Philipstown artist preserves keepsakes
As a child, Jackie Murphy-Kahn preserved flowers for fun. As an adult, she turned the hobby into a blooming business.
At Evergreen Botanical Studio, based in Philipstown, she preserves the color and form of cut flowers using a variety of materials. Her husband, Ethan Kahn, makes the shadow-box frames in which they are presented.
While growing up in Oneida County, Murphy-Kahn did a lot of hiking and gardening, giving her an appreciation for nature. “When you’re an artist, there’s something in your soul that just knows that there’s more,” she says. “I feel like I couldn’t have been anything else.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and advertising from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, she spent 14 years in the fashion industry, working for companies such as Victoria’s Secret but eventually burning out. “There’s a lot of pressure, and it’s not emotionally the best industry,” says Murphy-Kahn, who moved to Philipstown with her husband in 2022.
She had pressed flowers for family and friends and in 2021 began experimenting with preserving flowers from gifts and her garden until she felt comfortable enough to start a business. She started by pressing them, “but quickly found that I missed the true form and color of the originals,” she tells customers on her website, leading her to investigate “form preservation” and combine various techniques until she was satisfied.
Her first projects were preserving bridal flowers and birthday bouquets. As the business grew, she transformed the lower half of the new home into a studio and drying and layout room. Her husband took over half the garage for the frames.
“That’s always been my favorite thing about creating art — I tend to do it better for other people than I do myself,” she says. “I like to get to know people and understand what they like and how to create something for them that they will love.” She says she enjoys making a connection to people’s stories.
To secure the flowers, Murphy-Kahn works with florists hired for weddings, memorials and special events to have them shipped overnight or dropped off at her studio. For re-creations and custom pieces, she relies on her garden or local flower farms that she is happy to credit when the pieces are shared on Instagram.
Evergreen Botanical Studio is online at evergreenbotanicalstudio.com. Custom work begins at $380.
