Dreaming In Petals was a group discussion amongst our team at work…not the title, that came to me one evening while thinking about garden roses and what I was planning for my next shoot. We decided it would be great to create another book, and the concept of Dreaming In Petals was born.

My husband Andrew offered to be the camera technician and take the images. I was so excited! For the first time ever I could shoot whenever I needed to (within reason!)...meaning any of the precious roses or flowers I had grown within my garden would not have to hold their petals until a photographer was available. That kind of talent doesn't wait around - as we all know, adding a tad too much stress to a flower can make it lose all its petals the moment one leaves the room...think about a peony that you may have burdened the task of being fully open, but on a whim ‘gives up’ and sheds its delicate petals.

The creation of Dreaming In Petals was supposed to be completed within one year but of course, Covid got in the way and everyone's plans changed. It has certainly been a difficult time. A time where New Zealand flower growers had to walk away from their businesses and go into lockdown. So much beauty gone to waste, not to mention all the hard work and labour, and such huge financial losses.

During this challenging time, I relied on my garden for inspiration and beauty. Quite often, I was fortunate enough to shoot some stunning images using my own flowers; the cover of Dreaming In Petals is an example of the beauty from within my own garden. I simply love this image. After we shot it, I knew it was something special, and it made me sparkle with delight. I really could not believe that the dahlias I had planted months ago worked perfectly with the David Austin roses, it’s as though I had matched them to bloom at the same time - it was pure magic!

Christmas came and went (several times), and when it came to laying out all the images last winter, we knew we had enough content to create the book. The excitement started forming! It takes a village to produce a book like this, especially when we decided not to find a publisher - the challenges involved during Covid times meant we had to forge forward with self-publishing if we wanted to move this concept beyond a dream. Our team worked hard to get this book over the line - it has been a journey, one I really appreciate and have enjoyed immensely. There was so much to learn and tackle, and as a team we created a beautiful book to be proud of.

We also decided to create a range of postcards and stickers, yes…I do love a beautiful sticker, don’t we all? The uses for both the postcards and stickers are endless. I love utilising them on gifts, or using the postcards at place settings. I do hope you enjoy these additional products. The Christmas postcard set of six cards will be included with each book sold, at no extra cost (while stocks last, for New Zealand sales only). It’s my way of saying “thank you” for supporting our small venture. The postcards will be a limited edition print run, and we would love to know if you like the idea of additional Sandra Kaminski branded paper products.

I hope you enjoy Dreaming In Petals as much as I have enjoyed creating it for you. It makes a wonderful gift, and I know many of you will be gifting it this Christmas to your favourite people. Please get in touch via email or social media and let me know what you think - I would love to see your Instagram responses, it will truly make my day, (and don’t forget to tag me!).

I can’t wait to see my advance copies of Dreaming In Petals - as I write this they are currently winging their way to New Zealand. The bulk delivery of copies are due to arrive late October (fingers crossed for no shipping delays), just in time for Christmas.
Please note that Dreaming In Petals is a limited edition print - pre-order your copy here to ensure you don’t miss out!

Until next time, keep well xx