Floral Designer Laura Dowling’s arrangements combine a just-plucked quality with a refined modern aesthetic.
She is fond of using various shades of a single hue and containers wrapped in materials such as moss or leaves to heighten the drama. She layers materials freely, incorporating unexpected elements, such as fruits or vegetables, bundled twigs, or horsetail bamboo cut into pieces and tethered with twine.
Her role as Chief Floral Designer at the White House has her innovative arrangements contributing a new brand of chic to historic rooms.
Flowers and landscapes are at the heart of Ori Gersht’s mesmerizing photographs. …Except… he blows them up… Quite literally!
For his 2006 series “Exploding Flowers,” the Tel Aviv–born, London-based artist worked with a florist to create elaborate bouquets inspired, he says, by Henri Fantin-Latour’s lush 19th-century still lifes. Gersht clicked the camera’s shutter as each bouquet was ignited with a small explosive. The resulting photographs are gorgeous and a little unnerving; the artist describes them as “celebratory and violent.”
Gersht’s career is exploding too. A graduate of the master’s program at London’s Royal College of Art, the photographer is on a creative tear. This past summer alone, Gersht had solo shows at CRG Gallery in New York and at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Meanwhile, he continues to travel throughout Europe and beyond to shoot new photographs and short films, including a video he made at a bullfight in Andalusia, which was part of a group exhibition organized by Ron Arad at London’s Roundhouse.
To read more please see Elle Decor, October 2011 issue.
Thank you to member Ovando for this delightful Thanksgiving greeting!
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Me oh my, Thanksgiving is but a week away. We certainly appreciate longstanding traditions just as much as the next designer, but who’s to say that you can’t dress up your décor with a more modern spin?
Less really can be more: Warm colors will never go out of style for the fall season. You can easily offer more modernist appeal by working with fashioned, multi-stem arrangements. Succulent Beauty Mark, featuring swooping callas and our signature succulents, is the quintessential contemporary design for Thanksgiving. Delicately bold, endlessly elegant, and sure to be admired by all of your dinner guests.
It is with deep sadness that we announce that Jane Packer has passed away.
Noted International florist and author, Jane championed the vision that flowers are as exciting as fashion and interior design, but entirely more accessible. Her passion for flowers and inspiration taken directly from nature has contributed greatly to the florticulture industry.
Jane’s legacy is an international business – London – Tokyo – New York -Seoul – Hong Kong, and despite the worst recession in living memory, the business has gone from strength to strength. In the UK alone, the recent launch of the acclaimed JANE PACKER fragrance range, the expansion of the JANE PACKER on-line flower shop, and the opening of our latest store in association with John Lewis on London’s Oxford Street, are all testimony to the potency of the JANE PACKER philosophy and brand.
Jane has been busy building a strong creativeteamwho succeed her, led by her husband, Co-Founder and CEO Gary Wallis
To learn more Jane and her contribution to the floral design industry please see
Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts, in that they do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars (both of which follow the cycle of the sun and the seasons).
In Western Christianity, using the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25, inclusively. The following day, Easter Monday, is a legal holiday in many countries with predominantly Christian traditions.
Eastern Christianity bases its calculations on the Julian Calendar. Due to the 13 day difference between the calendars between 1900 and 2099, March 21 corresponds, during the 21st century, to the 3rd of April in the Gregorian Calendar. Easter therefore varies between April 4 and May 8 on the Gregorian calendar (The Julian calendar is no longer used as the civil calendar of the countries where Eastern Christian traditions predominate). Among the Oriental Orthodox some churches have changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and the date for Easter as for other fixed and moveable feasts is the same as in the Western church.
But, this year, Sunday, April 24th is Easter for Protestants, Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians alike!
For information on how the Easter Bunny got involved….! Please see : wikipedia.org.
We discovered this nifty innovator in the Sept/Oct Australian Vogue Living issue. Joost Bakker of Urban Crop provides Melburnians with living, breathing flowers and herbs planted in a nutrient-rich soil that is mostly organic waste. His bagged-in-soil beauties come with their root systems intact – they still have their life source with them – providing the recipients with clean air and nutrient- packed leaves. Bakker’s underlying message is to make cities worldwide work as crop sources. Currently, his product can be found in Melbourne’s bars, cafes, book and bike shops. His ultimate goal – deliver the message to the world!
Olivier Guigni’s recently released, inspiring book, Living Art (Scribners) is refreshing…. He shows how flowers can and should just fit in our every day lives and not just reserved for extravagant occasions. One of my all time favorites (see below) has been the way Olivier uses huge tropical (and pliable) philodendron leaves to wrap flowers. Makes me imagine this is what a ‘flower-burrito’ would look like.
It is fitting that the forward is by Cathernine Deneuve because like her, Olivier’s soul and artistry exude a relevant, quiet elegance. Congratulations Olivier! Your tasteful and talent-filled book will surely find its rightful place, nestled in the shelves right next to other floral innovators – icons like Madderlake, Ronaldo Maia, Tage Anderson and Daniel Ost.
This story caught my eye in Floral Management magazine, March 2010.
Two shops separated by over 2800 miles share the same idea of giving back to the community during these tough times. Rose Garden Florist in Barnegat, NJ and Twigs in Yerington, NV each give credit for their unique idea to a Flower Chat forum discussion last year, but, each shop has customized their approach of instigating a “travelling kindness bouquet”.
Every month or so, each shop sends out an estimated 5 bouquets ranging in price from $40 to $50. The original destination is randomly chosen and will vary, whether it be a nursing home, or police station, or a bank, or a hospital. Attached is a card which reads, “ This is a Travelling Kindness Bouquet. Please enjoy these flowers for the next hour, then pass then on them to someone who could use a little joy along with this note.”
These floral gifts have paid off for both shops – both in community-building returns and financially. The monthly cost is substantially less than any print advertising available to either shop and is delivered directly to potential future customer
Two award winning designers from the UK, Sarah Horne and Jo Jarvis, share a vision of floral art that begins with a love of nature and moves quickly outside the box with their gorgeous new book, “ Botanical Art: For Your Eyes Only”. An article in Flower& magazine, August 2010 showcases their beautifully printed, oversize hardcover volume which includes creations ranging from home décor and gifts to wearable flower art. Visit www.3-5-8productions.co.uk to learn more!
