Kitayama Brothers Gerbera Festival

 

Always a fun event, and an interesting design competition. I really enjoyed it last year. I hear that they have changed the format somewhat, but it still sounds like a good time! See photos of last year's event on their site.

Red Cross Gala at the SF Concourse

A designer's take on disaster preparedness using Dorthy's house as an example.

I was happy to work with Elena Finestone and Faultline Floral Design to build arrangements for the American Red Cross' gala honoring Dignity Health head Lloyd Dean at the Concourse Exhibition Center. Stanlee Gatti provided the overall event design with McCall's catering and entertainment by Gladys Knight.  20 or so of the prime tables in the center of the room were each designed by a different designer (we assisted on many of these, including the above), while Faultline provided centerpieces for all the side and cocktail tables, the VIP room and some special displays. See SF Chronicle coverage by Willie Brown (at bottom of article).

If you can't see the slideshow above, click here to see it on Flickr

Bouquets to Art 2013

If you can't see the slideshow above, click here to see it on Flickr

In March the de Young Museum was once again transformed by the best floral designers in the SF Bay Area during the annual Bouquets to Art event. Every year I am blown away by the astounding creativity on display. The slideshow above is only a small sample of the many brilliant pieces reinterpreting the art in the de Young's galleries.

Michael Daigian's interpretation of Albert Bierstadt's California Spring, 1875

 

CCSF wins AIFD prize in Miami

CCSF student designers with Jenny Tabarracci AIFD (center)

City College of San Francisco won first place at the AIFD Symposium in Miami. I know that everyone worked really hard in Jenny Tabarracci's design for competitions class, and it looks like she coached them really well. An exceptional group.

Kitayama Open House & Competition

This weekend I enjoyed participating in the Kitayama Brothers open house, and the Kitayama Cup floral design competition. I'd never competed in this sort of thing before, but it was a great experience. As completions go, this one was relaxed and supportive. I didn't really worry so much about making a great arrangement, as I was mostly just enjoying the experience. There were some real floral artists there, and everyone was really nice. Congrats to all the winners.

The open house itself was a great event. There was food, wine, gorgeous flowers, a "plant science" table (honestly, my favorite thing), the AIFD, organic veggies and herbs, and various gifts, all in support of the Friends of the Santa Cruz State Parks.  After the event and competition, there was a "100-Mile Dinner," all created with local foods.

 

if you can't see the slideshow above, click here to see it on Flickr.

New Flyer for the Monterey Bay Greenhouse Growers tour, which features tours of 6 different greenhouses. Kitayama Brothers open house includes a design competition for pros & students, a farmer's market, tours and wine tasting. See the KB site for maps and more information.

AIFD AIR in CCSF Currents

The City College of San Francisco newsletter, Currents, did a nice write up on the AIFD Artist in Residence event. Thanks to everyone! It was a fun and interesting event.

Kitayama Open House and Competition

On June 16th, the 3rd annual Monterey Bay Greenhouse Growers Open House will be held in Watsonville. Kitayama Brothers open house will feature greenhouse tours, a farmer's market, information about Santa Cruz State Parks (the open house is a benefit for them), wine tasting, and the Kitayama Cup floral design competition.

This year's competition includes a "young professionals" category, with cash prizes and all kinds of fun. It's the weekend of my birthday, so I'm looking forward to celebrating in sunny Watsonville with lots of interesting people.

Info about the event (includes contest guidelines) | Jenny Tabarracci's blog

AIFD AIR Event at CCSF

 

If you can't see this slideshow, click here to see it on Flickr 

The photos in the slideshow above are from the American Institute of Floral Designers Artist in Residence Program demo April 12th at CCSF. The featured designers were Hiromi Nomura AIFD, Kaori Imaizumi AIFD, Katherine Zhang AIFD, Susan Ishkanian AIFD, Yoko I. Klingbiel AIFD and Emil Yanos AIFD. Floral materials were donated by Kitayama Brothers.

