Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1347386
Though fantastical floral arrangements are the signatures of many an etravagant celebration, leurs de illes founders Tina arley and aren arshall believe that the general publicnot ust a privileged slice of partygoersshould have the opportunity to eperience and appreciate them as well ts this idea that inspired the duo to establish their ancouverbased flower event business in eople love flowers Theyre happy when they see flowers, and we wanted to bring flowers to all people in a fresh wayliterally and figuratively, says arshall, , who wored in publishing for two decades prior to becoming an entrepreneur leurs de illesrench for flowers of the citieshosts five to ten day pop up installations in about a doen cities per year, including ondon as well as various locations in the and anada n arch, al arbour hops will host the launch of arley and arshalls latest proect, leurs de illes os, a floral celebration in support of the reast ancer esearch oundation ere going to have fifteen mannequins, and the only criteria designers have to wor with is that elements of pin must be included, says arshall n addition to the mannequins, each of which will be sponsored by one al arbour hops brands, including hopard and e eers, additional floral installations will be seen across the hops, in the form of window displays, floral doorways and a series of onsite activations over the course of days ere definitely not florists, says arley, , formerly a professional lifestyle epert e lie to thin of ourselves as content creators who find the best designers in the cities where well be and plan a show around their talents peaing to the companys ethos to present the unepected, the ehibitions tend to have a stopinyourtracs effect all easily incorporate several hundred thousand flowers, according to arley, and are a sensory overload of multitude colors and scents or a muchbuedabout mannequin of liabeth at ondons ovent arden show in ay , florist mie one conceived a floral rendering of the queens portrait from The ational ortrait allery, using hydrangeas in the sirt and ypericum berries for her ewels The piece de resistance was liabeths hair, made of celosia flowers, says arley The resemblance to the actual portrait was uncanny ovid has made arley and arshall even more innovative e pivoted to having outdoor events which are ideal for social distancing, says arley t press time, they were most ecited about their show at al arbour hops e now theyll the mannequins be lavish but, best of all, theyll be accessible for everyone to see Ovando founder Sandra de Ovando, who recently opened an outpost in South Florida; at left, one of Ovando's signature arrangements, with purple vanda orchids and bare grass. Photos by Phillip Van Nostrand flower omed truc at London's Covent Garden. BAL HARBOUR 115 OVANDO iven her childhood love for flowers, its not eactly a surprise that andra de vando, , can lay claim to being one of the most revered floral designers in the country today The founder of the ew or itybased brand vando says that her connection to flowers goes bac to when she spent etensive time gardening with her mother while growing up in a hacienda in eico ity e would go to the flower maret every aturday morning and buy locally grown marigolds, geraniums, oversied white lilies and roses, she recalls They came in gorgeous colors and had the most beautiful fragrances t was an instant attraction that never went away s an adult, instead of picing a career in floral design, de vando initially went the way of restaurateur udo, her rench talian spot in anhattans est illage, had a large garden that she wanted to decorate with flowers hired a florist to come up with weely arrangements, and seeing them brought me bac to what had always been so passionate about, she says new that woring with flowers is the path had to pursue e vando opened her first store on leecer treet in rom the onset, her cutting edge sculptural arrangements were presented in custommade geometric glass vases, a detail that has become her signature The transparency allows me to create masterpieces where use both the inside and outside of the vases, says de vando er technique relies on different varieties of orchids that last upwards of a wee, giving her customers more time to appreciate them compared with typical arrangements that wilt in a few days ne of de vandos most popular styles, leeping eauty, features vanda orchids in a low rectangular vase framed by looped steel grass oses also appear frequently, but she interprets them in a unique way by opening each petal individually, which lends the end result a voluptuous loo y designs are simple and clean, but believe that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, she says The florist was fortunate enough to get her big brea within her first few years in business when onna aran hired her to create weely arrangements for its adison venue store usiness catapulted from there with more fashion brands including hristian ior and rmani, along with celebrities, socialites and ew orers at large enlisting her talent Today, vando has three storefrontsits original location, one on the pper ast ide and another in outhamptonand launched in iami last ecember by offering a delivery service to customers as far north as alm each have a distinct style and have been doing this for two decades, says de vando, but, in many respects, m ust getting started