This past Sat. and Sunday the Northeast Regional Floral Expo- hosted by the CT Floral Association took place in Sturbridge Mass. After taking the past 2 years off to chair the Decoration Committee, I tried my hand once more at competing…. and ended up with second place in the Masters category…. Not too bad!
Our challenge this year (the theme changes every year) was to create an accessory to go with a particular dress. See the photo below:
Here are the entries for the Masters Category…
The first thing I thought of when I saw the dress was a bolero jacket, or an overlay. What I ended up designing was both!
After determining the right technique I set about doing some top-secret experiments….
I decided to attempt making the jacket out of hot glue. It is a technique that I saw someone from Japan use in a boutonniere once a few years ago at an AIFD symposium in Palm Desert. I asked him what it was and he told me. Six years later, I found a perfect excuse to use it. I learned that my idea would work, as well as how best to go about it. This post will be about the competition and my piece, but the next post will be a how-to 🙂 so stay tuned!
Here are some shots taken of some last-minute placements just before the judging…
Working on the final details
As you can see, the “glace overlay” is rather transparent, decorated with String of Pearl plant, variegated lily grass, Helleborus blooms and a few Italian ranunculus.
"Glace Overlay" Detail shot-
Glace Overlay, 2012 NEFE competition
Fully functional with a magnetic closure, base made of Hot Glue- (how-to post coming next!)
This is such an exciting technique, as it takes paint so well. I am excited to see what else I can think of to make. I loved this piece and had a great time making it. Couple shots of the “back”- which could also be a “front” as photographed here-
Glace Overlay on dress, 2012 NEFE competition entry
this photo taken the next day.....
Moving on to phase 2.
The top 3 finalists (yes, my glace overlay did score the highest in this round, it really was exquisite, I am very pleased with how it came out) move onto the 2nd round, the Face Off.
In the Face Off round, the designers are all given the same flowers and the same theme. We are given an allotted amount of time (45 min in this case) to create a design that will then be judged. The 2 scores are added together and the highest one wins all. First Place wins a check for $500, the trophy to keep in their shop for the year, and a chance to move onto the National Competitions held in the fall.
Some shots from Phase II:
My little elephant friend (who I sadly misplaced afterword 😦 😦 is happily watching)
tip: keep your glue upright in some sort of container (jelly jars work great:)
simple callas and intricate grass weaving, bridal cascade from phase II
my finished pieces, NEFE competition, 2012
Unfortunately I was unable to claim the trophy, but I did obtain a new Second Place plaque to display in my shop…
I do think that one learns more from a close call, rest assured I have thought of about 6 million things I “could have made” for my Phase II, but I feel that my work was solid, my mechanics are good and I am proud of what I made.
Look out 2013….. I’m coming for you!!!
Here is a link to the “trailer” for next years convention, to be held in Mystic, CT it looks like a ton of fun!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3271293817083
Stay tuned for the “how-to” post coming soon….
Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a comment!
860.346.0000
This year, European Hand-Tied bouquets are HOT! They are perfect for people who already have vases at home, and don’t want to collect more… With the stems perfectly spiraled, the flowers can stand on their own. I wrap them in cellophane and fill it with water. The flowers can then be transferred to one of your vases, or just stay in the plastic- they stand all on their own.
Hand-Tied bouquet in Cellophane
We have fresh flowers coming in every day up until Valentines Day- and that is good because they are going out as fast as they come in! If you are looking for roses, we only have a limited number on order, and they will arrive on Sunday. This year we are using roses from Roses for Autism– they are genuine heirloom roses grown right in Guilford, Ct and all proceeds go to a great cause. As true heirloom roses are want to do, they open beautifully, and smell fantastic but only last a few days. They also dry very nicely when hung upside down and keep their color. I don’t even know what colors are coming as I left it up to the staff to pick out the best looking varieties for me- so it will be a surprise!
