Flowers in Fashion

I've got to say, just the slightest variation in color when used in anything designy totally warps my mind.  I love it.   

I find this most exciting when it appears in fashion. 

 

Season to season, I look to fashion to inspire my botanical and floral creations.  To me, fashion and flowers are inextricably related. EVERYTHING I design revolves around the relationship between the two.

I'll always remember the gut wrenching inspiration I felt when I peeped Balenciaga's 2008 Spring collection. I just about died I loved it so much.  Then, just a week after being completely obsessed with this line, who other  than one of the managers of a production company we work closely with, called Floral Rush for several floral pieces for the dressing room that the line was to be launched at, at their Melrose flagship location. WHAT?!?!  Are you kidding me?!?! That is some serious synchronicity.   I had the pleasure of designing two meticulously tailored pieces for Balenciaga.  Dreams really do come true.

Little Diddy

Here's a little diddy from yesterday, yet another wrapped bouquet for Neiman Marcus.

I was totally feelin' that all red vibe.

( Awkwardly small image...)

So. Recently I've made the habit on a weekly basis ( eaaaaarrrrly Saturday mornings ) to get to the flower market to do some of my own personal designing for the loft.  You know you love what you do when you're doing it full time, and then rush to get home to do more of it.  I almost want to cry I love my life so much. Through this process, I've discovered how much I LOVE using inexpensive, long lasting, vibrant color flora. Seeing that we don't use too much in the world of, shall I dare say cheap flowers at Floral Rush, this is a whole new echelon of design ideas and possibilities for me.  I have absolutely no qualms about using carnations, marigolds, and chrysanthemums. It feels silly I should even say it, as if it were a big deal to begin with. How ammusing people should find their status through nature, but I suppose it exists there, too.  I love most the mix of say, a paved mound of carnations with a paphiopedlum orchid accent. STUNNING. A mix between high and low creates balance.

Use of Color

Ones sensitivity to the use of color can be absolutely intoxicating, and rarely do I find an artist who does this for me. But when it happens, ohhhh is it ever so glorious!

This morning from Trendland.com

 

I love how the artist uses color and shape to create a more encompassing atmospheric experience. Brilliant. I want to walk into this. No, I want to LIVE in this.

These images remind me of a time when I had visualized a concept boutique which would have several different little niches of style "eras" if you will, done in their rightful decor, which would showcase a floral arrangement that suits the particular atmosphere. In one corner, a French Mediterranean living room, another corner a Frank Llyod Wright- esque beach cliff home dining room, another corner an open space modern loft bathing room, another corner a Mid-Century modern back yard patio, another corner a perfectly landscaped English garden...and so on and so forth. The idea behind this concept was basically to show the range of style I am excited to work in. It tickles me to tailor an arrangement to its canvas.The specificity of details is endless, and I absolutely love it. ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT.

The Future Is Now

I say the future is now simply because it is.  Although you could say the future hasn't happened yet, we are creating it right this very moment with the thoughts we think, the emotions we feel, and the images we conjure in our creative minds eye.

I'm very excited to be coming closer to choosing a name for what will be my future business. Future Flora, at this time, feels juuuuuust at the brink of "yes." Though I know when the time is ripe and ready, the perfect name will reveal itself.  Future Flora means several different things to me. I am in the process of envisioning, intending, and feeling scenarios and dreams which I am ready to make real, and in turn, I know will eventually become my reality. The future, being created in the now, symbolizes what I am literally creating, right now, into my future. Future can also describe my design style (most of the time.) Though I do design and tailor specifically to each unique space, all arrangements fit and compliment the environment in which they are placed. I will be posting images of work as this blog matures. Flora, the material I love most working with. Clean. Simple.  The two together sound harmonious.

I find it extremely fascinating and exciting working with flowers. Because they are such organic forms of living beauty, it is one of the most challenging of mediums to sculpt. One has to work with its natural size, its natural form,  and its always unexpected shapes and colors, season to season, year to year.  One of my favorite flowers of the current season (Summer), Hydrangea, is a perfect example of the many unexpected gifts we receive from flowers.  Typically, Hydrangea would have its season start in early Spring and end around August/ September...but this year it has surprised us coming into season in June, peaking in August, and will probably continue to do so until it wanes out sometime in  October.  If you've noticed too, the pushing forward ( or back if you'd like ) of our seasons, everything responds in like manner. Amazing. I mean seriously, do you recall our Winter last year?? 85 degrees almost daily through December and January?! Awesome. 

Hydrangea

Really, to think of all the factors that create the end result of a flowers color, shape, and size just blows my mind. In this particular species, Hydrangea gets its colors dependent on PH balance of the soil. Acidic soil produce more blue flowers, neutral soil produce more cream and white, and alkaline soil produce more pink and purple blooms. Absolutely fascinating. I truly realize how closely related we are to plants and flowers when I consider the endless minute details that go into making something alive and vibrant. 

My purest intent with creating this blog is for documenting self progress, projecting intentions and dreams, and also posting any and all of that which is extreme inspiration to me. Because my work is a reflection of what inspires me most, posts of inspiration will most likely be the mainstay. Really, this blog is for me, but if you are inspired and fascinated by what I am, too, all the better! We're co-creating a more fantastical world.

So...for Future Flora...I'm having a ball dreaming of all the wonderful things I'll soon be experiencing. But for now, designing for Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, and countless other fashion houses and entertainment moguls along side probably one of the most entertaining and talented boses one could ever ask for ain't so bad either. Lady Gaga will have to wait...for the future.