Biz Bash EXPO & Awards
Last Wednesday marked the annual Biz Bash EXPO & Awards at the Javits Convention Center here in New York City. The EXPO is a nationwide trade show whose mission seeks to unite professionals in the event industry for a day of education, fresh ideas and entertainment. More than 3,000 industry-related participants gathered from around the region to see and be seen by anyone from event planners & florists to gourmet caterers & caviar importers. Prior to the day, we were honored by Biz Bash to be nominated for our event design for Campari's 150th Anniversary for Best Overall Event Decor (Budget under $50k).
In Bloom's station at the EXPO engendered a dramatic yet approachable feel. Our designers hand-made a sensitively designed display of wisteria vines and a variety of orchids within the 10' x 10' booth space. By arching the vines over and around a flat-screen featuring images of past projects, we integrated an organic, substantial feeling into a very temporary space.
The tabletop flowers featured a fiery display of vanda and mocara orchids carefully wrapped on wisteria vines in a progression from yellow to orange to red-hued blooms. Check out Parker, our design coordinator, midway through wrapping the tabletop vines with single stems of vanda orchids to create a continuous, flowering branch.
For the backdrop we introduced cymbidium & mocara orchids with green & Spanish moss to finish off the organic effect. The more flowers and moss added, the more alive the installation became. We appreciated all of the enthusiastic responses we received from of the wonderful people we met throughout the day.
Watch Roshy, our Creative Director, discuss a bit about our booth and upcoming projects in this video.
-Parker Voss
Campari 150th Anniversary Party: Design & Planning
Negroni? Campari & Soda? Campari & orange juice? Which is your favorite Campari drink? I am a sucker for a Campari on the rocks with a splash of soda and orange...always delightful on a hot summer day like today...
I'm regressing now! Back to the topic at hand - Campari! Dating back to 1860, this aperitif is one of the most recognizable in the world, primarily due to the brand's beautiful advertisements that have been captivating consumers and art collectors alike for over a century now. This past May, Campari celebrated their 150th Anniversary at The Bowery Hotel and In Bloom New York was asked to create the flower displays as well as the environmental decor for the fete.
The evening was produced by the Art Production Fund, with a special musical performance and never-before-seen works of art by Kalup Linzy. Co-hosting the event were mixologists Tony Abou-Ganim, Jacques Bezuidenhout, Marco Dionysos, Francesco Lafranconi, Lynnette Marrero, Eric Alperin & Allen Katz as well as Manhattan Cocktail Classic and United States Bartenders' Guild.
There were a many elements that we needed to design for this event including bar displays, floral decorations for their vintage advertisements, a large-scale logo for stage backdrop, a photo booth display, one significant entry table design as well as several table centerpieces. We knew we wanted to create something entirely new and fresh while still maintaining Campari's classic brand and image.
Our immediate inspiration came from an antique birdcage at our hands as well as Alexander Mcqueen's 2008 Spring/Summer Butterfly headdress. We wanted there to be whimsy and also an element of darkness in this Campari garden.
First, we began brainstorming for the main installaion that would set the mood for the additional design elements. Envisioning the large antique birdcage coupled with a mannequin on display, we quickly put together a mock-up to get a feel of the layout. We conceived this display based on the image of a beautiful woman who lives in a garden with hair of butterflies and dresses in a bodice of flowers. Reaching out, she embodies an eternal desitre for this bottle housed behind the overgrowth of the antique birdcage.
As for producing this imagination, we first needed to create the bodice for the mannequin. After mapping out the pattern in pencil, we individually hot-glued every petal and ruscus leaf onto the heart shape-leotard. We simply used two elements to keep the design clean and fresh: dark green Italian Ruscus and red rose petals.
We built the boddice from the bottom upward with Italian Ruscus to achieve the effect of organic growth. Ruscus ended up being the perfect plant to achieve this goal.
Next, we added the rose petals one by one. Since the hot glue changed the color of the petal, we needed to ensure that we covered these areas by an overlapping petal. We initially thought to use silk flowers instead of fresh florals but decided against it, keeping in mind that we would have to house the mannequin in our floral refrigerator until the following day to keep the petals fresh.
The last element that we were able to prep in advance was the wisteria and branch design on the antique birdcage. We used branches varying in width, choosing the most twisted and interesting pieces.
Part 2 to follow with photos of the event!
Wisteria Vines
Last October, In Bloom New York did the floral set up for a private party in Soho and our client asked us to come up with a way to decorate the fireplace since it was still under construction. We had the pleasure of working with Brian Reilly on this project. Brian is an interior design genius and is currently in Milan working for Ralph Lauren. While brainstorming the ideas for the event, Brian suggested covering the fireplace with Wisteria Vines.
With the ideas mapped out in our head, we moved forward and ordered three bundles of Wisteria Vines and 100 stems of deep burgundy Antique Hydrangeas. When the vines arrived, we were pleased to see many pieces of intricately twisted branches. We knew we had our job cut out for us since the vines were dried and not as malleable as they once were and we had to position the installation in a way that we wouldn't damage the walls or the antique fireplace.
Our landscape designer Anthony Dessiprius spearheaded the project and within a couple hours he had the structure up and secured with no more than fishing wire and two nails. Anthony used the best pieces of the bundles and created a natural and organic installation that looked as if it has grown up the fireplace on its own. Once the foundation was complete, we added the stems of the Antique Hydrangeas starting heavier at the bottom and sprinkling more at the top. These stems remained on the structure for a few months and dried naturally and beautifully on it's own.