Beautiful Local Heirloom Roses from Roses for Autisum
Here are some images of some contemporary design styles to get you thinking out of the box-
Mini Cymbidium, Orbital arrangement
This actual arrangement is currently showing itself off at the New England Emporium in Middletown, should you stop in please take a second to check it out…
orbital mini cymbidium arrangment
decorative Kale, orchids, waxflower
Here is a slightly similar one, featuring decorative Kale, orchids and steel grass. This is an “enclosure” style…
Enclosure Design
Here is a small design, it’s a mini cymbidium framed with Steel Grass
Framing Technique
Next Up- some images from my website:
Architectural design, very structured
This is an English Garden Hedge style, very tall and narrow, like a hedge of flowers
landscape technique, like a miniature world
Another Enclosure, tear drop shape
I should mention some ordering information:
You can call 860.346.0000 to place an order for pick up or delivery.
There is no minimun for orders being picked up at our storefront (725 South Main St. Middletown, Ct)- Please call in advance during holidays-
Our delivery minimum is $60 in town, and orders NEED to be placed no later than the 13th to guarentee delivery for Tues.
In town deliveries are a 10.00 charge, out-of-town depends on the mileage.
The best way to make an order is to call and tell me if you would like:
something traditional or something contemporary or something somewhere in between
Give me a few adjectives to go on, here are some examples:
playful, sexy, pretty, crazy, wild, big, huge- something that makes her say “wow” or- whatever you come up with-
We will be here all day Tuesday, but our stock will be limited to what is in-house.
Check out our Website at www.GreenDahliaFlorist.com
or our Facebook Page for more images
Well, I have to get back to work now 🙂
(Yes, I will be here late and early every day untill Valentines’ is Successfully done!)
See you soon!
Cat
I have just received some images of some of the Floral Jewelry that I had made for the class I taught last fall, which happened to coincide nicely with a photo shoot Datura, A Modern Garden was doing the same day with one of Connecticut’s best photographers- Carla TenEyck.
Some of the adjectives given to us for the photoshoot were Nautical, Preppy, and Clean- since I already had a Floral Jewelry class scheduled the same day, I made some items to send out to be photographed, and then to use later in the demonstration part of the class. Here is one necklace done with String of Pearl plant, and tiny little shells:
necklace, string of pearl plant and tiny shells, image by Carla TenEyck
necklace, string of pearl plant and tiny shells, image by Carla TenEyck
Next up, a floral Bracelet done with Coxcomb and Yellow Craspedia- one of my favorite flowers, and I am looking forward to the 100 stems that will be showing up on Monday- Just in time for the next hands-on floral class I am teaching at Middletown Adult Ed this coming Tuesday- This one is on Traditional Flower Arrangements, and the class is full 🙂
bracelet, craspedia and coxcomb image by Carla TenEyck
Next- a Headband made with Asplenium- one of my favorite plants. I personally call it Lasagna Fern, you can see why. The Wholesalers sometimes call it “Crispy Wave” which is also quite fitting. This is a very simple headband with phaelenopsis orchids as the floral accent.
headband, asplenium and phalaenopsis- Image by Carla TenEyck
Headband, Asplenium, Phalaenopsis Orchid, Image by Carla TenEyck
I had originally created this piece also as a head wrap/headband using Velcro that can be fitted exactly to the head of the person wearing it; however Dana Bartone – a genius of Hair Styling- decided to weave it into her up-do instead. This piece matches the first necklace I showed you, using the String of Pearl and tiny shells again, this time adding a perfect vanilla lisianthus bloom as the accent.
Headband with shells, String of Pearl,and Lisianthus- Image by Carla TenEyck
Last up for today, a choker. This one is a take on the fabric flower, using some strips of red ribbon and the throats of Cymbidium orchids:
floral choker, Image by Carla TenEyck
If you are interested in seeing more images from this shoot, be sure to check out the blog post from Datura, or even pick up a copy of the Spring/Summer 2012 Connecticut Bride Magazine 🙂
Beauty: Dana Bartone and Co., Cheshire. Creative Direction: Jubilee Events. Floral Design: Datura:A Modern Garden. Fashion Stylist:The White Dress by the Shore. Cake: A Little Imagination Cakes. Paper: Coral Pheasant Stationery + Design. Shot at Dreamscapes Design Group and on location at the Griswold Inn and downtown Essex
See you in Class Tuesday!
Cat
Hello Again!
