Critics : About Justchrys’ images November 2, 2009

 

I personally think that Justchrys has a good Marketing strategy, at least a new and daring one. Nevertheless, I don’t always appreciate their artistic photo creations. The world they build throughout their communication images is so artificial and distant that I think consumers wouldn’t easily be able to identify with this lifestyle and atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesy Justchrys

  

Above is the Autumn picture on the front page of Justchrys‘ website. Well, I understand they wanted to associate the Chrysanthemum image to a more luxury and sensorial positioning, but the execution, in my opinion, is not at the height of the project.

  

I have done a little research in my image archives and have found two photos that I would use to represent the Chrysanthemum. The image of Chrysanthemums here is glamour and aspirational but remains natural and accessible.

  

  Courtesy Elle Magazine and Numero Magazine

 

My flower book (13): Chrysanthemum November 2, 2009

 

The 1st November was All Saint’s Day in most European countries. It’s the day when people go to cemetery for their lost family or friends. I don’t know if Chrysanthemum is always their first choice for this day’s flower, I have seen at Parisian florists’ a lot of other flowers like Lily, Hydrangea and Iris, etc., though there were many kinds of Chrysanthemum too.

However, Chrysanthemum is not a cemetery flower. In China, it is the symbol of longevity and rare species are very expensive and sought-after. Justchrys, the organisation pour the promotion of Chrysanthemum has done a great work to change the image of the flower in the West. I find that people begin to accept this flower and appreciate its beauty, it original scent and its variety.

  

I did this bouquet with 5 big burgundy red chrysanthemums and a kind of orange ones in the form of snowball. I like these colors of Autumn, the best season in a year.

  

 

 

Flowers in this bouquet:

  

- Chrysanthemum: Chrysanthemum / Chrysanthème / 菊花

  

- Celosia: Cocks comb / Célosie, Crête de coq / 鸡冠花

 

- Unknow foliage/seeds

My Flower Book (12): Lilies October 25, 2009

 

 

In this scented green bouquet:

  

- Lilium longiflorum: Lily longiflorum / Lis / 麝香百合

 

- Calla: Calla lily / Arum / 海芋

 

- Unknown green reeds with branch

My flower book (11) : Berries October 11, 2009

 

Many hedge plants have berries in Autumn. From my stroll along by the Seine River near Neuilly in Paris, I picked up a bundle of branches with all colors of berries which I’ve made a bouquet with.

 

Fruits can be as colorful as flowers, and they are the extension of flower’s life. The nature is a wonderful cycle.

 

 

 

 

 

Modern floral design at Bernhard Willhelm fashion show October 5, 2009

Paris – Spring Summer 2010 Womenswear Fashin Week

  

The German designer Bernhard Willhelm gave a very “floral” fashion show – not that he used floral patterns in his designs but a great number of modern floral design creations were used to decorate models’ hairdress and to accessorize the clothes.

 

That would be great for any florist to work on such a project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesy Bernhard Willhelm

My flower book (10): Rouge attitude September 21, 2009

Tomorrow is the first day of Autumn. For city dwellers,  the first signs of the season are surely colors of trees and, if you love flowers, you may have noticed the new arrivals at florists’. At this time of year, the flowers most used for bouquets are chrysanthemum, dahlia, glad, berries, etc.

  

For my homework of the Florist’s course (at Natura-Dis school in France), I have to make 3 floral arrangements in 3 different vases with the same flowers. I have chosen Celosia as the star flower in these bouquets. The Celosia is also called “cocks comb” referring to its form and color.

  

I had made first 2 bouquets with a rectangular and a cube vase. The 3rd one withe the bowl was arranged one week later with the flowers recycled from the cube vase.

  

 Flowers in theses bouquets:

 

- Celosia: Cocks comb/Célosie, crête de coq/鸡冠花

 

- Grass/Graminée/禾本观赏植物

 

- Hypericum: St. John’s wort / Millepertuis / 金丝桃

 

- Ligustrum: Privet berries / Baies de Troène / 女贞树果

 

My flower book (9): Unique September 21, 2009

I am reading Jeff Leatham’s books about floral design and his famous floral decoration at the hotel Georges V in Paris. One of Jeff’s signature statement is to display a bunch of flowers sideways in a big glass vase.

  

On the left is one of Jeff’s creation, and on the right is mine of glads and grass imitating his style.

