RECORD: Jodi Thomas

Weeds hiding in an alleyway, seed pods skating across a sidewalk, Queen Anne’s lace sweeping through an abandoned garden — many people might see these as eyesores, if they notice them at all.

But Jodi Thomas sees them as inspiration, their colors and textures beckoning her to combine them to create something beautiful, something that will simultaneously make a statement and brighten a person’s day.

Jodi is a floral artist, but her designs are nothing like the typical arrangements that the word “florist” might call to mind. She has been known to use everything from artichokes, to deer antlers, to whole limes, to a cat skull in her creations.

“I like to use a lot of natural elements that might be considered weird for an arrangement, unique things you don’t see at your typical flower shop,” the 32-year-old said. “It makes it fun that way because roses and carnations only get you so far.”

Although Jodi is not new to floral arranging, her business, Little Lantern Floral, is fairly new to Salem. She started it in February 2018, but it’s been growing rapidly as more people see and crave her designs. Describing her work as “mindfully foraged, artfully crafted,” she focuses on American-grown, seasonal flowers, predominantly sourced locally, many of which she harvests herself in and near Salem.

In many ways, Jodi’s floral designs are an extension of herself. The bright colors mirror her ever-changing day-glo hair, the sharp edges and textures hint at nonconformity in the same way as her piercings, tattoos, and love for punk rock and metal music. The unusual combinations of plants? Just as daring as her fashion style, which she describes as a funky mix of punk and vintage (and sometimes, near Halloween, with a bit of glitter witch thrown in).

Jodi has always been an artist, but plants were definitely not the medium she expected to choose. For her Kansas high school’s career day, where students spent a day working at a local business in a field that interested them, she told the guidance counselor she liked art. They sent her to a flower shop.

“I thought, ‘What the hell?’ But it was fun,” Jodi said. “The ladies who worked there liked my arrangement the best out of the kids who were there that day. So it might have been fate that somehow my guidance counselor magically knew my future, because look at me now.”

Her first job in the business was at age 19 when she responded to a Craigslist ad seeking workers to install seasonal holiday displays in Oklahoma City. From there, she worked at several high-end floral shops in the city, where she learned to see her burgeoning talent as an art form.

“The blend of colors and textures and the way it’s styled — there’s definitely a knack to it,” she said. “My artistic side comes in because I have a unique eye, putting a nontraditional spin on something traditional.”

It’s hard to get more nontraditional than Jodi’s bridal “bouquet” for her 2010 marriage to Joel Thomas. She has always had a love for lanterns, so she carried a lantern filled with flowers and moss — and a cat skull (don’t worry, she didn’t harm any animals; she found the skull abandoned in a house). This lantern later became the inspiration for her business name.

The Thomases moved to Salem on Halloween in 2011. She worked for a while at a local floral business before deciding to go out on her own last year.

Jodi currently works out of a private studio, and her main focus is on weekly and bi-weekly floral subscriptions for businesses.

She’s also increasing the wedding and event side of her business, and she does a limited number of daily orders. If the floral recipients are located downtown, and the weather is fair, she’ll even deliver the arrangements via her Terry Symmetry road bike.

So keep an eye out for a bright-haired, adorably dressed, vintage punker gliding by on her bike with colorful flowers poking out of a crate on the back. That sight alone might be considered art.