Floral Jewelry "Broaches"

Floral jewelry is contemporary and popular in the industry.  It's also a great way to practice and improve your hand skills.  This is a way floral designers can create a trademark design.   I pay particular attention to retail stores such as J. Crew, Anthropology and Nordstroms for observing trends and design inspiration.  I've noticed more broach style jewelry displayed throughout these stores.  The classic broach styles are being shown with color trends and upbeat twists.

City College of San Francisco Students made the above broaches for a project we were involved with recently.   These armature structures are made out of aluminum wire, bullion wire, pearls, beads and ribbon. A broach style pin and clasp were wired on all the backs to make them authentic.  All they need are floral accents to complete the design.  Fresh floral adhesive works great for gluing the materials on.

These are fantastic to have displayed at the sales counter in your flower shop or in the consultation area in your design studio.  They can be displayed with and without flowers.  Great conversational pieces and keepsakes with your customers and clients.  I hope this inspires you to explore floral jewelry and even make your own line.

 

Inspiration Boards

Inspiration Boards are a fantastic way to start the creative and planning process. An Inspiration Board is “displayed thinking”. The first step is to understand what your client wants and how you will communicate that through visual means. Creating an Inspiration Board will help ensure that you and your audience/client understands your intent. There are many benefits to Inspiration Boards. They engage all that are involved into an enjoyable process. They allow everyone to share ideas and reduce time spent on unfocused and undirected discussion. They are especially helpful in making alternative decisions.

One way to develop an Inspiration Board is to start with a theme and color harmony for an event. Then collect ideas such as – swatch samples, a centerpiece sketch or a small intricate design made out of decorative wire for a napkin.

The Inspiration Board process has been around for a long time and can also be called storyboarding. Walt Disney began the modern use of them in 1929 and today they are very popular with special events. Try using one for your next client. It’s a wonderful way to have a highly interactive visual process.

Embellished Pillows

These decorative roll pillows are encrusted with textural floral medallions that are made out of hypericum berries, peacock feathers, peas, reindeer moss and midollino. They make great conversational pieces.

EDUCATIONAL TIP: Use a common material in the floral industry out of its normal fashion. You might just start a trend. Take a smart and stylish home décor piece and embellish it as a floral decoration or keepsake.

Building a Succulent Urn

STEPS FOR SUCCULENT URN

Step 1
Attach chicken wire onto urn.

Step 2
Apply sheet moss with spray glue.

Step 3
Wire succulents to urn.

Step 4
Reinforce placements inside with cable ties.

Step 5
Styrofoam used for base of lid. Pick succulents into Styrofoam with wooden picks.

The finished design in place.

EDUCATIONAL TIP: Succulent arrangements are great to use for exhibit designs because there is minimal care involved.

Green Fusion

The "Green Fusion" vignette inspired by the
global movement toward saving the planet.

Apples recycled after an event are donated to local farms for feeding.

Succulents reused and replanted.

This vignette of designs is called The Green Fusion. It was inspired by the global movement toward saving the planet. It displays different ways to use materials that are in harmony with the environment. It is our social responsibility to be involved and achieve tangible results. Just talking about doing something is not acceptable anymore. The key words are reduce, recycle, reuse, and repurpose. There are many sources and options in our industry. The rental of props, containers and linens is at our fingertips. Our industry offers these items in recycled and eco-friendly materials. Branches and vines are fantastic organic mechanics. There are many different styles of mosses that can be reused. Fruits like apples can be used in designs and then given to local farms for the animals to eat. Succulents are great materials that can be reused and replanted.

EDUCATIONAL TIP: Use the sources that are at your fingertips and give them a purpose. Giving back to the environment and to your community is very important. Promote locally grown flowers and LED (Light Emitting Diodes) lighting that consumes less power, lasts longer and contains no toxins.