All the designers were given the same urn and general selection of materials. It was really interesting to see how differently the designers put these together. All the designers did a second, more personal arrangement. Most of them have participated in floral design competitions, and in Bouquets to Art, so it was interesting to hear them talk about inspiration, tips and tricks, and how they got started.  Thanks to Jenny Tabarracci, the CCSF floral department and the SAIFD Menzie Chapter for organizing this great event.

Bouquets to Art 2010

Floral design by Pico Design,Pico Soriano with Ignacio Lopez,
based on Berkeley No. 3 (1954) by Richard Diebekorn or, as I like to
think of it, Still Life with Law Professor (Mark H. Greenberg).

The annual Bouquets to Art exhibition was at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park this past week. It was amazing as always with over 150 floral designers participating (see a full list here).

There were a few things that really stood out to me, in terms of design. People seemed to move away from monotone designs and there was an explosion of color in high contrast compositions. Designers embraced painted leaves and flowers, dyed flowers, recycled materials, colored wire, and all kinds of props and bling. I saw several designs that used Gypsophila (Baby's Breath) in innovative ways, a filler flower that is often shunned (seen as the "dozen roses and baby's breath" bouquet that was popular a couple of generations ago). There were several arrangements that used glass tubes extensively as a design element, and some that were done in terrarium styles. Flowers were grouped by texture and color, and there were also many designs composed of several arrangements working together. People made great use of succulents, and found some that looked pretty exotic.

Floral design by Waterlily Pond Floral Design based on Ultramarine
Stemmed Form with Orange from the Persian series,
by Dale Chihuly. The blue "shell" is made of painted palm leaves.

I wish I could remember the location of all of the designs in the photos shown in the slideshow embedded below. This is actually only a portion of the many outstanding designs in the exhibition. If you can't see the slideshow below, click here to see it on Flickr.

 

Food Stations for CCSF Final

If you can't see the slideshow above click here to see it on Flickr

The above are photos of our final projects for the "floral designs for events" class taught by Jenny Tabarracci, AIFD. We were assigned one of 5 "food stations" to design and install in the floristry workshop/classroom in mid-December.  There was a "winter wonderland" desert station; an English tea; a farmer's market display; and and a sushi station, all lovely.

Joyce & Kim's "martini" station

Joyce Kessler and I were assigned a "Martini" station. We decided to go with a fruit Martinis theme; green apple, lime and kiwi, all in shades of green and brown. We decided to add a hanging floral element with a hint of the holidays, constructed of gold branches with white twinkle lights, noble pine, green spider mums, dianthus, hypericum, and belles of Ireland with green and brown holiday ornaments. We filled clear cylinder vases with green apples and limes and used them to support glass shelves, lit underneath with LED lights. There was a display of "kiwi martinis" on a gold tray front and center.

This was a great class, and we got lots of practical information out of it. Highly recommended!

Taste - Microsoft Party

If you can't see the photos above, click here to see the Picasa Gallery.

These large arrangements of magnolia, greens, berries and roses were created at Taste Catering and Event Planning for a Microsoft holiday party at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. The finished arrangements were placed on top of large glass vases filled with clear water and floating branches of holiday greens.  These were incorporated into the food stations in the main ballroom.  The event had an overall 1940's theme.

Billy Cook Demo at CCSF

If you can't see these photos, click here to see them on Picasa.

My CCSF events class had a demo today by Billy Cook, Executive Designer for Taste Catering and Event Planning (SF). He explained the nuts and bolts of working with clients on large events, such as corporate parties, retail events and conventions. He pointed out an important difference between these types of events and events like weddings. In weddings, small details matter because you are creating a life-long memory for the bride & groom, who will look at the flowers/design over and over again in photos & video, as opposed to corporate events, where it’s important to make an immediate impact, and the priorities are different. The flowers only have to look fabulous for one night, and they will most likely be composted when the event is struck. Companies invest time and money in events for various reasons, but they are always going to move on to the next one (one would hope the newlyweds aren't thinking this way). The key, Cook said, to all this is relationships, your personal network. He recommended a recent NY Times article, Generation Sell, that focuses on Gen X and the idea of personal branding.

