For Nicole Trigg, a longtime resident of The Coachella Valley and mom to three, art means to heal through creation.
Trigg has been married to her husband, Ralph, for 14 years. The Trigg’s are active members of Southwest Church and mentor with their faith. They are committed to using their own testimony for good and embracing the power of storytelling by elevating others and being authentic and vulnerable.
“All of our pain can be used for purpose, and if you don’t share it, then it just kind of sits in a void,” she reflects. “It is a healing thing for myself, being able to share hard stuff and see the beauty in it,” she adds.
As a dedicated community leader, Trigg serves as a member of the Old Town Artisan Studios (OTAS) Advisory Board and the President of Leadership Coachella Valley.
A self-made floriographer, Trigg is also the owner of a floral company called Botanical Verbiage.
“In the Victorian era, and also biblically, there are symbolisms and intentions behind each flower… so I create language arrangements of what you want to say to that person,” she explains.
She started Botanical Verbiage in 2019, mainly shipping arrangements around the country for celebrations and birthdays. Post-pandemic, many floral shops closed their doors, but Trigg remained open as she was determined to satisfy this need within the Coachella Valley. This opportunity sparked her passion to heal grief with flowers.
At the time, she acted as the board’s Creative Director for Joyfully Grieving, a space for advocacy, community, and support for parents of infant and child loss. Trigg contributed to the facilitation of ‘healing-style workshops.’
“It was really neat to do these workshops, so that they (members of Joyfully Grieving) could just create something… and the conversations that happened were really beautiful,” Trigg says.
These concepts inspired her vision for a recent collaboration between Old Town Artisan Studios and Southwest Church, where attendees were led through a fused glass cross making workshop and Trigg presented a piece called “MADE IN HIS IMAGE: BROKEN TO BEAUTIFUL.” She describes the workshop as a “biblically led guided creation.”
Here, she says, “Glass isn’t meant to be broken… but just because it can’t return to its original form… doesn’t mean it’s ruined, it doesn’t mean it has to stay broken, and it certainly doesn’t mean that’s the end.”
Trigg says the intention of this workshop was to rearrange “God’s materials” to evoke the healing that can happen within the process of art. “It was such a joy to see that come together,” she adds.
Trigg describes the Advisory Board as a “cool, eclectic group” compiled of a wide variety of differing lived experiences, that works towards a mission that aligns with her purpose of using God’s materials to help people feel seen, treasured, and chosen. She admires how OTAS has grown, and says it is beautiful to be a part of that.
Inspired by our founder, Victory Grund, Trigg’s involvement with Old Town Artisan Studios doesn’t end there.
She says her favorite classes she has taken are wheel throwing and Karin Harris’s watercolor classes.
“Process-wise, I feel like wheel throwing is so therapeutic… but I think where I advanced so much was in Karin’s watercolor classes. I took a series of those and she really helped me,” she added.
Trigg says Karin is good about teaching new techniques, but also emphasizes that “watercolor goes where it wants to go.”
“I loved her instruction and her as a teacher,” she exclaimed.
Trigg’s kids are also frequent students at Old Town Artisan Studios for summer camp and Trigg is co-chairing the committee for the Color the World Gala on March 23, 2026, which benefits OTAS.
Her deep connection with art, through florals and other mediums, led her to value the individuality of art.
“We all get the same materials, we all get the same instructions, but the finished products all turn out so individually unique,” she shares.
She says she also loves appreciating art and seeing how gifted people are.
“I think that the word ‘art’ intimidates people that feel like they aren’t creative, but we’re all creative in our own way,” Trigg expressed.
Trigg feels there is a place for everybody at OTAS. She describes Old Town Artisan Studios as a “peaceful sanctuary.” For her, the OTAS mission is about much more than classes and events, it’s about the transformative power of art.
