By Kristen Toscano Messina
In celebration of spring, we decided to talk to some of our floral
designers. These are the people who a Set Decorator relies on to
provide some of the final details in just the right color and mood for
a set. One day it may be a "Friend's" wedding, the next the perfect
floral arrangement for dinner on an alien planet. These are the people
who help tell the story in flowers.
We asked them all to respond to the same questions and here is what they had to say...
Q: What is your favorite flower?
"My
favorite flower is, and has always been a gardenia. They evoke memories
of my Mother's and Grandmother's gardens....they embody everything a
flower should be: fragrant, delicate, cherished, fleeting and
mysterious!" (Corrie Levelle of Sandy Rose Floral Design)
"'A
rose by any other name'..Call me a traditionalist, but without shame my
favorite flower remains the rose. 'The' is an understatement because
the rose family has thousands of cultivars ... My favorite is
SENSATION. A multi-flowered, caramel-y orange; with the most heavenly
aroma. Mmmmm. (James Rainbow of Rainbows, Flowers & Fantasies)
"We
adore peonies for their perfect roundness, their pinkness, their
lushness, Casablanca lilies for their fragrance, French tulips for
their disorderliness, orchids for their exotic shapes that lend drama
and anthropomorphic strangeness, We love the delicate paper thin petals
of Icelandic poppies, the deep brown velvet and aroma of chocolate
cosmos." (Claudia Rovner of Dave's Flowers & Gift Baskets)
"Wild
Sculptural Forced Forsythia in January, French Blazing Red & Yellow
Parrot & "Niaomi" Pencil Tulips in Feb,Early Spring bulb flowers
(hyacinth & narcissus) in March , "Venus" Peonies in April, Local
Dutch tulips in May, Garden Roses in June & July, Zinnias and
specialty dahlias in August, elegant but treaturous arching rose hips
in September, "Antique"Hydrangeas in October, Bittersweet in November,
Apple Green & Blood Red Skimmia & "Royal Velvet" & "Germa"
Amaryllis in December." (Wendy Goidell of Wendy Goidell, Inc.)
"I
think nature has given us so many beautiful blossoms, that each and
everyone of them has it own beauty. I think my favorite of all time are
roses for they different colors and varieties, hydrangeas for color and
fluffiness,and cymbidium orchid for being unusual." (Eddie Zaratsian of
Tic-Tock Designs)
Q: What is your favorite season?
"Fall
for its fabulous colors and textures. I love Fall's leaves, berries,
branches, mosses, vegetables as well as flowers...My co-favorite
season, if there can be such a thing, is Spring. In spring we are able
to get all the fabulous bulb flowers we don't see throughout the rest
of the year. We can also get away with some color combinations that
might be thought gaudy or too sweet at any other time of the year."
(Corrie Levelle)
"Our favorite season is spring, because many of
the bulb flowers are flowering branches in bloom. We find it so amazing
to see pink trees, cherry and corral quince. We like to place just
flowering branches in a vase this time of the year, and let the petals
fall on the table. We feel a sense of renewal and rebirth. Our favorite
holiday is Christmas, we enjoy using fresh flowers and fruit to create
magical Christmas trees and décor…. the possibilities are endless.
Imagine a Christmas tree, twinkling with red lights covered with a
thousand black magic roses, or a gift box wrapped in origami paper and
crude brown twine, ornament with a cymbidium orchid bloom…." (Claudia
Rovner)
Q: What has been your most interesting project?
"We've
been blessed to work with some of the best, and most interesting
decorators in the business. Their talents and imagination inspire mine.
