Striking Burgundy and White Tartan Dahlias growing in my Cutting Garden. They are huge, full, and luscious!

The Tartan dahlias were my inspiration for this centerpiece. They are a big bloom which can be a bit tricky in an arrangement, I kept them low and to the center of the arrangement. Next added in the Rip City and Edge of Joy Dahlias to add depth and variety in size. The acidanthera was a perfect accent flower as the color blends just right and adds a different shape to the arrangement – plus, they smell ah-mazing! Touch of limelight hydrangeas to add another texture and lighten up the colors.

Dahlia Tubers and Acidanthera bulbs are from Longfield Gardens.

I am pleased to announce a new contributing writer for the Flirty Fleurs blog, Rachel Evans Heath. Rachel and I met a few years ago when she attended one of my floral design classes. We’ve kept in touch and worked on projects together since that first class a few years ago. You will be seeing Rachel’s articles regularly here on Flirty Fleurs as she shares her perspective on matters in the floral industry.

Rachel has two passions in life: flowers and books.

One day while working in the book industry as an event coordinator and marketing manager, (her dream job), Rachel cracked open a random floral magazine and found a picture of a bridal bouquet made entirely out of sweet peas. Having loved flowers her whole life, and grown up in a home where flowers were very present, both inside and out, she was amazed to have found a bloom she’d never seen or noticed before. (She defends that she did grow up in the mountainous desert of Salt Lake City, after all.)

From there she fell quickly down the rabbit hole. After working in books for 11 years the world of floral design kept calling to her. She took a risk and restarted her career, this time in the floral industry.

First working in a flower shop, she started at the bottom of the ladder, doe-eyed and hungry to learn. Four years later she runs her own floral business, Trill Flora, in the greater Seattle area.

She strongly believes there is always more to be learned from others and is grateful for Flirty Fleurs and the opportunities of inspiration and imagination it offers the world of floral designers.

“I discovered Flirty Fleurs at a time in my floral career that had left me feeling discouraged and on the brink of regret for the career shifts I had made. Flirty Fleurs filled me with inspirations and opened my eyes and heart to my own potential. I’m so grateful to be a part of it in any capacity, with the hopes that I may one day help another struggling designer find confidence to achieve their own aspirations.” -Rachel

Welcome Rachel! We look forward to the future insights you will be sharing with us as a contributing writer here on Flirty Fleurs Blog!

Join us for a flower filled two day workshop in San Francisco this November 4th & 5th! Our host for this flower filled bonanza is SF Brannan St Wholesale at the San Francisco Flower Mart. We will be treated to a luxurious selection of the best autumn has to offer!

Saturday morning class will begin with a Bouquet Demonstration by Alicia. Following Alicia’s demonstration students will create their bouquets. Think airy, assymterical, Instagram-esqe style bridal bouquet; this is the bouquet we’ll be designing with a lovely assortment of autumnal flowers provided by SF Brannan Street! We’ll embellish our beautiful bouquets with elegant ribbons.
Break for Lunch
Saturday afternoon we’ll work on creating lush, garden styled compote floral designs. We’ll work with chicken wire as our mechanic, which will help us create a lush and stunning design. We’ll be designing with more gorgeous fall flowers and perhaps a pomegrante or persimmons!

Sunday morning class will begin with Alicia demonstrating how to create an elevated floral centerpiece design. We will review the mechanics of creating sturdy bases for our designs. Each student will assemble the base mechanics for their large design and then create a lush, elegant floral arrangement.
Break for Lunch
Sunday afternoon we will create large arrangement displays that are often seen on entry way tables, escort card tables, foyer tables, etc. We will work with fall branches to add height to our rich arrangements.

All instruction and fresh flowers are included, please bring your own tools such as clippers, scissors, and wire cutters.

