In Conversation with Erika Smolders

Erika Smolders

 

Erica Smolders is without a doubt one of the best floral designers in the city. She runs the premiere luxury floral boutique, Rook and Rose located in the fashionable district in lower Johnson Street (aka "LoJo"). 

 

I met Erica over a year ago when she was opening her quaint shop, and since then every time I walk by on my way to the studio her floral displays outside make my day brighter and happier.  She always has the most beautiful and unexpected flower arrangements ready to take home and you'll undoubtedly find the most stunning selection of seasonal and exotic blooms as well. 

 

Erica Smolders and her talented team including Lolita, her bulldog (which has stolen my heart completely) are available to work with each and every client bringing the beauty, the unique and the unexpected to every floral creation.

 

Lolita

 

Iván Meade - What is your favourite local find? Where did you get this item – how long have you had it?

 

Erica Smolders – Last spring I found a 1950’s Smith Corona typewriter while helping a friend clean out their garage. A few months later, I opened Rook & Rose and really liked the idea of using it at the shop to hand-type card messages and little love letters.

 

 

Iván Meade - Why is it important/inspirational to you?

 

Erica Smolders – I think it makes people happy. The sound of a typewriter might seem a bit out of place in a flower shop but it sure gets a lot of attention. I also really like that no two notes are ever the same. Some might be a tiny bit crooked or have a spot of white-out but I think that makes them special and I bet people will keep those cards for a really long time.

 

Floral Design by Rook & Rose

 

Iván Meade -  How does this item reflect upon your personal design philosophy?

 

Erica Smolders – In floral design I really appreciate small, unexpected details and I think you can always tell when someone has taken the time to include those things. Plus, I love anything with a slight DIY vibe and I’m a sucker for anything vintage.

 

Floral Design by Rook & Rose

 

Iván Meade - What was your first experience with floral design?

 

Erica Smolders – I was attending University overseas, took a part-time job at a small flower stand and fell in love with it. Within weeks I’d decided that I just had to be a floral designer... and the rest is history.

 

Floral Design by Rook & Rose

 

Iván Meade - Who or what has influenced your style aside from nature itself?

 

Erica Smolders –Without a doubt, the years spent working in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore and were the most inspiring and influential experience I could have asked for as a young designer.

 

Floral Design by Rook & Rose

 

Iván Meade - Your shop is really unique and beautiful - It is not your typical flower shop what is your idea behind the shop?

 

Erica Smolders – I actually framed a restaurant napkin that I used to take notes when I was coming up with the concept for the shop. It says “clean, modern, stress the basics, affordable luxury, approachable design, beautiful packaging, quality customer service” and I think we’ve really done that.

 

Rook & Rose – Floral Boutique

 

Iván Meade - It was very refreshing to find someone in the city who does new and different floral designs. How do you keep current in the floral industry?

 

Erica Smolders –My eyes are always open. I follow high fashion, interior design and modern art really closely and have noticed that it doesn’t take long anymore for trends in those industries to influence floral design.

 

Floral Design by Rook & Rose

 

Iván Meade - Do you feel that Victoria is ready for a change? Where do you see floral design going in the next 10 years?

 

Erica Smolders – Absolutely! There’s been efforts to push the envelope around the city but it’s sometimes been met with hesitation. Luckily, being a new business, we’ve built an incredibly supportive clientele who are always checking in to see what’s new and that really keeps us on our toes. Hopefully within the next 10 years more and more people will choose flowers to compliment the style of their surroundings and maybe those fluffy, tacky, novelty arrangements will finally retire! 

 

Floral Design by Rook & Rose

 

Iván Meade - What project are you most proud of?

 

Erica Smolders – I live for the moments when a bride tells me that her bouquet was ‘exactly what she wanted’ or that the flowers were ‘the favourite part of her wedding day’. Knowing that you’ve made someone so happy on one of the most memorable days of their life... you just can’t beat that.

