She mastered the art of trompe l’oeil and spent many years painting decorative murals in Scottsdale, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix. She is an expert on wood graining, hand-painted floors, faux and fine wood finishes. Laura has worked in television for the past five years re-designing home interiors for many of Scottsdale’s wealthy clients. Her beeswax preservation process has been featured on several TV stations in her home state of Arizona, where she has been taped by numerous producers to give television viewers information on decorative finishes, home décor, unique faux finishes and craft projects.

Laura’s love of ancient cultures, clothing, design and art has made her a voracious reader and expert on the Impressionist movement. She is particularly interested in fashions and wedding customs of medieval Europe and the Renaissance with emphasis on the Victorian era, tussie mussies and the Language of Flowers. It was during a time of intense interest and education on Encaustic Painting (painting with beeswax) that she stumbled across one sentence in an antique, out-of-print book that changed the course of her life. The sentence explained that from the 15th-19th century people would dip their produce in molten beeswax to extend its life. Fresh forms of vitamin C were scarce during the harsh European winters; the all-natural beeswax coating would preserve the produce fresh for several months thus preventing illness and even death from scurvy. That was the extent of the explanation, all she intended to do was paint.

Her curiosity piqued, Laura soon begin experimenting not only with produce but freshly cut garden flowers. After more than two years of research and experimentation on more than 250,000 roses, she perfected her dipping, waxing and coring process.

In addition to her art, Laura has been gifted with a marvelous green thumb. Always an entrepreneur with her first business venture "The Back Patch", she propagated organic Japanese eggplants, saffron, and flowers in her backyard garden. She sold them to the local gourmet shops and fresh produce markets in the early 1980s, which enabled her to work from home while her children were babies.

From humble beginnings on a kitchen stove top, Laura experimented with different types of beeswax, precision dipping times, removal of moisture, dyes, fragrances, temperature variations, coring, curing and the reconstruction of floral stems. Utilizing her design skills, chemistry background, love of art and gardening knowledge, she along with her daughter Aimee have designed and created a line of beeswax preserved fresh flowers sold nationally and internationally, including bridal bouquets, traditional Victorian tussie mussies, centerpieces, hair jewelry, cake flowers, tiaras, boutonnieres, garlands, ballet slippers and much more. Her company creates flowers for brides-to-be before their wedding all over the world through her successful Internet-based business, The Victorian Bride (www.victorianbride.com). Her international clientele has included women from America, Europe, Canada, Asia, Mexico, Brazil, New Zealand, Egypt, Australia, Israel, Switzerland, France and England. The European branch of The Victorian Bride is located an hour outside of London. Her tussie mussies have sparked the attention of a variety of celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey who voted them one of her favorite things in Nov. 1999. Flowers adorn the homes of Gabriel Byrne, Jane Seymour and Barbara Walters. Hair flowers have been created for both Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. Laura’s spectacular flower arrangements have been featured on ABC’s The View and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Laura realized her magical, all-natural preserved fresh flowers would be perfect for brides to use on their wedding day and they could treasure them always. The immortal fresh blooms last forever and stay as beautiful as when they were made with very little care. For the first time in history the public will soon learn her secrets in the new book Immortal Flowers. Brides-to-be, avid gardeners and romantics around the world will soon be able to preserve their own special flowers with her easy to use bees-waxing kits. This magical process has ushered in a new and exciting era for flower lovers around the globe. Imagine being able to grow beautiful roses, peonies, tulips, daisies, pansies and more keeping them looking as fresh and lovely as the day they were picked!

Articles on Laura’s artwork and flower preservation have been featured recently in Star Bridal Hairstyles Premiere Issue, Brides Magazine, Wedding Dresses, Upscale Magazine, Phoenix Home and Garden, Scottsdale Life, The Arizona Republic Newspaper and The Tribune. Features have included Tussie Mussies, The Language of Flowers, Mind Your Own Beeswax, Artist Cements Reputation and Flower Power.

Among Laura’s artistic talents are professional photography, graphic arts and website design. Her photography fills the pages of both The Victorian Bride catalogue and website which she creates herself.

After a four-year undertaking of enormous determination and perseverance Laura received her patent (US 6,265,346 B1) last summer showcasing her invention on the beeswax preservation process for fresh cut flowers. She is now ready to share her secrets for the very first time so you, too, can create your very own heirloom flowers in the comfort of your own home.

Laura is the mother of two children and recently became a grandmother. She began serving her community volunteering to care for 39 profoundly retarded children at age 12, she continued for the next 20 years helping children in need. Her awards for community service are numerous including volunteer of the year. She has taught instructional art classes in her area and spoken countless times to different groups on the magic of beeswax preservation. Her latest creation emollient beeswax moisture bars were discovered during a trip to Provence, they’ve proved to be another wonderful discovery now enjoyed by many. She is committed to bringing her craft to all those who express a desire and interest in learning.