Barbara Gaffney, the owner of Everlastings Flowers, was raised in New England and developed an interest in art at a very early age. Over the years, she took classes in oil painting, pottery, mosaics, and more. In the 1970s, Barb moved to Colorado, where she became a certified ski instructor. She spent 16 years there, enjoying mountain climbing and collecting alpine wildflowers, which she pressed into small books—at the time, just another creative hobby.

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Her passion for art led her to attend the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she studied batik, weaving, and sculpture. However, her love for flowers remained constant. After returning to New England and starting a family, she opened Everlastings Flowers in 1994. The business grew steadily, eventually preserving and framing hundreds of wedding bouquets and funeral flowers each year.

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In 1997, Barbara's work was showcased at an International Pressed Flower competition in Nagano, Japan, and later that year at another international exhibition in London, England. Today, she continues to accept flowers for preservation, while her partner, Carl Kolata, manages the framing and shipping department.

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Passionate about sharing her knowledge, Barbara has taught hundreds of people how to press flowers into lasting keepsakes and how to start a pressed flower business. Beyond flower pressing, she creates designs incorporating shells, coastal animals, rocks, grasses, and other natural elements set in resin. Her artwork is available at the Coastal Art Gallery in Crystal River, FL, where she now resides, as well as at Sea Legs Gallery in Tarpon Springs and The Keyhole Gallery in Cedar Key, FL.