The Details:
Instructor: Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs & Bella Fiori
Host: Mary Ellen and SF Brannan Street Wholesale
Date: Saturday, November 4th and Sunday, November 5th, 2017
Location: SF Brannan St Wholesale, 634 Brannan St, San Francisco, California 94107
Time: 10am to 4pm both days

Included in workshop:
* Pass for free parking at SF Flower Market
* Coffee & Snacks in the morning
* Lunch
* All Fresh Flowers & Foliages

This workshop is open to floral designers of all levels.

Questions? Email alicia at info@flirtyfleurs.com

INQUIRE, INFORM, INCLUDE, INSTIGATE, INSPIRE

Slow Flowers has been making quite a stir in the floral world these past few years, pledging its members to source their flowers consciously and locally.

As the 10th anniversary of Amy Stewart’s movement-inspiring book, Flower Confidential, and with the momentum of 725 members now registered with Slow Flowers, 2017 was a prime year to hold the first annual Slow Flower Summit.  

Slow Flowers got its start in Washington State, so it was only fitting to host the first annual summit in Seattle, WA. There designers, farmers and garden-lovers from all over the country gathered together to hear from a selection of inspirational voices– a “TED Talk for flower lovers”.

“I couldn’t be happier with the excitement, interest, and engagement for the first Summit. Attendees came from Ohio, Michigan, Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Colorado, Georgia, and from all over the West Coast states. We had media attention from key trade publications, (Flowers&, Florists’ Review), we had editors from several top gardening publications in attendance, (Better Homes & Gardens, Sunset, Pacific Horticulture, to name a few), and we had amazing speakers who developed new presentations just for the Summit audience.

 

I believe the Summit offered the floral community something at the human level that social media can’t achieve: face-to-face connections, dialogue and storytelling. There’s a place for both, and the Summit reminded me of that!”

-Debra Prinzing
Author of Slow Flowers and founder of the Slow Flowers movement 

Below are summaries of the presentations given by all of the speakers at the summit. Each was inspiring in their own unique way, leaving the attendees motivated to spread the word and spread the love that surrounds the decision for conscious flower sourcing.

Amy Stewart:  
10 years after the publication of her popular book, Flower Confidential, author Amy Stewart came to present a few updates on the flower-growing industry. The most noteworthy development in the last decade has been the rise of local, sustainable and seasonal flower sourcing by designers across the nation. It was the perfect way to kick off the day focusing on the Slow Flower Movement.

“Where’s The Diversity” Panel 
with Chantal Aida Gordon, Leslie Bennett, Riz Reyes and Nicole Wahlquist:
Here we enjoyed a well-selected panel of designers, and horticulturalists centering their conversation around one message: a desire to see more diversity in the flower and gardening world. Looking to icons such as Alice Walker, Maurice Harris, and Jamaica Kincaid, each panelist had the opportunity to share their hopes and vision for an industry that better reflects the diversity of the United States.

Teresa Sabankaya:  
In a world of many stiff, lifeless, and standardized flower arrangements, Teresa shared her approach to bringing more character into her flower designs. Using “The Language of Flowers” as her guide, she has created a business that thrives on the Victorian-era idea of arranging each posy around a symbolic message or theme that is then delivered to the applicable recipient. Complete with a demonstration, she shared some of her secret recipes for her message-bearing bouquets.  

Emily Ellen Anderson: 
A master to the art of large installation pieces, Emily, of Lola Creative, shared Image after awe-inspiring image from her personal portfolio, showcasing the pairing of her artistic skills with her fearlessness of size and complexity. “In order to be an artist”, she said, “you need to come to the table unapologetically as an artist. Lead with art!” Her presentation left designers feeling inspired to dream bigger and build bigger, to say the least.

Lisa Waud:
Coming to us from Pot + Box in Detroit, Lisa’s conversation centered on creativity and the realization of obtaining your future creative endeavors. Focusing on long-term goals she led the group on a meditative journey into the future of their individual businesses, bringing to life the realistic possibilities every designer has the potential to obtain.

Keep an eye out for more information regarding Slow Flower Summit 2018, currently being planned for Washington, D.C.

