Baby Boy

ranunculus

A request for a "Blessing gift" of a newborn baby boy yielded deep rich hues of burgundy, violet and emerald green. Baby gifts don't always have to be pallid.

Opalescent Blues

I have found that anytime I collect things my love affair with the chosen items dwindle so I opt out and peruse ebay lovingly looking for my favorite things which I never buy. Just seeing them brings me such satisfaction! So from time to time I will post these goodies. Tonight I found this lovely "Opalescent Hobnail Pitcher". It called to mind a white and violet arrangement I made this week of anemones, lilac and silver dollars. In a way I do wish I owned the miniature pitcher to have put these flowers in it! Well the thought is there.

Sally Mann

One of my all time favorite female photographers is Sally Mann. She captures time in her photographs and creates an alternate reality both mystical and unsettling. She proceeds where Julia Margeret Cameron (another fave) left off and delves into a world that invokes past lives, transition, innocence lost, fragility........

Black History Month

Mr and Mrs Jack Johnson 1911

This photo hung prominently in his Chicago nightclub Cafe de Champion which was the first "mixed" club in the US. Although he was not an ideal life partner the man was a force of nature and one of the best examples of rugged individualism there ever was!

"The possession of muscular strength and the courage to use it in contests with other men for physical supremacy does not necessarily imply a lack of appreciation for the finer and better things of life."
...............Jack Johnson

WIKIPEDIA: Johnson was an early example of the celebrity athlete in the modern era, appearing regularly in the press and later on radio and in motion pictures. He earned considerable sums endorsing various products, including patent medicines, and indulged several expensive hobbies such as automobile racing and tailored clothing, as well as purchasing jewelry and furs for his wives. Once, when he was pulled over for a $50 speeding ticket (a large sum at the time), he gave the officer a $100 bill; when the officer protested that he couldn't make change for that much, Johnson told him to keep the change, as he was going to make his return trip at the same speed.^[1] Johnson was also interested in opera (his favorite being Il Trovatore) and in history — he was an admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, believing him to have risen from a similar origin to his own. In 1920, Johnson opened a night club in Harlem; he sold it three years later to a gangster, Owney Madden, who renamed it the Cotton Club.

Johnson constantly flouted conventions regarding the social and economic "place" of blacks in American society. As a black man, he broke a powerful taboo in consorting with white women, and would constantly and arrogantly verbally taunt men (both white and black) inside and outside the ring. Johnson was pompous about his affection for white women, and imperious about his physical prowess, both in and out of the ring. Asked the secret of his staying power by a reporter who had watched a succession of women parade into, and out of, the champion's hotel room, Johnson supposedly said "Eat jellied eels and think distant thoughts".^[9]

Johnson was married three times. All of his wives were white, a fact that caused considerable controversy at the time. In January 1911, Johnson married Etta Terry Duryea. A Brooklyn socialite and former wife of businessman Charles Duryea, she met Johnson at a car race in 1909. Their romantic involvement was very turbulent. Beaten many times by Johnson and suffering from severe depression, she committed suicide in September 1912, shooting herself with a revolver.

Less than three months later, on December 4, 1912, Johnson married Lucille Cameron. After Johnson married Cameron, two ministers in the South recommended that Johnson be lynched. Cameron divorced him in 1924 because of infidelity.

The next year, Johnson married Irene Pineau. When asked by a reporter at Johnson's funeral what she had loved about him, she replied, "I loved him because of his courage. He faced the world unafraid. There wasn't anybody or anything he feared."

The Constant Constance

A lovely arrangement by the forever inspired and inspiring Constance Spry

I can never get enough of Constance Spry and her iconoclastic arrangements. Luckily I had a chance to play with some left overs in the studio and fell into a Spry induced meditation! Life ain't all that bad.

Natures Fleeting Jewels

My dear friend Eric Blum's paintings sprung to mind as I delivered flowers this weekend on 73rd and CPW. I stumbled across these ice pendents and thought of his ephemeral and hypnotic wax/oil paintings. I could almost hear the Cocteau Twins in the background.

