After her 2013 wedding, Kayleigh Ruszkiewicz collaborated with a jeweler to make necklaces, bracelets, rings and keychains out of her blue hydrangea, baby’s breath and white stock wedding bouquet. She then found her passion for pressing flowers by experimenting and attending craft shows, leading her to launch her Pressed Arrow Etsy store in 2016 to create long-lasting art from flowers that freeze a special day in time.
“Every time I would go for a walk, I would bring home handfuls of flowers, and I would press them,” says Ruszkiewicz. “I would try new things and different techniques with different flowers.”
In November 2022, she opened a brick-and-mortar store in the Common Ground warehouse in Medina. In addition to framing bouquets, she also makes resin-preserved flower pieces, such as trays and trinket bowls, and inclusion jewelry, which can contain cremation inclusions or breast milk mixed with resin. Ruszkiewicz explains how pressing and framing a wedding bouquet works.
Beauty Captured: By reservation, she accepts local bouquets one to three days after the wedding, bouquets from anywhere in the country with overnight shipping and even pre-dried bouquets. Then, she typically deconstructs the flowers and presses each flower between sheets of paper and cardboard inside a wooden press she and her husband handmade.
“I will take the petals apart, and I’ll press every piece of the flower separately,” says Ruszkiewicz. This process ensures all the moisture is pressed out of the flowers to avoid molding and discoloration.
Artful Design: After reconstructing the dried flowers, Ruszkiewicz arranges the flowers within unique frames made by a local woodworker and requests the bride’s approval before sealing the frames and completing the pieces. After an average of 16 to 20 weeks, the couple will receive their framed bouquet.
“I love the reactions from the brides or even the grooms when they’re picking up their finished pieces,” she says.
Preserving Memories: All preserved flowers will eventually fade, but Ruszkiewicz says to ensure the best preservation, keep the pieces out of the sun and in a dry area. She often recommends keeping them in the living room.
Ruszkiewicz values honoring customers’ memories and stories with each piece.“What means the most to me is how much I know that they’re going to cherish these items,” she says.
At the Common Ground, 220 N. State Road, Medina, pressedarrow.com