We will be teaching a class at Middletown Adult Ed this coming Tuesday, the 31st. You can sign up for the class through Middletown Adult Ed , there are only a few spots left!
It is a hands-on workshop and we will be creating proper European Hand-Tieds. What is a “Proper” European Hand-tied? Well, for starters, the flowers are arranged in your hand (as opposed to in a vase) and when using the proper technique, the stems all spiral perfectly, allowing the bouquet to stand on its own. We will then enclose our handtieds in cellophane and fill it with water, creating an arrangement in a “water bag” that can stand -unsupported- on a surface, or be easily transferred to a vase of your own.
perfectly swirling stems, the result of proper hand-tied technique
free-standing hand-tied gerbera dasies
This method of arranging is wildly popular in Europe, and also used often when creating bridal bouquets. The perfectly swirling stems allow the bouquet handle to have a tight binding point, as all the stems line up and take up the least amount of space. The one in the photo below was designed by Renee vanRems, who has a few books out on hand-tied bouquets, for he is a true master. This is a biedermeier bouquet, often associated with concentric rings of floral material or color.
Biedermeier Bouquet, concentric rings of floral material or color
Not all need be round, however… Come to the class to see some demonstrations of more modern versions of the hand-tied, and take away the knowledge to create many new styles for yourself, like this Fan-shaped Hand-tied I created while working for Datura, A Modern Garden shown below….
Hand-tied bouquet, fan shape
Here we are in 2012, and Green Dahlia has made it 6 months! I know it’s been a while since the last post, but that is exactly what New Years resolutions are all about- growing, improving, blogging more…
We have 6 classes scheduled for this spring semester at Middletown Adult Ed, class sizes are limited so if you see something you are interested in, sign up! Look for the classes taught by Catherine Epright, AIFD
Here is the page in the catalogue with the information (full color, how cool is that?) Since the classes are taught through Middletown Adult Ed, you will need to sign up with them.
Middletown Adult Ed Spring Catalog
Not only do I teach a few classes, but I take them too! I am currently enrolled in the European Master Certification Program offered by Design358 in Vancouver. This program is taught by Thomas DeBruyne whom I fell florally in love with at the first AIFD (American Institute of Floral Designers) National Symposium I ever attended in Palm Desert, 2007. He was there doing a main stage program with Life 3. I fell for his style while volunteering in the design room. I kept seeing bits and pieces of started or mostly finished work, and many of them screamed “MATH!” to me. I am very attracted to Math, and find something about it to be irresistible. Come to find out, he started out as a Mathematician and then switched to floral design. Right then and there I knew I had to try to learn from him so when I saw the Masters program advertised a few years later with him as the main instructor I knew I had to do whatever possible to get there.
Unfortunately I did not bring a camera to the 5- day class held in Norwalk Ct. at East Coast Wholesale this past October ( Let me give a quick shout out to Steve the owner of East Coast- he is serious yet full of fun; not afraid to rock a pink shirt, and it is only one of the reasons I admire him so much- he really cares about his products as well as his staff.)
But luckily Jim Martin did bring his camera, here are some of his images:
Thomas De Bruyne himself, image by Jim Martin
This was a cool concept the long , low horizontal split-bamboo. Bamboo often splits all by itself and with a few tricks, Tomas had this one waterproofed in no time at all. As he started this arrangement I will admit to being a little horrified with his choices of color, I did not have any confidence that this would come out looking good.
I thought to myself ” I thought he was supposed to be a master? Why is he choosing those colors?”
Low and behold, he is a master, and when it was finished I had to admit that it was beautiful. This is precisely why I continue to learn from the best….
Horizontal arrangement, split bamboo image by Jim Martin
Next up, an arrangement with “downward proportion” I feel I don’t even have to say how much I love this next piece can I tell you that the hidden mechanics are – gasp- Chicken Wire? Who knew it was back in vogue? Well, folks, it is. This is the year of Chicken Wire, mark my words. (we shall see if that is a joke or not as the year progresses)
"Proportion Down", image by Jim Martin
Some images of a very cool “art piece” that poor Brooke had to make from scratch! It took her hours and hours to make the form, but since October it has been to New Mexico and now resides in Vancouver, BC. I got the image below from the beautiful girls at Floressence Floral Design in NC who also attended the workshop.
