Figs fill me with memories of summers in Portugal, surrounded by farmlands and mountain views. Of a determined grandfather who’d stand watch of birds for hours, so we’d have plenty of fruit to savor. A reminder of a great love.
Grapes bring back the images of sitting beneath the shady vines, watching as they changed colors along the season. Of golden autumn days, picking and watching it all transform into the bold elixir served atop our tables the following season. Homegrown, homemade and all a cyclical part of life.
The tall dried grasses that endured after a rainless summer, line the jagged pathways leading into the mountainside and farmlands. And the herbs wildly flow in the evening breeze, long and past their flowering stage, now seeded.
It’s only after time has passed that the floral pieces, art or elements we create and share are no longer just another “thing” we make, but heirlooms. Cherished memories that make up the whole of our story.
This centerpiece, created in the last lingering stretch of summer in late August, will always be one of my favorite floral creations. Mostly because I love Figs. Yes when at their peak, they are delicious, and visually beautiful, dare I say alluring. But they are so much more.
And it’s the reason why I love working with flowers. It’s an act that grounds us, inspires and gives back to the very thing that provides for us, Nature. But it also allows us to travel back to another time long gone. To connect with those lost, and more importantly with ourselves.
In design, we’re full embracing every element of natural world, all working beautifully and aesthetically together to tell a story. Fruits, vegetables, grasses, fresh and dried, wrapped in fabric or adorned with pearls. And I too choose to celebrate even more of our organic natural world as it slowly progresses and remains present through the seasons. What a breath of fresh creative air to play with our food in ways that inspires all our senses. Appreciating flowers, greens and fresh produce in all their stages and forms, savoring their perfect union. We see it in this styled shoot, and this seasonal piece, fruits and florals are here to stay when it comes to design.
Green grapes and richly colored figs may be the focal point, but seeded Parsley greens add the height and a contemporary organic drama to this design. This centerpiece is a nod to creating with greater intention and authenticity — ensuring it’s always fun, calming and grounding. Because that’s what nature, and working alongside it, is meant to be.
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