One recent example: Mel Cooper called me with a proposition. 'I have a
wedding reception," she told me, "and the flowers have to burn.' She
added, sense of humor intact, 'Figure it out.' I love challenges like
that! "(Mark Goin of Flower Art)
"...one of my favorite jobs of
all time was on the soap opera, Guiding Light. ... a Bridal Fashion
Show, whose inspiration was very Marie Antoinette. The scenery was very
modern – funky rooftop garden, plexi and neon lit runway, the perfect
foil for 'free-standing' 9 ft. arrangements of pampas grasses,
tuberose, proteas, french tulips, feather plumes and of course,
luscious 'cabbage' roses. For added drama we unified the arrangements
with swags of pastel tulle and over-scale pearl strands. (See photo)
Then, to whet any florist’s appetite; each bridal costume required its
own specially designed bouquet!" (James Rainbow)
"...Grace's Wedding" on the show Will and Grace." (Eddie Zaratsian)
Q: What has been your most daunting project?
"...a
reception & wedding ceremony scenes for "Twenty Eight Days"...there
were so many things to make we had to start making them on Saturday AM
and keep them perfectly open on Wed, Thurs. & Friday...it was 100
degrees outside I needed to work in an enormous refridgerator. All the
designers came with sweatshirts and we worked inside the fridge for 4
days. " (Wendy Goidell)
Q: Current trends in flowers?
"Our
job is to create florals that enhance a set and help define a
character. We do our research. Who cares about the latest trends in
flowers - unless, of course, either a set or character is, well,
trendy." (Mark Goin)
"...Scandanavian and German floral
designers are leading the way with designs incorporating lots of dried
and preserved elements, even window screening and hardware cloth woven
with industrial or organic items. These elements lend themselves to
design in an area where the growing season is very short and the number
of stems in any arrangement are very expensive and need to be featured
and framed. The overall effect is very sculptural, unlike anything that
mainstream American flower fanciers are used to." (Corrie Levelle)
"Current
trends lean towards bunching one type and one colour of flower, usually
in neutral colours of whites, creams, greens, or the darker brown to
black-red tones; massing them in clear-glass, clean lined vases. These
designs complement todays’ Fung Sui, Mid-Century Mod, and Bauhaus
Moderne decors that are popular. Simple, clean, and lovely!" (James
Rainbow)
"…minimal, clean arrangements of flowers, like a dozen
parrot tulips or bloom red amaryllis in a vase filled to the rim with
gray-green river rock... Bubble bowls of roses, garden lisianthis,
English stock, tulips and hydrangea; romantic, full, monochromatic
arrangements are also popular. Perhaps the unifying trend... that these
distinctive styles share is an emphasis on uncommon and unusual
flowers, and the best quality available." (Claudia Rovner)
Q: What never seems to go out of style?
"A dozen roses arranged in a vase." (Corrie Levelle)
Q: What do you wish would go out of style?
"A dozen roses arranged in a vase! "(Corrie Levelle)
Q: Inspiration?
"...anything
and everything. A painting can often inspire me, so can a piece of
music, a yard of fabric, a container, a certain flower or even a trip
to the hardware store or produce department. I gain inspiration from a
Set Decorator's excitement for a project or a storyline or an
historical period." (Corrie Levelle)
"The wonderful thing about
Floral Design is there are so many exotic flowers: proteas from New
Zealand, parrot tulips from Holland, orchids from Thailand, dahlias
from New Jersey (!) ...a cornucopia of shapes, textures, colours...
(James Rainbow)
"... we are inspired by grand things like a walk
through a landscaped botanical garden and smaller, more urban sights
like the tiny red petals of a geranium as it strains to grow up, over,
and through a silvery chain link fence. We are constantly amazed by
color and shape and we try to find beauty in the unexpected... we are
inspired the most when we pay attention to detail." (Claudia Rovner)
Thanks to:
Claudia Rovner of Dave's Flowers & Gift Baskets davesflowers@aol.com / tel. 323-666-4391
Mark Goins of Flower Art flwrartset@aol.com / tel. 310-273-3370
James Rainbow of Rainbows, Flowers & Fantasies rainbows@bestweb.net / tel. 212-727-0478
Corrie Levelle of Sandy Rose Floral Design www.floraset.com / info@floraset.com / tel. 818-555-1212
Eddie Zaratsian of Tic-Tock Designs www.tictock.com / eddiez@earthlink.net / tel. 323-874-3034
Wendy Goidell of Wendy Goidell, Inc. tel. 212-362-6168