Art Piece by Tomas, image by Floressence floral
the art piece, up close (image by Jim Martin)
A bridal bouquet done with strips of reed- very lacy and transparent, yet strong, sexy and even playful with the colors and movement…
modern bridal bouquet, image from floressence floral
bridal party "purse" photo by Floresscence floral
and last but not least, a photo Jim Martin took of me making one of our practice bouquets:
me hard at work, image by Jim Martin
and my final piece for part one, Foundation- it’s a hand-wired European hand-tied bouquet. I chose to make mine an inverted spiral (I hope you can see it from the picture I took with my phone!)
the "Inverted Spiral" bouquet, photo by my phone
over 100 hand wired flowers total!
side view
Well, now that you know what we did in the Part One, I will tell you that Part 2 is a self-practicum, and I will be regularly blogging a bit of what I research as well as what I make as part of the course.
Part 3 (cross my fingers and squeeze my eyes shut I Hope I Can Make It) takes place this May for 2 weeks in Europe! Oh please I hope I can manage to get there, for if I can when I return Stateside, I will have my European Master Designer Certification.
Remember, February 14th is Valentines Day, flower idea post coming soon…
Thanks for reading!
Cat
A while back, Tony Palimeri of Datura, A Modern Garden was approached by an online flower blog, asking if they could post some designs from his website to their blog. The name of the Website/ Blog is Bollea, and we went to check it out. The Editor of Bollea really does have very good taste, and the site is a great resource for inspiration. Not only that, but they post a few times a week. Tony sent in a number of images, and they appear from time to time. I will take this opportunity to post some of my designs that have proudly made the cut… Coincidentally, all of the following images are taken by Jaquiline and Chris of JAG Studios, one of the best photographer teams I have had the pleasure to meet
Cranberry orchid cascade
A throwback to the old fan-style bouquet
"Edilble" Bridal Bouquet
Cymbidium Drop
A full shot of the cascade
And on another flower blog, Botanical Brouhaha– here is an bouquet made of Ornimental Peppers, Photographed by RAW Photography
Ornimental Peppers and thistle
I am proud to have my work published online, and even in a few print magazines so I do send out thanks to Datura for making these play-dates possible for me…. Don’t forget to check out Tony’s Blogsite for Datura– it’s full of awesome images and stories of his adventures (and he has been on many different adventures this year!)
Keep your eyes open though because one of these days my designs will be in print yet again, only under the name Green Dahlia!
Now that I have this fancy new blog, I am excited to start posting some images from some of the work that Green Dahlia did over this summer. Let us start with this awesome opportunity that found me, Yard Art for a local graduation party.
The clients home had an expansive back yard, and Green Dahlia was asked to do some sculpture like installations in one of the paths. Let me just tell you, this yard is a dream come true for children! I found myself thinking of all the cool forts I would have built had I had the chance to live there growing up (not to worry, I did get to make a lot of forts on my own turf as a child!)
I had complete artistic freedom, and an awesome helper Miss Clyda.
Clyda helped me string and hang all these glass bubbles onto a frame I had constructed the previous day using some bamboo that was growing on the property, and my trusty iron spikes made custom for me from my favorite blacksmith – Falling Hammer Productions (I always go straight to them if I am ever in need of some fantastic ironwork.)
Detail shot of the "Wall of Bubbles"
the Bubble Wall
Down in the right hand corner, you will see one of the Peacock Ferns, we “fluffed out” her existing ferns with some (gasp) leather leaf and added the peacock feathers. I gasp because leather leaf has such a bad rap as an overused green. However, having trained at Datura, I was never allowed to use the “offensive” leather leaf….. Now, it’s a secret thrill to use it only because it was forbidden fern for so long…. But that sounds like a whole post of it’s own!
P.S.- The client’s pet dog had a real problem with these “Plants”
Eye See You!
