About Annie Vanderwarker

...“My weaving skills from building baskets come in handy in making containers, my painting developed my color sense and all the hours of cutting, sawing and drilling have made me mechanically proficient as well as fearless when it comes to saws, drill presses and all those manly tools.”

Her husband Tony readily admits Annie’s more mechanically inclined. “She’s the go-to person in the household for anything that needs to be fixed. She just has an innate sense of how things go together. It’s a surprising juxtaposition with her artistic talent.”

Annie’s professional background is in interior design, she’s designed for residential and commercial clients and won Met Home’s House of the Year award in 2001 for the Vanderwarker’s residence outside of Charlottesville. Tony’s a former advertising creative director who helps Annie convey her artistic vision, “It’s not easy talking about art,” Tony explains. “While artists intuitively know what they are doing, we spend a lot of time trying to find the right words to explain why she chooses one flower over another, or uses a tall container instead of a short one. We work hard to take the mystery out of it. Maybe that’s why we often hear people say, ‘After seeing the video, I actually think I could do that arrangement.’”

“That’s what Fearless Flowers is all about,” Annie says. “We’re not after blue ribbons or splashy arrangements, our goal is more about making you feel better about your ability to put flowers together and come up with pleasing and interesting arrangements.”

While not working on Fearless Flowers, Annie and Tony hang out on their farm with their four dogs, tend the gardens and stay in contact with their four children, two of which consult on Fearless Flowers. “It’s been a family affair which is fun,” Annie says. “It’s great to be able to bounce ideas off someone you’re close to and trust.” And the fact that their daughter is a theater director has been a huge help. “Our daughter Krissy spent a few days with me early on working on my presence and delivery, without her I never could have progressed to the point where I am now.”