company, The Vine, will be in Atlanta on Friday May 12th. The pair are leading a DIY workshop on crafting custom Terrariums, hosted by the Westside home decor shop, Steve McKenzie's.
Bryce happens to be my sister-in-law's cousin, so I reached out to her for a little more in-depth info on The Vine and the workshop details. Read our Q&A below + see photos from The Vine's portfolio.....
You and Kelly met while working together at The Sea Island Resort and decided to combine your talents, launching The Vine in 2008. Now that your business is nearly a decade old, has your design focus changed/evolved from when your first started?
Wow! A decade, that is the first time Ive seen that in writing! I can't believe it. When we first started we knew exactly what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it, but the challenge was getting the message out there and for people to understand WHY we put landscape design, event design and a garden market under one roof. It took many years and a lot of hard work but it has paid off!
Could you expand on some of your experiences that has led to The Vine's success — perhaps advice for when in a business partnership and/or decisions y'all made to grow and gain exposure?
We have had four pivotal points in the business where we made decisions that allowed us to grow. The first was working with our local Small Business Association (University of Georgia). This is the most incredible service and anyone who owns a small business should take advantage of their local SBA. The second was moving The Vine to our current location. It gave us the room to expand our team and allowed us to increase the amount of work we do each year. It is also in an amazing location with lots of other small businesses (primarily women owned!). The third was hiring Fontaine Maury (Thomasville, GA) to tell our story. That was an incredible process because it allowed us to really put who we are out there. Through that process we ended up changing our logo. That was really a fun process to Kelly and I because if you look at where we started with our logo and where we are now, you can see how we have evolved (and matured!) over the years. And the last piece was hiring Leapfrog PR out of Charleston, SC. We had always wanted to but last year bit the bullet and finally did it and we have gained incredible exposure because of Leapfrog.
How would you describe your style? And what do you think sets you apart from other floral/landscape designers?
Our look is effortless but at the same time is very detailed and complex.
What do you see as any upcoming trends - are clients more focused on gardening at home? Are they interested in a certain type of floral design? Have the style of your events shifted?
Bryce: I definitely see a trend over the last few years in landscape. Everything is very clean. I've been trying to push this look for a while and I feel like over the last few years everyone is ready for a change. If we had it our way, the base of every yard would be boxwoods, bamboo, white birds of paradise, olive trees, agave, cane yucca, citrus, rosemary, agapanthus, hydrangeas and a few specimen trees or palms! (say NO to the azalea!!!)
Kelly: I feel like a more classic (I call it Country Club style) look is starting to emerge in the event/floral industry. For such a long time we have seen lot of trendy - edging on “crafty,” styled events and I am seeing those trends die out a bit. I’m sure here on our island we may have more clients that want a more casual look overall, but even still, that casual dinner is starting to show a bit more elegance.
Steve McKenzie's Facebook page posted wonderful photos of your Oyster Containers..... Could you expand on the inspiration for this custom design?
We always wanted a product that was ours to sell and knew we wanted it to be a container. We found a beautiful oyster over on Sapelo that was the inspiration for our container. We partnered with a local artist who created a sculptural representation of the original shell and have been producing them since last year. They are available in three sizes, X-Small, Small and Large.
In addition to the Terrarium workshop here in Atlanta at Steve McKenzie's on Friday, do you frequently offer DIY classes at The Vine?
We offer monthly classes at The Vine on Saint Simons - you can sign up on our website! We've been doing them since we opened our doors in 2008. It is a fun way to interact with our clients!