Artist Anita Wong
Blurring the lines between traditional Chinese art and contemporary works, artist Anita Wong found her medium with expressive brushstrokes and arresting compositions rooted in nature.
To create Bird, a sun print of an original bird painting, “I placed real flowers on top of photography paper during sun exposure,” she says.
‘Bird’ by Anita Wong, anitayanwong.com
Forever in Bloom
Metal artist Tommy Mitchell and interior designer Charlotte Moss have teamed up to create a collection of flowers inspired by horticulturist Robert Furber’s 1730 book Twelve Months of Flowers. Each flower is handmade of copper, brass, and steel. Some are housed in acrylic wall studies and some in cachepots, like the July delphinium.
July delphinium, $1,200, from Charlotte Moss x Tommy Mitchell, tommymitchellcompany.com
Whimsical Woodland
Christopher Spitzmiller, known for his colorful ceramic lamps, and artist and author Cathy Graham collaborated for their Woodland tabletop collection. It’s fanciful, fresh, and plays well with other existing pieces in your collection.
‘Woodland,’ starting at $95 for a coffee or tea mug, by Cathy Graham with Christopher Spitzmiller. Special order at christopherspitzmiller.com.
Pressed for All Time
Olivia Cheng started by curating and selling vintage clothing through a resale app. Then in 2018 while earning a business degree at New York University, she launched Dauphinette, a line that reworks vintage outerwear—painting leather jackets with Warhol-esque flowers and adding feathers, crochet, unconventional buttons, and embroidery. From there, Cheng began making handbags, jewelry, and other ready-to-wear items with the same flair as the outerwear.
‘Ina’s Violas’ bag, $345, dauphinette.com
We love Dauphinette’s transparent handbags, named in honor of Ina Garten, in which real pressed flowers are sealed into custom-cut paillettes with vintage sequins from Cheng’s personal collection. “More than anything, I wanted to share a new way of interacting with recycled materials that I wasn’t seeing in the industry, and to create a community and conversation around that,” she says. Falling for Cheng’s designs isn’t difficult. As Ina would say, “How easy is that?”
Reading List
Our May 2020 book selections offer inspiration in spades, from entertaining ideas, floral instruction, and dreamy summer homes to a fresh exploration of the meaning of flowers. Read the full story.
‘French Country Cottage Inspired Gatherings’ by Courtney Allison (Gibbs Smith, 2020), $35
‘Summer to Summer: Houses by the Sea’ by Jennifer Ash Rudick, Photography by Tria Giovan (Vendome, 2020), $75
‘Cultivated: The Elements of Floral Style’ by Christin Geall (Princeton Architectural Press, 2020), $28
‘The Language of Flowers’ by Odessa Begay (HarperCollins, 2020), $28
By Alice Welsh Doyle
Here’s What Else We’ve Got Our Eyes On
In the Scene section of Flower‘s March-April 2020 issue, our editors highlight three new books by florists, Chantecaille’s rosy collaboration with artist John Derian for Mother’s Day, flowers underfoot at The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach, and colorful fabrics from Kendall Wilkinson. Read the full story.
