I've been a fan of Charleston floral designer Anne Bowen since she opened Stems on Cannon Street almost a year ago. In a city where most floral creations are formal and traditional, Bowen's aesthetic is refreshingly modern. And her graphic white studio space is a bright spot in the up-and-coming Cannonborough-Elliotborough neighborhood in town (Sugar Bakeshop, Stitch Design Co., Magar Hatworks, and Mac and Murphy  are all recent additions). 

A few weeks ago, designer Marysia Reeves told me about the wonderful classes Bowen has been teaching. Bowen breaks down floral arranging at a 101 level while serving champagne and little bites of this and that throughout. My kind of classes, clearly!  

I signed up for the very next course with an opening: holiday centerpieces.

Last night, I ducked in (out of the brutal cold) to work with lush cuttings of peppermint-striped Amaryllis, white Lisianthus, crimson Ranunculas and garden roses, tufts of Dr. Seuss-like Dianthus Green Trick, and variegated lily grass. That combination eventually became the arrangement you see in the photo below.

Bowen was approachable and funny, and I learned lots of great tricks along the way. For instance, did you know that you can use clear ponytail rubber bands to conceal the spot where you cluster flowers together in a bouquet? That idea never occurred to me, and it's genius.

For a closer look at how it all came together, click through the gallery of photos from the evening below.