The Flower of My Affection
It happens around this time every year that I fall in love, and it's always with the same flower. I’ll tell you that normally the dahlia wins me over in Fall; the ranunculus is the star of my winter; but the peony reigns as the bloom of my affection for spring/summer.
Heralded as the Queen of Flowers for over a millennium, the peony perfectly combines delicacy with a hearty heft. Such a magnificent flower measuring up to six inches in diameter with feathery anthers and subtle gradations of color could only be crafted by the most genius artist, Mother Nature herself. So, how could we not find it the best choice to use in centerpieces for a recent private dinner at Sotheby’s New York?
Apart from working wonders in pure arrangements, peonies happen to act extremely agreeable with most shapes, sizes, textures of flowers. See how stunning raspberry peonies look en masse, along with how well they combine with white lisianthus and sweet peas.
While my love for peonies knows no bounds, the cabbage rose and the ranunculus are close cousins worth noting since peonies are not available year round (usually in season domestically from May through July). Thankfully, my heart finds content with other elegant and enduring blooms during the off-season...
...I just never can seem to wait until Spring to fall in love again!
-Parker Voss
10th Annual Tulips & Pansies – The Headdress Affair
Last Thursday saw a major spectacle at Gotham Hall for the 10th Annual Tulips and Pansies: The Headdress Affair. Hosted by VillageCare to benefit its network of AIDS services in Manhattan, the runway show showcases the design of 19 floral design companies paired with clothing designers. As a first-time participant armed with Betsey Johnson as our supporting designer, we gladly took the challenge to build something big, beautiful, and beyond.
And thus, a punk-inspired Marie Antoinette was born. 
Our queen captured the electric spirit of Betsey Johnson with the luxe-glam of roses and peonies. The brainstorm process evolved from a peek at the Betsey Johnson S/S 2011 runway collection. Once decided on a custom, spray-painted petticoat dress, we set our imagination on a headpiece fit for an 18th century European court. Additional references included Carnival, La Catrina, and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
The pink cabbage roses, peonies and baby's breath that recalled a powdered wig became a veritable garden for 6” silver glitter butterflies. Details below.
While we succeeded in concealing the water tubes necessary to keep the peonies (queen of all flowers) looking their best, our incredible model Stephanie withstood the substantial weight with elegance and grace. Many kudos to her for making the look appear both natural and effortless.
Ultimately, the runway walk – though only lasting a minute – was the shining moment for our design. It’s always enchanting for a designer to witness their work being brought to life. The feeling can be so surreal or unimagined that it becomes easy to forget how such a creation came to be. 
It was a true pleasure working on this project for such a charitable cause, and to see where our minds and flowers could lead us given a little inspiration. Looking forward to next year’s show already… Meanwhile, thanks to VillageCare, Betsey Johson and to Stephanie for stealing the runway!
Photo Credits: Andrew Werner, LINDSEYBELLE
-Parker Voss
American Friends of the Louvre Party at the French Ambassador’s Residence
Few things could make the day more picturesque on Thursday than a special party hosted by the American Friend's of the Louvre. The AFL, an organization that promotes and strengthens ties between the Louvre and the American public, kindly asked us to provide the flowers for their event at the French Ambassador to the United States' residence.
Our floral design for the evening (literally) reflected the living room's gold and red fabric tones, white walls and dark wood accents. Working with the interior's own color scheme, we filled a mirrored container that echoed the mirrored fireplace with yellow cymbidium orchids, two types of red roses (Freedoms and Black Magics), black callas and of course, local white peonies that are so beautiful at this time of year. 
Apart from complimenting the space, the arrangements integrated seamlessly into the home's extensive French art collection. As with all of our special projects, we enjoy the work that goes into the final result - especially when art is involved. Afterall, how could an Art History major like myself resist the chance to combine art and flowers?
-Parker Voss
Photo Update!
New photos of our design for the Campari & Skyy Spirits event at the Empire Hotel Rooftop are in! Please check out our previous post to find out more...
Cherry Blossoms and Peonies Galore!
