Having fun with red, green and yellow

I was asked to do three arrangements for a headmaster’s birthday breakfast at Afrikaans Boy’s High School in Pretoria. I was given design freedom and had so much fun designing arrangements for a male dominated environment. Lets face it, this does not happen often. It was an easy to co-ordinate the arrangements with the school’s colour theme as winter usually brings us the most beautiful vibrant flowers and greenery.  

I played around with textures (Brunia and thorny succulents), which I then combined with delicate white flowers. I used succulents because, in my opinion, they are more masculine in nature than the usual greens.

The containers became the focus of the design as the thorny aloe and succulents required robust containers rather than the usual glass.I used a black gift-box for the first arrangement, a broken wooden plank for the second and a mirror box for the last one.

Let me know what you think! 

 

Practice makes perfect.

It has been very quiet here in Pretoria lately. I don’t know if it is the rainy and cold weather or whether people are just not spending money on luxuries such as flowers. All I know is that I am in desperate need of a flower fix. It is the only thing that will make these gloomy days appear happier and more colourful!


I had my first wedding two weeks ago. The bride was looking for a loose, white arrangement with an ivy waterfall effect and she had already bought all of the glass containers. At first, it sounded easy but later it became a difficult task for me as the bride was on a tight budget and I am more at ease with stylized flower arranging. Luckily I had a back-up plan.


This plan involved my mom to make a 4 hour trip from Ladybrand to Pretoria. We (my mom and dear friend, Elonah) spent hours in my garage perfecting the loose and typical “Bruidsgids” design required for this Bushveld wedding. After much deliberation, we decided to convince the bride that Ivy waterfalls were not the way forward and Elonah came up with the idea to modify beaded candle holders rings into a ‘waterfall’ replacement. We used the remaining rings as a ‘frame’ for small posies, which was used next to the aisle in the chapel and later to be used as hanging décor in the venue.


On the day of the wedding, we packed up the cars at 6 am and drove the 40km north to the venue. We started at around 07:30 and only finished at 15:00. I still underestimate the time it takes to arrange flowers but when I look at the final results, it is all worth it.


The style of the flowers in not necessarily what I love doing but it is still great experience. I had a lot of fun with the bride’s table as I was able to use small, mirror boxes instead of the tall glass containers. I chose Lizzy’s, Irish Bells, Chinks, Delphiniums and White Roses for these arrangements. I enjoyed using different textures and shades of white and green. I would call these my type of designs (does not include compulsory butterfly).

I am still looking for work in events and/or floral design, for some reason I have not been able to convince anyone that I will be worth a try. But until I can find this perfect job, I will keep myself busy. The more I do the more I can only learn.

I would like to say thank you to my mom and Elonah (en tannie Renee) for all your help and dedication to make my dream and passion a reality. We are definitely a force to be reckoned with. Just watch this space!

Practice rounds that did not make the cut.

 

My mom doing what she does best.

Our version of the 'waterfall'.

The Bride's Table flowers.

The 'beaded' posies next to the aisle.

Some of my favourites

I have not been updating my blog as much as I would like to but just to  keep you inspired, I have posted some of my favourite designs and images below. I have been so busy with work, that I  am starting to get more and more excited about all of the design possibilities !

I visited the Bridal Expo this past weekend and was disappointed most of the stalls and suppliers, except for a few that tried something different. Most stalls, whether it be flowers or cakes, all looked the same with pretty blue cariosa roses with silver candle stands. Maybe it is time to show the public more inspired, fun and quirky design solutions. Lets break some boundaries! Who is with me?

I will not be attending the Hazelwood Food Market this weekend as I have my very first wedding!! The design is pretty basic but the experience is really important to me at this stage. I will let you know how it went! (only if it goes well...)

A very happy Easter....

I know that I have been a little quiet lately, but things are starting to pick up for me here in rainy Pretoria. I have to quote for two weddings and a big party! Oh happy day!!!

I was at the market again this past weekend. It did not go too well but it was long weekend after all and I am still staying positive. Rome was not built in one day you know.....

There was no specific theme this week, I just let the flowers dictate the designs! I want to try as many different designs as possible to find my own unique style. I can see that there is a niche market in Pretoria for these type of arrangements, I just need to find the right marketing strategy. Lets see if I can do it, with a little help from my family of course ;)

The only problem that I have every week is to find suitable containers for the arrangements. I LOVE glass but it is too expensive. I have been to most factory stores and I still find it ridiculously pricey. This is definitely a design obstacle that I have to overcome. Designing my very own container... hmmm. Any ideas? 

Just for the people who matter the most to me, thank you for believing in me and always encouraging me to follow my dreams. (You know who you are!)

Wishing you a warm and happy week!! See you soon...