Mock-up of a small plates table design with LED
lights and arrangements of succulents.

He talked about the cycles involved in event work: the frenzy of creating and installing the event, and the downtime when you can do research and sales. Corporate events have cycles too, he explained, The winter holiday season, fall and spring are busy, with the summer months of July and August being the slowest. January and February, which seems like they would be slow times, are taken up by an active convention schedule.

The most requested look, he said, is shabby chic, refined yet simple. Another popular look is the “barn” look: rustic, rough fabrics like burlap, textures, mosses, plants. The farmer’s market look is also in demand: wood, mason jars, metal tubs, weeds, vegetables, plants and textures. All types of sustainable, organic, local materials are in, and succulents are gaining in popularity with corporate planners.

He also gave us some practical tips:

• Glass containers are the most useful and flexible. You can change the look of them in many ways: wrapping them, colored water, filling them with different materials. Imported ceramics are also important.
• He showed us flat plastic bases with LED lights built in to use as accent lights under arrangements and other ways.
• He talked about the trend toward “small plates” displays (as opposed to buffet lines), and good ways to decorate them (photo above).
• He wraps all vases and glassware in plastic wrap to keep them clean and protect them from scratches.  He commented that plain hot water cleans most of the glass, and he would use vinegar or ammonia on stubborn film and stains. Not only are clean materials and vases important because they look professional, but the flowers are closely tied to food service, and no one wants to look at dirty glassware while they eat.
• Taste Catering is a certified Green company. Other than recycling and composting, there are things you don't think about like the chemicals commonly used to enhance floral blooms and wastewater.
• Avoid fragrances, and branches/stems that might poke someone.
• Be familiar with the inventory at furniture and linen rental companies. After the lighting, he said, linens have the most dramatic effect on the room.
• He mentioned that Taste gives back to the community by donating to fundraising events for non-profits, and that he enjoys the challenge of designing for them, especially for Meals on Wheels.

As you can see by the photos above, he managed to tell us all this and still demonstrate some lovely centerpieces.  We were all thrilled to hear such down-to-earth, practical information about the events business. Thanks to Billy and Jenny Tabarracci for working this out.

Tall Centerpieces - CCSF Midterm Designs

If you can't see the slideshow above click here to go to the gallery on Picasa.

These tall arrangements were the mid-term assignment in Jenny Tabarracci's "Floral Design for Events" class. We were all required to use the same riser prop, and to select a celebrity birthday for our theme. It was really amazing to see how differently everyone used the prop. Beautiful work from the whole class.

Kim's design

My design was a predominantly green one that sort of looks like a palm tree. I was inspired by local tech celebrity Larry Ellison (I worked a Oracle for a short time eons ago). Lately he's been in the news because he is the moving force behind bringing the 2013 America's Cup race to San Francisco. He has long been interested in Japanese design, and even modeled his Woodside estate after feudal Japanese architecture.  I was also inspired by a small Buddha statue I keep near my desk. I decided to incorporate the statue into the base on the design. Since Buddha found enlightenment while sitting under a tree, I made a "tree" with large leaves, orchids, thistles, small Japanese toys, and other materials.

We also had an informative guest lecture by Robert Kitayama, President & CEO of Kitayama Brothers, Inc, one of the largest growers of fresh flowers in California.  His description of the evolution of their family business between its beginning in 1948 and now sounded like a mini-history of the ever-changing floral business.  It was very interesting to hear his perspective on industry trends, which was quite different from the experiences of the designers that have come to demo for us. Thanks to Robert and Jenny for working that out.

Demo by Gerry Gregg AIFD at CCSF

Large Centerpiece by Gerry Gregg AIFD

Had a demo today from Gerry Gregg AIFD, winner of the Cal-State Top 10 and owner of the Flower Market Chico, specializing in Manzanita and other natural materials from the Sierra Nevada Range. He came to talk with us about floral design for events (corporate, weddings) and the "California Natural" style.

