Jul 6, 2016

Susanna-Cole King collects hobbies often, and fervently.

: After seven hours of arranging flowers, and one hour of sleep, I still can’t miss the sunrise.

: Photographing some of the bouquets I made for friends coming for brunch.

: My dining table doubles as my workspace, with parchment paper, a cutting board, Swiss knife and rubber bands.

: Brushing and braiding my hair before going to pick up more flowers.

: The “weekend” side of my closet, with the vintage dresses I love to wear when I can.

: Peter has a flower farm, Petal Root Garden, in Reservoir Hill. Picking up some flowers from him at the Hampden Flowers Market.

: Zipping down 83, to Cross Street Market.

: Appreciating the neon signage, before I make a beeline for The Flower Shop.

: Some of The Flower Shop bouquets, but I just choose some more cut stems to work with.

: Walking back to my car.

: Flowers ride shotgun with me.

: More bouquets, back home.

: Cleaning up the trimmings from nine hours of arranging.

: Clean slate to work on the table settings for brunch.

: Attempting a fresh floral runner for the first time.

: The finished result.

: Making place cards with a metallic pen and some fresh leaves.

: I love setting the table.

: The mobile island cleared off for serving food later, but for now holding the essential of a fan, as there’s no A.C.

: I resort to sticking everything that was on the island on top of my cabinets, before cooking.

: To me, there’s few things better than sitting around a table with friends.

: The aftermath. I hate washing dishes when it’s just me, but strangely, I never mind cleaning up after company.

: Lingering with some books in bed before heading out again.

: Protean Books & Records (836 Leadenhall St.) has been my favorite for used books and records, even when they had a much smaller space on Charles St.

: I adore torch singers like Pearl Bailey and Billie Holiday.

: Enjoying the evening light on the way home.

: One of my favorite times of day to be driving through the city.

: Admiring the architecture while waiting at a red light.

: City scenes.

: One of my friends was unable to make brunch last minute, but I decide to work on her bouquet some more and head to Charles Village in pursuit of more blooms.

: I stop (and sometimes go back around the block) for murals.

: I’ve always loved this colorful corner with the Howard Street bridge.

: My bedroom which leads out onto the fire escape and roof.

: Green even in the city.

: Rooftop views.

: A little whisky is in order, after a long day and night.

: Listening to new records, while I see what I can salvage from the table runner.

: Bowl full of blooms plucked out of the runner.

: Midnight, but I’ll happily arrange flowers until the sun rises again!

“In our culture, that’s not as valued anymore,” the full-time nanny said. “Part of the reason that I never went to college was, it’s not that I don’t have any interests. The problem is that I have too many interests and passions and things I’m into to narrow it down to one.”

King’s interest du jour is flower arranging, which the 25-year-old picked up recently; on a recent day, she spent nine hours assembling bouquets for her friends before hosting a brunch, each of which King tailored to their personalities.

“Sometimes after awhile it fizzles out,” King said of her passions, which also include reading, writing, traveling and collecting. “Sometimes it doesn’t.”

A love of historical architecture has never fizzled, which makes King’s Bolton Hill neighborhood perfectly suited to her. She prefers the city to Baltimore County, where her family moved when she was 9, and before that Mississippi, Georgia and Missouri.

Unsurprisingly for a collector of old, flawed objects, King is happiest living in an imperfect city.

“I think I also enjoy being part of a city where I feel like there’s a lot of work to be done,” she said. “Baltimore’s a city that’s kind of like an underdog that has a lot of potential.”

24 hours with is a series highlighting a day in the lives of Baltimore’s creatives and characters, from their perspective. If you would like to suggest someone to be featured, please email community coordinator Quinn Kelley at qkelley[at]baltsun[dot]com.

24 hours with: The vintage-loving hobbyist

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