SVL’s story begins with a sweet gesture, a cherished moment, and a bouquet of roses.

Bianca was given a bouquet of roses for her first anniversary with her boyfriend. A month had passed, and the bouquet sat sadly in one corner of her room, wilting away. Her mother, Melissa, remembered how she used to press roses in books. Though Bianca pressed the roses in her books, she still felt it was a waste since she’d eventually forget about them. As an art major, she took inspiration from landscape and still life paintings and thought of framing the pressed roses.

Bianca first posted about her project on Twitter, which eventually garnered hundreds of likes and retweets. Though it was her personal project, people began asking if she could do the same with their bouquet. Soviolisa (SVL) was then set up so that people could have a direct line to Bianca’s preservation services. As the demand began to grow, Melissa started to help.

Thanks to Melissa’s persistent efforts, the framing process was significantly developed. Under her meticulous direction, an efficient method for drying was established. But drying the flowers isn’t enough. Melissa created a unique technique to ensure the flowers were presentable and aesthetically appealing before framing. One of her biggest feats is pressing and prepping Artificial Flowers. All frame designs are done by Melissa.

Later on, SVL’s flower preservation services expanded to resin jewelry. This began with encasing flowers in gold frames. However, Bianca wanted to create pieces that would be more unique to each client, thus creating the SVL Charm Line. It was first introduced with five charm designs for clients to choose from. Now, there are 20, and Bianca is still dreaming up of more pieces. 

SVL’s story is ongoing, but it’s no longer just Bianca and Melissa. Numerous people have been part of this wonderful journey. SVL continues to make cherished moments last longer and has worked with more than thirty types of flowers.

Soviolisa is pronounced: soh-vyō-lee-sa

When Bianca was still brainstorming her preservation services she wanted a brand name that that would honor the women in her life.

Soviolisa is a combination of three names: Soledad, Violeta, and Melissa. These are the matriarchs in Bianca’s life. Soledad is her paternal grandmother, Violeta is her maternal grandmother, and Melissa is her mother. 

These names are also used for the chains in SVL’s charm line. Additionally, there are two necklaces labeled Katrina and Casandra, which are the names of Bianca’s Titas. Bianca is determined to expand the chain choices in order for her to honor her paternal Titas as well.

SVL’s logo was designed by artist Corinne Fernandez Garcia. 

The logo depicts two flowers. First is the Rose, which is the flower that started the brand. Second is the Sunflower, which at the beginning was the most popular flower to be dried by us. The Sunflower as well was our first challenge when drying because of its thickness and easy-to-shrivel petals. Being able to do so really honed our skills and taught us techniques that we use to dry other flowers. 

The deep shade of purple to represent SVL was chosen because of the name Violeta. Baby pink would later be included in the brand’s palette to symbolize the playful designs of the charms. 

Dearest Friends, 

If you’ve been following us for even a month or two, you’ll probably see a post every now and then expressing our deepest gratitude for you all. It may be tiring to keep reading the same thing repeatedly, so you don’t have to read any further than this, just know that we appreciate you immensely.

Thank you so much. Since the beginning, it’s only been my mom and I working on your orders and answering your messages. Though we’ve been doing this for five years already, every interaction, every order made, and any movement done in SVL still feels so new. Being a two-person team can be so overwhelming, but it’s really the kindness from you all that gives me the optimism and strength to keep going. I hope you all know that there’s so much power already in those short, sweet messages like “thank you,” “it’s nice,” and “I’m excited to see it.” I appreciate these messages as well as the interactions to show your support. Believe me when I say that I take note of every form of kindness and remember it.

Thank you to the clients and followers who have become some of our good friends. I always love getting those inquiries or random messages asking how I am or how we’re doing, and then it turns into a full on kwento session about our personal lives. It always makes my day. 

And, of course, thank you to the clients who have been coming back again and again, whether yearly, monthly, or arbitrarily. Remembering that you loved our work so much that you purchased more than once has us dispel any self-doubt, and significantly raises our confidence in what we do. Thank you for seeing the beauty of our works. Thank you for loving the new frames you’ve had done, and the ones from months and years ago.

Thank you again to everyone. We really do have so much fun working with you, getting to know you, and making your cherished moments last longer.

Wishing you all so much love and happiness.

Sincerely,

Bianca