Gerry made several amazing arrangements for using wood, mushrooms, moss and other materials as an structural base, explaining that he prefers "sheltering, free-flowing lines" and lots of texture with fewer flowers.

He has participated in many shows and competitions, and talked to us a lot about trends in design. He told us that the "Bling" style with all the jewels and sparkly bits is on its way out. "California Natural," a style he's actually been working in his whole career, has finally become a known and accepted design style, which includes such elements as woods, mosses, grasses, mushrooms, a clean architectural look, and elements that seem "grounded."

He talked to us about color trends: red, light blue, silver/pewter and antique gold are happening colors. Cascade wedding bouquets are in, with long sweeping tendrils. "Design for arts sake" he said, "is finally coming into play," meaning modern Eurostyle elements like exposed zip ties. He explained that he used exposed zip ties in a competition but was marked down for it, but times have changed. "Now," he said, "anything is possible if you use it with confidence and you have a reason for it."

He also stressed the importance of identifying what your clients "dislikes" are, the importance of knowing when to stop working on a design and leave it alone, and told us that it was his educated opinion that the Dole float built by Fiesta Floats would win first place in the Rose Parade this year. I found that he also does interesting abstract paintings, that can be seen at Art Circle.

Annual Auction at Intersection for the Arts

Busy bees at Intersection.

I created several centerpieces for Intersection for the Arts annual art auction and gala fundraiser. This year was particularly exciting because Intersection had moved their gallery from their Mission location on Valencia Street to new digs at the historic SF Chronicle building on Mission Street. The theme was bees and beehives. I created this centerpiece of Spring greens, flowers, ribbon and bees for the main table, and smaller groupings of spring flowers for the bar and cocktail tables. Congrats to Intersection!

Ornamento at Bouquets to Arts

Daisies at the de Young

Ornamento's installation for Bouquets to Art 2011 was created in the long triangular space right next to the main enterance. This space has long display windows on both sides, and can be seen from both the exterior courtyard and from the main lobby of the museum.

Inspired by the coming of Spring, we installed over 200 Gerbera Daisies, in a spectrum of colors. The colors began at one end of the long window with white, then yellow though orange to orange-red, then went from dark magenta through all the pinks to the lightest blush pink.

Museum visitors on opening day seemed very happy to see the "daisy field" a sign of Spring after days of overcast weather.

A pair of large vase arrangements created today by Carolina Herrera, Yun Kyung Park & myself at CCSF.

Ylvisaker - Trends in Floral Design

The slides above are cell snaps from a floral design demo by Kevin Ylvisaker AIFD, PFCI sponsored by the local unit of Teleflora hosted by Brannan Street Floral Wholesale at the SF Flower Mart.

Kevin created all the arrangements in these photos. In the captions, I discuss points that he brought up as he created the arrangements, but overall his main points were:

Martha style arrangements are dead. Many people still like them, but that's not where contemporary design is going. Monotone and grouped designs are popular. Design is more spare and architectural, and not so much about round mounds of mixed flowers.

Turquoise will be the happening color of the year. Bright colors like lime green, orange, hot pink and bright purple are still trendy. Chocolate is out, and has been replaced by a warm gray/black Charcoal.

More flowers, less greenery. Use moss to cover foam if needed. Even garden style arrangements are more structured.

We love glass cubes. We fill them with colored foam, colored foam shapes, dyed beads, colored wire, curly willow and grasses.

Glitter and dyed flowers are popular. Especially flowers dyed blue.

There was lots more information, and I was fascinated with how quickly and deftly Kevin could create design after design, while talking and joking the whole time.  I would think these same trends are probably appearing in most creative endeavors.

Bouquets to Art 2010

Cel snaps of the amazing floral designs on display at the de Young's annual Bouquets to Art event, in which designers from around the bay area create pieces based on works in the de Young's permanent collection. April 20-24, 2010.

I was pleased to assist on the event this year with other CCSF students, particularly the opportunity to help Kiko Zimmerman of tk designs prep for her demos. Her designs were spectacular!