Katie Tischler has been drying and pressing flowers since her teenage years. Extra time gained from the pandemic allowed her to take her longtime love of all things floral to the next level with Pine Pressed Flowers. It helped that both resin and floral art are making a comeback.
Through Pine Pressed Flowers, Katie preserves flowers by layering resin to make decorative wall hangings, keychains, bookmarks and more.
In the sunroom of her Whispering Pines home sits a desk, a wooden press and pages of dried flowers. According to Katie, the environment plays a big role in how the resin sets and dries.
“You have to have a clean space, free of dust or anything that could be drawn in by the resin. Humidity places a role, too, so the environment has to be just right,” Katie said.
And that’s just the beginning. A tedious process, resin preservation takes time and patience. She starts by drying out the flowers in a wooden press. She then mixes the resin and then, begins to layer it on.
“You have to know your end goal for the display and strategically plan out how many layers,” Katie said. “Bubbles will form, so you have to stick around and make sure to eliminate those. It’s not a project you can just walk away from.”
In addition to decorative work, Katie freezes memories through custom orders. Wedding bouquet preservation has become one of her most popular services. She also offers take home flower pressing kits on her website that include everything you need to press and dry flowers or plants.
“This has been so fun for me so far. It’s work that I really do enjoy,” Katie said. “I just feel so lucky to be creating something that people love and want to buy right now.”
Find her work locally at Twigg & Co. and The Estate of Things, or check her out on Etsy and Instagram.