Next we worked on this
The Egg Nest, in Full
We started calling it the Egg Nest as it took form… In full it stands about 10 feet tall, 2 and 1/2 handmade wicker globes decorated with foliage and garlic scapes from the yard. Here are some detail shots…
details of the"garlic knot"
The Egg
Lastly to show you is a concept we were trying out, we called it “over / under”
Over / Under
Orchids, As Above, So Below
This was very difficult to photograph, but a very cool piece, you will have to take my word for it. I am sure that the concept shall be revisited one of these days! It is a pane of glass, buried in the ground and standing vertically. Some of the orchids are fastened on the viewers’ side of the glass, with others attached behind. I want to play with this idea some more….
Visually confusing designs give me much pleasure.
That will do it for this post, but coming soon a post on the European Master Certification program I am working on currently. In about 2 weeks I will have permission to use some of the images from the class in order to create a post worth reading!
Stay tuned…
Cat
Catherine Epright, AIFD
www.greendahliaflorist.com
Next Monday, Oct. 3rd I will be teaching a class on Floral Jewelry through Middletown Adult Ed.
The class will be held from 6-8:30 pm.
What exactly is “Floral Jewelry” you ask?
Well, it’s yet another way you can accessorize your outfit for special occasions, and not just for proms!
Floral Jewelry has been spotted at weddings, holiday parties, Bridal Showers, Baby Showers, or just a night on the town.
From simple hair flowers to elaborate overlays, Floral Jewelry is making it’s mark.
Here are a few extreme fashion pieces that I created for a photo shoot that Datura, A Modern Garden did flowers for. www.amoderngarden.com (the establishment where I started my career in floral design over 10 years ago)
Fresh Floral Necklaces, Photo Credit: Carla Ten Eyck photography
This first necklace is done with a plant I absolutely love called String of Pearl or String of Beads.
These plants can be kind of hard to locate, so when I saw the extremely impressive hanging pots at Ballek’s Garden Center in East Hampton www.balleksgardencenter.com (one of my favorite nurseries) I had to buy them!
One of my favorite features of these plants is how long the strands can last without a water source. Up to 3 months!
The second necklace is created on a base of green wire spirals (hand done) using “String of Hearts” (another succulent plant with super lasting ability), orchid blossoms and a plant called Mother of Thousands, or Baby Tears
Fresh Floral Bracelets, Photo Credit: Carla Ten Eyck Photography
The first part of the class will be a demonstration. I will have some really amazing pieces made for a bit of show and tell, and of course, behind the scenes tips and tricks.
The second half of the session is hands-on. We will be making some bracelets like these in the second part of the class.
During the short break a “Corsage Bar” will be set up and participants will be able to choose their own materials from the color of wire to the flowers, each piece will be unique. If time allows, we will then create some magnetic boutonnières. Not only will you see how easy it is to make them, but to wear them as well!
Wristlet, Photo Credit: Jenny Lecce
Here is a link to the Class Registration information for Middletown Adult Ed
http://www.maect.org/CourseCatalog/classView.asp?id=4129
Check out their other classes while you’re on the site, they have a lot to offer with a curriculum that changes each semester.
Hope to see you there, or at least back here for the follow-up post!
Thanks for reading,
Cat
I imagine that the first Blog Post Ever may have the tendency to be a little rough. Here goes it, the FIRST BLOG POST for not only Green Dahlia, but for the owner / writer (me) Catherine Epright.
Green Dahlia is a new flower shop located at 725 South Main St, Middletown CT. Although the shop specializes in modern, Contemporary designs, all styles are possible here. From beautiful, full, lush garden designs to minimalistic floral “sculpture” this shop can do it all!
Since we are brand new to town and are working on getting the word out, customers are encouraged to place their orders at least a day in advance of delivery or pick-up. This allows us to use the freshest products because we can bring them in for you, and in turn allows for a wider selection.
These next 4 photos were shot by one of my favorite photographers, Jacklyn Greenberg of Jag Studios. (Thanks!)
They can also be found on our new website, www.greendahliaflorist.com
- from top left: Floral Interpretation of Central Park, Traditional Grouping design, quirky bridal bouquet with wired rocks, lychee nuts and Brussel sprouts and (bottom right) stacked square vases
Welcome again to the new blog, and don’t forget to check out our new website!
Stay Tuned!
Cat
roxsticksflowers 