-Rachel Evans Heath

My first introduction to Heuchera Leaves in floral design work came from Francoise Weeks and Janet of Floral Verde . Both ladies use these leaves in their design work and shared with me how sturdy and long lasting they are, plus the wide variety of colors they come in.
Turns out this is a great plant to add into flower beds as it is an evergreen perennial which forms a mound of delicious color. Mostly they like to be in the shade and I have found they do ok in my flower bed which gets afternoon sun as long as I have a taller plant giving them some shade. This versatile perennial is reliably hardy in zones 4-9.
You may also know them by their other name ‘Coral Bells’

Here is an example of Floral Verde’s design work where Heuchera Leaves add a beautiful color and texture:

From what my research has shown there looks to be well over a 100 varieties of Heuchera and new colors and leaf variations coming out all the time!
Here I am sharing a few of my favorites which are currently growing in my cutting garden:

Crimson Curls

Crimson Curls

Fire Alarm

Fire Alarm Heuchera

Forever Purple

Forever Purple

Lime Marmalade

Lime Marmalade

Lime Marmalade

Paprika

Paprika

Plum Pudding

Plum Pudding

Snow Angel

Snow Angel

Solar Eclipse

Solar Eclipse

Here’s a little story about the power of Instagram and how it brings people together IRL to make lasting and meaningful connections!

Meet Debby Mittelman, hostess of this upcoming Santa Fe Floral Design Workshop.
Sullivan and Sullivan Photography

Debby Mittelman is an attorney in Phoenix with a passion for floristry and photography. She realized how much she loved flowers when she served as the event chair for a charity gala dinner and she was more concerned about the centerpieces than anything else! As a long-time board member for Chrysalis Shelter, she has hosted Valentine’s Day floral pop-up shops for several years to benefit the agency’s work. This year, as MiViva Designs LLC, she is hosting floral design classes to blend creative arts and educational opportunities to challenge and inspire the students in a collaborative setting.

In April 2017, Debby spent a week in floral studies in Washington state, attending both my Designing with Garden Roses Class and Tobey Nelson’s Whidbey Island workshop taught by both Debra Prinzing from Slow Flowers and Susan McLeary of PassionflowerSue. She had learned about both of these classes via Instagram, and really appreciated the value of the shared experiences with new flower friends!
After returning to Arizona, Debby decided to launch her first destination workshop in Santa Fe, focusing on local #SlowFlowers. In searching for Slow Flowers members in New Mexico, Debby found Hong Elder Floral Farm on Instagram and scrolled through their feed that included a lovely picture of another florist’s beautiful bouquet on #floristfriday with commentary about the inspired seasonal design. This happened to be the work of Melissa Paquin of Renegade Floral. Seeing how one florist supported another, Debby knew she had found her people! She reached out to both Steven and Melissa, who responded enthusiastically to Debby’s workshop proposal, and the Instagram circle was complete.

Now you can join the circle, and create your own lush arrangements to take home, at the Santa Fe workshop on October 4, 2017, to be held at the Railyard Park Conservancy Community room from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

Steven and Kee-ju of Hong Elder Floral Farm and Workroom

Steven and Kee-ju Hong-Elder are experienced flower farmers and designers in Albuquerque, New Mexico, cultivating boutique, heirloom and unusual floral materials at Hong Elder Floral Farm and Workroom. Steven is inspired by color and seasonality from the garden, Steven combines his backgrounds as a horticulturist and floral designer to grow and create arrangements that are lush, full and grand. Kee-ju has been obsessed with nature since he was a little boy! His interest in nature and biology has evolved into his passion for gardening and growing. Kee-ju ensures that the flowers are grown with love and care.
Melissa Paquin of Renegade Floral found her calling and passion with her very first job in a flower shop. Her joyful approach to flowers is apparent in her work, and now she has become one of the most sought-after florists in Santa Fe, New Mexico, using a romantic and artistic approach with premium seasonal products to create personalized designs for her varied clients.

