Friday, March 29, 2013

Hartmann Studios "2013 Client Appreciation Event"


Hartmann Studios - Client Appreciation Event

Jenny Tabarracci AIFD and Michael Daigian


Hartmann Studios held their Client Appreciation Event Wednesday night March 27th, 2013 at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, CA. If you want to have a blast and see what's the latest in trendsetting for special events this is the party to attend.  The design possibilities are truly endless at Hartmann Studios.  They are located in Richmond, CA and you can visit them on their website at hartmannstudios.com.

I was fortunate to work for Mike Guelfi one of the owners of Hartmann early in my career. When I was employed by Podesta Baldocchi which was San Francisco's oldest floral company (established in 1871) he was the general manager.  This was a valuable experience in my career, I have much respect for him.  He is one of the brightest professionals I've worked with in the industry.

This year Hartmann had four areas " Pop Art Room", " Library", " Oval Salon" and the "Night Club" flowing with embellished decor, delicious catering and fabulous ambiance.  Many prestigious floral designers from the Bay Area displayed their talents along with Hartmanns extraordinary lounges, stunning environmental elements, unbelievable candelabra structures and Gatsby style settings.  Just to name a few of the decor highlights of the night.

Michael Daigian Design was invited to display their tremendous talents for the night.  Michael's creative design team is top notch and it includes Marisa Tsikounas, Jennifer Lato AIFD and Nixon Tran.  They included part of my Bouquets to Art design in the entrance to their show room. The appropriate modifications were made to my design and it was exciting to see how it coordinated  with their room decor.  They took on the challenge of working with the Pantone color of the year "Emerald" and hit it out of the park with sophistication and radiance.  Michael Daigian is a mentor and dear floral friend that I share many ideas and designs with.  It's so important to have supportive and creative individuals like this in your life.   It was great to see the design used again with different elements. 








Michael Daigian seated at his impressive table display featuring Henry Lauder's walking stick with red floral accents playing a complementary balancing act with radiant emerald green.  Stunning!





Table display by Michael Daigian Design





Table display by Nicole Ha Designs

This charming display shows the diversity with the Bay Area Floral Designers.  What a fabulous way to celebrate a special event! 


Table display by Nicole Ha Designs

 Magical detail at it's finest!  What a joy it was to explore these Alice in Wonderland motifs.







Table display by Passifflora Designs

Hartmanns theme was to "INSPIRE, IMAGINE, IGNITE".  This display captured these words and the attention of so many guests. Bravo! 

Thanks to Hartmann Studios for another spectacular night and Kudos to so many talent designers, planners, caterers and patisseries in the special events industry.



Sunday, March 24, 2013

Bouquets to Art 2013 - "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue"





BOUQUETS TO ART 2013


Exhibitor:  Jenny Tabarracci AIFD, City College of San Francisco
Assistants:  Imelda Iraeta, Sungmum Ryu, David Cushing
Artist:  Richard Diebenkorn
Artwork:  Miller 22, 1951

"Something Old"






These garlands of abaca black mesh, pearls, silver beads and decorative wire were used 4 years ago in an AIFD presentation and ISES event.  I consider this my "Something Old" in the design.  I packed and stored them and was able to use them for the third time for Bouquets to Art this year.  The mesh comes in a roll and originally came from Accent Decor.  You can also buy it at Shibata at the San Francisco Flower market in different colors.  It was cut in half and shaped into garlands with decorative accents.  This is a great mechanic that can be used over and over again.  This was the main mechanic that held the Bouquets to Art design together.  It was attached to the metal stands with black cable ties.

"Something New"


The design concept, combination of materials and the way they are used represents the "Something New".   The materials were chosen because in my eye they portrayed a similar feeling and characteristic as the shapes, colors and lines of the painting.  I was also influenced by the other paintings in the room and wanted to create a design that would blend well.  I designed the materials in an organic repetitious fashion with lots of depth, layering and circular motion.  The floral materials used in this design were silver dollar eucalyptus, tillandsia and anthuriums.  The anthuriums were the only material that had a water source which was a water tube sprayed black. 

Detail work through out the entire design.

 The floral design was also inspired by the art work of Robert Motherwell titled "At Five in the Afternoon"

 Prep work for the silver dollar eucalyptus garlands.  Leaves are cut off branches, put in piles and then strung on black 12 gauge aluminum wire with a stacking technique.  The wire is curved tightly at the beginning and end of each section so the materials will not slip off.

Silver dollar eucalyptus garlands completed in different sizes. Then attached to metal frames and mesh with black cable ties.  Garlands sculpted around and into the design for final technique.

"Something Borrowed"







I borrowed these metal stands from the Retail Floristry Department at City College.  You can buy them at Accent Decor.  They are the frame work to the design.  Holes were drilled at the base and secured with screws into custom pedestals made out of plywood.

"Something Blue" 

Blue "Co-Flex" a cohesive flexible bandage was used to wrap around the metal frames.  This is something I came across riding horses.  It is used in the horse world regularly and comes in all different colors.  It works well in floral design and does not need glue.  The painting has small accents of blue and I wanted to portray the same effect with the floral design.

Metal frames were first wrapped with the blue Co-Flex and then the mesh was added with black cable ties.  This was the key mechanic to the design.  The mesh really held everything together.

Sometimes it takes two people to get the mechanic just right.

Thank you to my assistants Sun, Imelda and David! Hope everyone had a chance to see the show.  Many, Many amazing designs!  Congratulations to all!

Design Supplies

Black abaca mesh, water tubes sprayed black, jewels, beads, pearls from Accent Decor, blue Co-Flex, black cable ties, black 12 gauge aluminum wire, black and silver 24 gauge decorative wire.