Winter Wonderland in Central Park

My alarm was set so as not to miss the sunrise in Central Park after the blizzard last night. I ventured out into the yet untouched aftermath of the storm which suspended all city buses, schools and the LIR. Living near West End Ave my plan was to make it to the Bethesda Fountain and return. Once I made it to the bridge which looks out onto the fountain and pond I realized my toes where starting to hurt. Below was one single person and yelled out, "Is it worth it?" to which she shouted, "Hell yeah!" So down it was filling in the tracks that she must have left. It was treacherous but sometimes the adventurous hubris gets the best of me!
At this point I realized that the frost nip was progressively getting worse and that there might be refuge at the boathouse-I imagined drinking a hot tea and literally thawing myself out. Well the boathouse idea was a bust and I had to make it back on foot because there were no buses. So MAN -UP I did and tried not to focus on the pain which actually did subside as my feet became numb! Not good. My beloved camera reminded me to keep my eyes tuned which yielded so many photos that it's hard to choose which to post here. I know this has nothing to do with weddings but nature is so astonishingly beautiful at times like these that I feel compelled to share this self assigned photo-journalistic journey. All the photos can be viewed through my personal flickr account. Here are just a few more of my favorites.


The moral of the story is to get proper footwear when attempting to hike in a snow laden park!
My toes finally returned to their original pink and all is good now. Regardless I am happy I caught these shots which I invariably sent to my family and friends living in the warmer climates. Sure it's nice they could see it in a photograph but there really is no comparison to being there in person. Another reason to love this awesome city we live in!

Visions of Tulle and Petals at Dior

Nothing like poppies to add some light and ephemeral wistfulness to January!
Dior Haute Couture has also stolen my heart with their flounces of silk tulle and Irving Penn silhouettes sashaying down the runways in Paris this week! If she wasn't pregnant I'd definitely put money on the "Swan" of the moment donning one of these to retrieve what surely will be her Oscar next month. Ah... fashion and Hollywood I want to hate them both and do on many levels but occasionally magic surfaces from the material and cinematic worlds. In these intersecting instances The House of Dior and our own little princess Natalie have succeeded. Bravo! Who could foresee where the two would miserably part!

And more pastel Dior runway visions paired with Hydrangea, Ranunculus, Thistle, Queen Anne's Lace, veronica and Astrantia.

Alicia's Cosmetic Bag Launch

Here are some photos from the Alicia Siverstone launch of her Eco-Tools make-up brush kits. This is the second season she has designed these kits and we are proud to have been asked back to provide flowers and special bouquets for her famously original and enthusiastically received gift bags to the editors. This year the flower colors were eclectic and variety choices unusual from Echeveria Blossoms to Tree Peonies. They suited Kit Kemp's whimsical interior design aesthetic perfectly!

An Unusual Winter's Tale

My little collaging fingers couldn't help but combine these two somewhat kindred images. The color story begs union yet the lady in question is from a time when women began to claim their voice in a male dominated world and this assemblage of flowers has a very modern feel to it.
What does a bouquet say?
It can be symbolic in it's character. This bouquet (Echeveria, Ilax Berries, Narcissus, Tuberrose, Dusty Miller and Lambs Ear) tells us a lot about our protagonist, lets call her Margaret.
The who, what where?
It's winter and our elegant lady is waiting, perhaps at a train station. Although she is self sufficient and worldly she longs for a partner. This bouquet can symbolize the fulfillment of this dream. Two independent and equally expressive Echiverias are a focal point in the arrangement. She is also a woman who takes great care in her attire and essence. The Paper-Whites are sweet-scented, and when combined with the aromatic Tuberrose, lend a fragrance as inviting as a proper ladies' powder room in a desaturated era.
Margaret is a modern woman who still retains a romantic streak. She is cool and collected and lends the cultivated air of gentility but can also be bold and is well prepared to hold her own in any scenario.
Most likely she would never have envisaged this bouquet for herself but fast forward 70 years and here it is. She was a woman way ahead of her time!