Designed by Melissa of Renegade Floral

Designed by Melissa of Renegade Floral

The flowers coming from Hong Elder will be the best of the New Mexico fall season, according to what nature produces! Depending upon availability, this workshop will feature a selection of Amaranthus, Basil and other herbs, Broomcorn, Celosia, Chocolate Queen Anne’s Lace, Dahlias, Flowering Kale and Cabbages, Ornamental Grasses, Scabiosa and Zinnias. Melissa will guide the class in two lovely foam-free containers, one a compote style and the other a specially commissioned ceramic vessel from Kati Kenrich Hulbert of Colorado.

A Cafe Au Lait Dahlia grown by Hong Elder Floral Farm and Workroom

All supplies will be provided, so just bring yourself and maybe a friend! The evening will also include light bites and dessert from the Santa Fe B&B Inn on the Paseo. Details and Registration at https://mivivadesigns.com/workshop Don’t miss this fun and creative evening that will be perfect for all skill levels, in celebration of the amazing fall season.


By Rachel Evans Heath

I was one of 200 experiencing an AIFD symposium for the first time. And I really didn’t know what the day would look like.

Not being a member of AIFD, but having researched them enough to know who they are, I expected to see several demonstrations and lectures, maybe even a new product promo here and there from various symposium sponsors. I really was not mentally prepared for what I encountered that day.

First walking though the enormous prep-room, off limits to standard participants, Alicia and I, as privileged members of the press(!), saw yards and yards of tables lined with arrangements. Every 50-foot-long table section had a different style and theme, as each section held the products of a different workshop. You’d walk along looking into a bohemian world of woodland-themed centerpieces then turn and enter a world of bright and cheery pave´ vases. I’d never seen such an array of versatile styles all in one room.

Blooms over Seattle, by AIFD

In the far corner of this enormous room was a rainbow of hundreds of uniform vases, most filled with flowers and ready to ship out the door. This was the donation center, we learned. Each year AIFD sends nearly 1,000 vases of flowers all over the host city. This year, “Blooms over Seattle” would be sending all these arrangements to senior centers, hospitals and the like, as AIFD’s donation to the city. A wonderful way to say thank you to the city, I thoughts, for hosting the hundreds of participants coming in from all over the world.

Blooms over Seattle, by AIFD

The quantities of all these arrangements filling the room was astounding. But it was nothing compared to what came next.

Taking our seats after our backstage tour of the large auditorium, we looked around at the 825 AIFD attendees, and from the buzz of excitement emulating from the veteran attendees, I knew I was in for a treat.

After a brief farewell to last year’s AIFD president, the new president and symposium coordinator welcomed us to this, their 50th symposium. I learned then that since that first symposium in 1967, AIFD was now in 14 countries and had about 1400 members worldwide. We saw images of floral pieces from past symposiums, each year seemingly getting bigger and grander in its designs. And had I been following that pattern I would have better guessed at the grandeur of the designs I was literally about to see.

The first presenters were Erik Witcraft and Frank Blanchard who both work from Portland, OR but grew up in Washington State. They proceeded to walk us through a stage filled with their 8 large floral pieces, each one a tribute to Washington State, and each one getter bigger and more complex. From hollowed logs, to hot-glued panels of Columbia Gorge waterfalls, it was a climactic build up to their final show-stopper, an enormous orb filled with foxtail ferns, craspedias and orchids: this was their floral representation of the Amazon.com biodomes that now can be seen in downtown Seattle. It really was quite the feat!

“Moon Over the Gorge”, presented by Erik and Frank

The rest of the day followed suit. We watched Aniko Kovacs and Ania Norwood present their display of 7 more large structures in their demonstration on various armatures. Using water tubes and vases of water for every structure, these two women used live florals to accentuate these large pieces of art. Again, they left the best for their finale, as they lowered down an enormous arch constructed from wooden stakes all zip-tied together, with various floral pieces and cages hanging down as embellishment.

