In October I made the table flowers for a Hogan Lovells Cadwalader partners’ dinner at Horizon 22, high up above the City. Sixteen centrepieces in all, and 128 paper flowers.
The brief started with the firm’s own colours: lime green, navy, teal, pale blue, cream, white and black. The moment I saw the lime I knew the tables would be striking. They wanted the lime and navy to really come through, so the tables would feel like Hogan Lovells without anyone having to say so. And they didn’t want the flowers to pass for real ones. They wanted them to look made, a little sculptural, which is my favourite kind of brief.
They’d fallen for my poppies and wanted them as the statement. In fact they’d have loved every stem to be a poppy, so I suggested lighter cosmos-style stems around them to give the arrangements some air. I gave every poppy a black centre, which I was really excited about, as it sets off the lime and navy beautifully. Before making the full set I sent sample blooms in the agreed colours, so the team could see them in real life and not just on a screen.
I’ve made a lot of poppies over the years, so the making itself went smoothly. But there’s always a point in a big project, with flowers everywhere and nothing finished, where a little doubt creeps in. You can’t see it all coming together until much later.
The team wanted to set the tables themselves, so instead of installing on the day I packed everything into sturdy boxes they could keep, along with a short styling guide. I designed the stems to loop and curl, and I always show clients a few different ways of styling them, so the arrangements have a sculptural shape rather than just standing up straight in a vase. Paper flowers don’t wilt, so those boxes mean the centrepieces can come out again for the next dinner, and the one after that.
The team were happy with the flowers. If I’m honest, part of me wishes I’d had the chance to arrange them myself, as I’d have played with the shapes a little more. But that’s also what I love about making for events. Fresh flowers are beautiful for an evening. These can be part of a company’s story for years.
If you’re planning a dinner or event and want flowers made around your colours, I’d love to hear about it. Tell me a little about it on my Commissions page, or write to me at hello@emmelikimhi.com