La Belle Époque Inspiration with Ovando, Resident Floral Expert

Today we are beyond thrilled to welcome back Karine Bailly of Ovando, Merci New York's Resident Floral Experts and designers to the Manhattan elite.
Karine always brings wonderful inspiration to the site, but today she shares some of Ovando's coveted work, {with a bit of French flair, as documented by our talented friends at Photomuse}, and the results are absolutely breathtaking. Take it away, Karine...
With the turn of the New Year, looking forward can sometimes also mean looking back.
Nostalgic? Never.
Inspired? Indeed.
It was all too perfect timing when a client recently approached us, asking for an avant-garde centerpiece arrangement that could emulate the inventiveness of the art scene flourishing at the turn of the 20th Century.
As incorrigible Francophiles, {no wonder we’re such great fans of Merci!}, we instantly got to thinking about La Belle Époque in our cherished city of lights! Artists and writers like Chanel, Dali, Josephine Baker, Hemingway, Picasso and Gertrude Stein helped to frame Paris as the center of the art world, generating the kind of creative buzz that rippled throughout the international milieu for decades to come.
Stirred by this fantastic energy and lavish appeal, we immediately began thinking about flowers known for their elegance and immense beauty. Richly colored pink and burgundy roses were instantly plucked to use as the core of the piece {but of course!}.The helpless orchid lovers that we are, we also needed to mingle in at least a few vanda and phalaenopsis orchids to bestow their bold color and endless grace upon our arrangement. We stayed true to the rich pink and purple color palettes in order to create tonal depth and nuanced contours.To further elaborate upon the plush Parisian sentiment of the avant-garde design, we added burgundy Thai leaf loops to the perimeters of the piece, as well as seeded eucalyptus stems to accent select corners. This not only imparted generous body and dimension, but it also offered asymmetrical contours for more modern allure.And so it was, a lovely Parisian-inspired arrangement, basking in the warm glow of the surrounding tea light candles and chicly wrapped gifts. Listening carefully, you could almost hear the seductive hum of Ms. Baker’s "J'ai deux amours"…Lucky us, we have these gorgeous shots from our friends at Photomuse to help us relive the très belle affair.

Visit the Ovando Web site and blog for more inspiration and wonderful portfolio work.