Aniko and Ania presenting “X-cel with Armatures”

Hand-held, cardboard armature design presented by Aniko and Ania

With the title, “Outside the Box”, Arthur Williams from Denver showed us an array of his living floral designs, meaning they were designed onto live models. Starting with large hair floral designs, then walking us through his collaboratory exhibits at the Denver Art Museum, every piece he showed us was true to the realm of “outside the box.” His finale included a devilish display as a man woven with various floral headpieces crawled toward us, complete with horns and red paint over his skin. His artwork was nothing like anything I had ever seen at a flower symposium. It was truly the apex of an already, visually-stimulating day.

Arthur Williams presents his “hair-adornment look”, in conversation with Hitomi Gilliam

At the end of the day I found myself leaving with a new perspective of not just floral artworks, but of AIFD. This international association was not an organization preaching by their handbook of rules to follow in the world of floral arranging, as I had previously thought. Rather it was something entirely opposite. People, I’ve discovered, come to these symposiums to witness the displays of designers venturing outside of the world of standard floral design, to create their own artistic expressions.
This was a symposium that encouraged people to break the rules for the creation of amazing art with flowers as their medium. And as history has proved this to be the best formula for progression, I can now attest that AIFD is an organization who wants to see just that: the progression of art.

-Rachel Evans Heath
Trill Flora, LLC

As designers we know the importance of picking the right foliage for our designs. Greens serve as a base for much of our work and give our pieces their foundation, balance, texture, and shape. They usually complete our color palette as well. Some of the work we’re currently doing won’t even have flowers at all, just foliage. So picking the right greens can really make or break a design.

This is especially true when working in hot, desert climates. But just like the blossoms we carefully select, not all greens are up for such a scorching-hot challenge.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we are very fortunate to rarely have a hot day over 85°F to plan for. But I grew up in the rocky mountain desert where their bone-dry summer days will easily reach over 95°F in the summer months. Sometimes, well over 100°F. So when I travel back to do an event, an outdoor event especially, picking the appropriate product is essential.

Water source or not, if your greens can’t take the heat and begin to droop around your blooms, even if the flowers look healthy and great, the entire piece will look old and sad.

So here for you is a tried and true list of 6 excellent greens that can handle the heat on those bright, sun-shiney days.

Desert native and expert Mandy Ogaz, from The Potted Pansy in American Fork, Utah, weighed in on my list and together we combined ideas to come up with the list below.

Salal (Lemon Leaf)
“It has had a bad connotation for years, but f I’m doing a more low key, rustic wedding, lemon leaf holds up in the heat and still looks great if it dries out a bit!” – Mandy
I agree fully with Mandy. It does leave a bad taste in some designer’s mouths. I personally got sick of using it in every order we took at my first flower shop job. It’s hard to come away from that wanting to use it in my own work, but this stuff is tough! Even as you leave it to dry it hardly changes shape or looks droopy. In or out of water, this leaf will hold its own.

Eucalyptus
Popular for its blue-green coloring, we’re all seeing a lot of interest in eucalyptus these days. Fortunately eucalyptus dries well, and though it doesn’t soldier on quite as long as salal, it stays strong for a rather long time. This means that even if the hot sun is taking its toll on your eucalyptus, it won’t look too droopy and maintain its shape.

Bay Leaf
Bay leaf grows well in dry and toasty warm climates and likewise holds up well on warm days. I especially love the look of this one in boutonnieres.

Southern Smilax
Grown in the south, smilax is acquainted with heat, however it is used to a little more humidity. Keep your leaves bagged, spritzed and in the cooler up until the last minute before you haul it to your event site, and these gorgeous vines will give you several good hours in the heat with no water source.

Huckleberry
Strong and structural, huckleberry is often more stem than leaves. They hold up great, sometimes days without water.

Grasses
Grass dries so well while holding itself up, it agrees very well with dry climates. And with so many varieties out there you can often find a look to match the style you’re working with.