Cherry blossoms and peonies are looking their best this season, so how could we help but use them in abundance for a recent party at our favorite Soho residence. The space - seen before on our blog in Winter 2010, Spring 2010 & Winter 2009 - is a perfect example of how florals can transform an environment. For a party this season we wanted to air out and brighten the loft-style apartment with fluffy textures and shades of pink by keeping it simple with two flower types.
The expansive dining table becomes a canvas to decorate that informs the floral design for the rest of the space. We complimented its choice of flowers throughout the room – first with a grand cherry blossom arrangement that welcomed guests upon entrance, then using additional cherry blossoms and peonies for the living areas.
The exception came with the baby's breath we bunched in mass to fill the client's own ceramic basin on the main coffee table. 
*More of the height and depth we brought to the table design by combining a 5' tall cherry blossom arrangement with three tones of pink peonies in mercury glass containers.
The striking beauty of these fresh flowers is obvious, yes, but their attractiveness also lies in the fact that they'll live on in full bloom for about another week's time. Here's to hearty Spring flowers!
-Parker Voss
Potted Herbs as an Alternative to Floral Centerpieces
We're always open to alternative centerpieces to the standard floral arrangement to add color, texture, light, frangrance or visual interest to any table design for any event. Apart from branch arrangements, candles, dried elements or decorative object groupings, potted herbs happen to be one of the best and more affordable options for achieving these affects. Below are three examples of potted herb centerpieces that incorporate a take on the homegrown garden.
Low round glass with green moss and five types of herbs: spearmint, dill, sage, rosemary, and oregano. Touches of river rocks polish off the ensemble.
A trio of different herb varieties potted in glass rounds & a cube with green moss: parsley, fresh basil, rosemary and sage.
A potted flowering jasmine plant – especially sweet in smell with trailing vines and flowers.
We incorporated these three table designs at a wedding last weekend. The homegrown garden concept touched on the handmade element found in the custom quilts by the bride's mother.
An appropriate choice for a complimentary cocktail table arrangement would be trailing jasmine in a simple 3" x 3" glass round.
For additional interest, add decorative stakes labeling the different herbs to inform your guests about plant varieties at any wedding, luncheon or Spring/Summer dinner party.
-Parker Voss
Skowhegan Awards Dinner 2011
Tuesday marked the 40th annual Awards Dinner for Skowhegan, the nine-week residency program for emerging visual artists. This year the event chairs opted for a radically new venue where to celebrate, Skylight Studios Soho – a complete raw space serving as the perfect blank canvas for us to decorate (and celebrate) in striking pops of color. Taking our cues from a color burst on the front side of the invitation, we arranged our favorite flowers in a rather unusual color combination.
We framed the entrance doorway with flowering pear branches and pops of raspberry peonies. We wanted the installation to soften the starkness of the sober, white-washed studio.
Natural elements in open spaces are certain to call attention. As such, we brought additional flowering branches into the cocktail environment by arranging white dogwood branches in brushed steel containers. Flowering branch arrangments are always a favorite for being a visually impactful and cost effective way to enhance a space.
The sweeping scale of the studio required us to decorate in mass. So, we imagined the idea of hanging hundreds of glass tubes filled with four types of flowers from the trusses, a vision inspired in part by a chandelier. Given the saturated palette, we chose raspberry peonies, coral-orange roses, green dendrobian orchids, and white hydrangeas for their varied shapes and colors.
Hung at varying heights, the rows of suspended flowers created balanced yet dynamic spatial orientation among the different flower types.
Additionally, we added extra hues by way of color blocking the seat cushions in either black, pink, orange or green.
We adored the vibrancy of the raspberry peonies, orange-coral roses, yellow confetti roses, mini green hydrangea and white hydrangeas in combination.
Overall, the color/design scheme felt appropriate given the season and annual fact that there are so many beautiful local flowers in bloom at the current time! (Also note that our our Tumblr account includes images of the availabe varieities at the flower market for any given week)
Meanwhile, Happy Spring and thanks to everyone involved with the Skowhegan Awards Dinner for being a pleasure to work with!
-Parker Voss