  

Florists are inventing technic more and more difficult and complicated to create gorgeous floral sculpture. However, what I prefer personally is always simple and natural bouquets without complicated technique but with good taste for color and harmony.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture on the left: Courtesy Jeff Leatham

Bouquets Calendar 2010 September 18, 2009

Orsay is my favorite museum in Paris, because most of the impressionists’ works are there. Thursday evening – during the late-night opening - is my favorite moment to go to see for the nth time Monet, Van-Gogh, Manet, Renoir, Degas and others.

  

 Yesterday from my “la nuit au musée”, I’ve found a beautiful calendar for the year 2010. It’s made up of 12 still-life paintings of bouquets that I dream of.

  

So I’ve given myself a objectif : to reproduce the same bouquet in the paintings each month of next year !

 

The Orsay Museum

The RMN shop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesy RMN

Lovely Justchrysanthemum ! September 10, 2009

It ’s Autumn and the chrysanthemum is the flower of this season. The association JustChrysanthemum (see my back post) have just released their Autumn creations, as they do for each season.

 

However, I was a little surprised to see that their logo have taken also the colors of Autumn. A detail which gives life to this  organisation working for one of the most lovely things in the world : the flower.

 

My flower book (8) September 7, 2009

Rustic style floral basket :

 

 

 

 - Sedum: Stonecrop / Orpin / 景天

- Hypericum : St. John’s wort / Millepertuis / 金丝桃

- Eucalyptus : Eucalyptus / 桉树

 

My flower book (7) September 7, 2009

 

My first arrangement of the entry in 2009.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 In these two bouquets :

 

- Delphinium: Larkspur / Pied d’alouette / 翠雀花, 飞燕草

- Eustoma grandiflorum: Lisianthus / 洋桔梗 

- Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus / 桉树

- Duranta repens: Golden Dewdrops / Vanillier de Cayenne / 假连翘

Trends in horticulture September 4, 2009

As a marketing professional, I have always heard of trends forecasters and agencies – those people extremely sensible to social, economic ans consumption tendancies who define the guide lines of marketing strategy, product concepts in general or colors and models in the fashion industry.

 

However, trends exist as well in horticulture. Not only the trends of floral arrangement – this is summarized in books like International Floral Art – but also social and consumer trends concerning the horticulture.  

 

Bloom magazine, a trend book about horticulture edited by Trend Union and Li Edelkoort’s studio, is unique in Europe. Bloom works in collaboration with many famous photographers to create unique and conceptual pictures. They have also an accurate opinion about social and color and marketing trends because Trend unions publishes also trend books on other industries. So bloom is also an inspirational book for fashion, cosmetics or packaging professionals.

 

Only imperfection: it’s pretty cheap for individuals like me passionated by flowers. But I think it worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesy Bloom magazine

Alps mountain flowers August 18, 2009

I passed the weekend of 15th August, which is a holiday in France, in a small Swiss village in the Alps Mountains, just beside the Lake Geneva. This was not the first time I’ve been to this area but the first time in August. The nature was scenic, the weather was mild…It was very difficult to come back to Paris and go to work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Swiss farmer had planted flowers in his garden and at the moment when I passed, he made his garden a “self-service flower market” where you can pick flowers yourself. The Dahlias were so beautiful under the blue sky.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 At the Furka Pass in the Alps, at 2500 meters of altitude, the mild flowers were very colorful thanks to the sunshine.

Just 2dezign August 6, 2009

I am completely captivated by the work of the Dutch agency 2Dezign for Just Chrysanthemum, a co-operation of grower group Chryson Foundation and the Flower Council of Holland.

 

The intention of this project is to fully change the dull image of the chrysanthemum.  With 2Dezign’s practical know-how, market research and innovative thinking, this have used all kinds of fantastic ways to demonstrate the trendy and funky side of the chrysanthemum. This project contains every aspect of marketing the new, unconventional image of the flower, ranging from image and product photography, floral arrangements, advertising and POS materials.

 

A great beginning for another marketing approach in the flower industry.

 

 

 

 

  

  

Courtesy Justchrysantemum

Flowers in fashion shows August 1, 2009

Todya, not only floral pattern is quite used by designers in fashion creation, but real flowers and nature imitation are celebrated in fashion shows. Let’s see some recent images from :

- House of Holland

- Movimento

- Samuel Cirnansck

- On aura tout vu