-By Rachel Evans Heath

http://festivalflora.com/

Córdoba, 25nd September 2017.- The city of Córdoba (Spain) will held from 20th to 29th October the first edition of the International Flower Festival, FLORA, a unique and remarkable event in Spain and in the world which will bring together the best international and national artists in this field to intervene –each of them with their exclusive and individual hallmark- in eight institutional patios in the city. Overall, eight spectacular and ephemeral floral installations will be created for the event and they just could be visited for free during those days.

In this way, FLORA, International Flower Festival presents an unprecedented cultural exchange between such a traditional space as the patios of Córdoba and such a contemporary and surprising art as the one of floral installations, a kind dialogue between tradition and innovation meant to become a must within the Spanish cultural agenda.

In this first edition, eight guest artists are participating: Alfie Lin (China), Flores Cosmos (Mexico), In Water Flowers (UK), Isabel Marías –under the artistic name of Elisabeth Blumen- (Spain), Loose Leaf (Australia), Natasha Lisitsa & Daniel Schultz (USA), Patrick Nadeau (France) and Tomas de Bruyne (Belgium).

Each of them will intervene in one of the eight institutional patios selected for the occasion: Palace of Orive, Posada del Potro, Archaeological Museum, Vimcorsa, Bullfighting Museum, Office of the Department of Tourism, Municipal Archives and Antonio Gala Foundation.

The patio assigned to each artist, the jury and other news will be revealed during the press conference to present the festival, which is going to be held in Córdoba on 28th September.

FLORA is also born to acknowledge the work of the best floral artist worldwide, an artistic universe still unknown for many people and lacking, until now, a prize of international importance. Three big prizes, awarded by an international jury and worth €60,000, €40,000 and €20.000 respectively, will place this festival, held in a city having such a close connection to the floral world as Córdoba, in the international sphere.

The characteristic festival prize is being designed by the prestigious Spanish jewellery brand Gold & Roses, widely linked to the art world and to locally and traditionally manufactured art .

Furthermore, the most renowned representative of the contemporary botanic drawing participated in the creation of the official poster: Katie Scott. The British illustrator prepared an exclusive floral composition from several common flowers in her book Botanicum (2016).

Once the artists have been selected, the countdown starts to enjoy FLORA, a festival born from the private initiative of Zizai Hotels, S.L. and co-organized by Córdoba City Hall, aimed to boost the city, i.e. having a positive impact on tourism, economy and art. The event also expects to involve the city itself, first of all, the general public and both local and international agents, bringing up Córdoba as a reference in the world scene of contemporary floral art.

Next autumn all culture enthusiasts will have a unique opportunity to discover an almost unprecedented art in Spain and a star appointment to be seduced by the incomparable charm and beauty of the patios of Córdoba.

BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ARTISTS IN FLORA

Alfie Lin
(China-Taiwan, 1973)
For Alfie Lin, flowers not only afford beauty from a visual perspective, but also a profound emotional experience. Renowned in the floral art world for his marvellous work at Fuchun Resort in Hangzhou, he has also worked for labels such as Fendi, Dior, Loewe, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany. One of his most highly internationally acclaimed pieces is Forest Bus, a bus that was turned into an authentic “mobile forest”, which managed to bedeck the streets of Taipei, literally and metaphorically, in Nature. In 1998 he created his business, CNFlower. He has been chosen as “Man of the Year” by GQ magazine China.
http://www.cnflower.com.tw

Flores Cosmos
Alberto Arango (City of México, Mexico, 1980)
Ramiro Guerrero (Toluca, Mexico, 1979)
Ten years ago, in Barcelona, they had a vision of returning to Mexico to make a radical change in their lives: opening a florist’s. At FLORA, having by now become a benchmark for floral art in Latin America, they return to Spain to bring a marvellous circle to a close, as they have asserted. Their signature style features experimentation in shapes, colours and materials. They work with flowers as they could with any other material: what they do is pure sensitivity, artistic vision and creative boldness. They dream of setting up a floral installation at the Sculpture Space in the UNAM, in the forest of Kyoto or on the moon.

