LANCASTER, Pa.--Armstrong Holdings Inc. recently elected Ruth M. Owades to its board of directors.

Owades is the founder and former chairman of Calyx & Corolla, the first fresh flower catalog and web site.

Owades reinvented the distribution process to make it possible for consumers to buy flowers direct-from-the-grower. Owades launched her first catalog, Gardener's Eden, in 1979, selling upscale gardening accessories. Williams-Sonoma was purchased the catalog three years later.

In 1988, Owades created Calyx & Corolla, the Flower Lover's Flower Company, headquartered in San Francisco. She developed alliances with FedEx and top growers nationwide.

Owades sits on the Board of Directors of Providian Financial Corporation and the J. Jill Group Inc. She is also a member of the Board of Associates of Harvard Business School, the Board of Trustees of Scripps College, the Council on Competitiveness, the Committee of 200, the Advisory Council for Bank of America's Women's Banking Initiative, and the Advisory Board of Versura Inc.