cosmosflores.blogspot.com.es

In Water Flowers
Their intervention at the National Gallery in London in June 2016 showed thousands of people from around the world how far a floral installation can go: the only limits are the artist’s imagination and creativity. With more than 26,000 flowers (tulips, peonies, carnations, freesia, calla lilies and roses) they reproduced a small painting by Flemish painter Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, turning it into a 35-square meter installation. Robert Hornsby, creative director of the firm founded in 1999 with Claire Garabedian, started out in the world of flowers driving a delivery van (quite often rearranging the flowers he was supposed to deliver). Today he is one of London’s boldest flower designers.
http://www.inwaterflowers.co.uk

Isabel Marías (Elisabeth Blumen)
(Madrid, Spain, 1978)
She studied Fashion Design at the Escuela Superior de Diseño de Madrid and was fully devoted to fashion for several years, designing her own collection and working for designers such as Matthew Williamson, Juan Duyos and Sybilla. Yet she felt something was missing: flowers. She opened her first florist’s in 2010 and, under her signature Elisabeth Blumen line, currently works for labels and institutions such as Loewe, Balenciaga, Repsol, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Sorolla Museum, MNCARS and Microsoft. She has been the creative director of LOEWE Flores since 2016. Her surprising colour combinations are part of her personal hallmark, which also features the concept of delicacy.
www.elisabethblumen.com

Loose Leaf
Wona Bae (Muahn, South Korea, 1976)
Charlie Lawler (Hobart, Australia)
When Wona and Charlie met in Germany – she was taking a Master’s course in floristry and he was working at the United Nations – the floral art world gained a pair of artists determined to introduce nature into our lives. Their “botanical design” studio, in a former warehouse in Melbourne, is a magical place for natural experimentation. Everything Loose Leaf creates is a result of observation of Nature. Beyond their famous “Monstera chandeliers”, those marvellous hanging installations of monsters and palm tree leaves that have made them so highly acclaimed, Charlie and Wona’s proposals always encourage us to reconnect with Nature.
looseleafstore.com.au

Natasha Lisitsa & Daniel Schultz (Waterlily Pond)
Colouristic, cheerful and with a taste for the stunning, Natasha Lisitsa and Daniel Schultz, a couple from the United States, have filled more than 1500 weddings and other events with flowers and have created floral installations at museums such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the de Young Museum. Their large-scale work is particularly impressive (some of their installations have weighed up to 1000 kg). Natasha, an engineer by training, contributes her knowledge of flowers in creating lively, intense stories (her style has been described as “exuberant ikebana”), while Daniel, an architect, is inspired by modern art and architecture to create new spaces and surprising structures.
waterlilypond.com

Patrick Nadeau
(La Rochelle, France, 1955)
The work of this architect with a passion for plants and flowers falls under the label of “vegetal design”. He is also known for his teaching work, as research lecturer at the ESAD de Reims where he created the first vegetal design studio in an art school in Europe. His installations mix material from nature with artificial elements, endeavouring to introduce the natural element into our lives (he designs wonderful pots and stands for interior plants). Contemporary Art Foundation, Elle Déco, Hermès and Kenzo-Parfums are a few of his customers. He has been artistic director of the French firm, Laorus, since 2016.

http://www.patricknadeau.com

Tomas De Bruyne
(Bruges, Belgium, 1970)
Boasting a long list of awards in floral art competitions, he also participates as a panel member. In addition to his work as a floral artist, he is an outstanding instructor and has published important work in the world of flowers. In 2013, he created and patented his own variety of Gloriosa lily, or climbing lily: Gloriosa Tomas De Bruyne. For this reason, and because of how spectacular, though also delicate, his work typically is, he is one of the best-known floral artists on the international scene.
http://www.tomasdebruyne.com