 

Floral Bouquets by Rook & Rose

 

Iván Meade - What would be your dream project if you were given carte blanche?

 

Erica Smolders –I really love events to have either a clear theme or a really cohesive look, so a dream project for me would be having a hand in the planning process from the beginning so that I can spend a majority of my time on all the thoughtful little details. Our flowers just look so much nicer on a perfectly planned table.

 

Floral Design by Rook & Rose

 

Iván Meade - What is your favourite plant to work with?

 

Erica Smolders – Orchids! It might seem like a really obvious answer but I just love how versatile they are and some of the rare varieties are really special.

 

Floral Design by Rook & Rose

 

Iván Meade - Lastly, you have already created a stunning body of work with many mediums and styles, what would you like your legacy to be?

 

Erica Smolders – Oh wow...I don’t know! I’m still just the new kid on the block. Ask me again in 5 years?

 

Erika Smolders in full action.

 

I invite you to discover Rook and Rose website at:

 

MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011

Art in Bloom 2011 – “Design Fit for a King”

This year Meade Design Group have been very fortunate to be invited by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria to reinterpret an art piece of their permanent collection in a botanical extravaganza as part of their annual exhibition Art in Bloom.

 

 

Leading creative professionals in the field of design were selected to celebrate spring creating unique floral interpretations.  We were assigned a stunning  oil painting in canvas by Theresa Victoria Wylde (circa 1909) entitled “This Is The World, And I Am King…”  (127” height X 137.5 width). Our interpreted  title for the exhibit is  “Design Fit For A King”.

 

Description

The central figure is a young girl with long wavy black hair who wears a purple gingham dress with a purple over-dress; she is sitting in a forest by a stream, holding an apple(orb) in one hand & a foxglove(septre)in the other; she has a 'crown' of evergreen boughs with cones in her hair; a squirrel sits nearby, watching her.

- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

 

We were inspired by the description of the painting and we also wanted to display all our strengths as a multidisciplinary design studio.  We designed 3 pieces for the installation.  The first idea that came to my mind when I saw the piece was “ethereal” – I wanted to create an installation that was light and complemented the painting.

 

The first piece we designed was a massive Plexiglas cube to encase the antique chest that was below the painting.  As an interior designer I felt that the scale of the chest was not big enough to hold the visual weight of the painting, so we corrected the proportions and the scale of the chest with a new Plexiglas structure making the chest look like an archived piece.  We also incorporated a modern interpretation of some of the elements of the painting with contemporary graphics. Our design complemented the William Morris wall paper  showcasing our strengths in Graphic Design.  Natashita brought to life our ideas choosing an opalescent metallic vinyl that complemented the colour scheme of its surroundings.

 

 

The second piece we designed was a Plexiglas plinth that mimic the proportions of the chest. We cover the face of the plinth with the same vinyl we used in the cube below to continue the flow.  As for the 3rd piece we designed the flower vase which references the foxglove flower in the painting. 

 

 

Artist Statement

We were inspired by the strong vertical line created by the foxgloves held by the girl in this painting. We wanted an organic, linear form to overlap the painting asymmetrically to create a strong, contemporary vignette that still works with this traditional piece.

We used a combination of anemones, tube roses, double tulips, mosses and greens accented by drumstick alliums and fuchsia trachelium. We wanted to build up a woodland feeling with berries, mosses and greens, but still have interesting forms and textures with more exotic accents. This is reinforced by the golden graphic that has been applied to the acrylic base which encases the trunk.

 

 

Mini Flower Bouquets

 

Here is Echito our flower arranger extraordinaire.

 

Adjusting last minute details.

 

And here it is the complete installation.

“Design Fit For A King”

 

We want to extend our gratitude to Plexiklass, Rook and Rose, Brenda Marks – Kravet, and Garside Signs and Displays for all their help, patience and guidance to make this project come together.

 

If you are in Victoria don’t miss the hottest ticket in town!

 

Art in Bloom 2011 - a week long celebration of fine art and all things botanical. The bi-annual fundraiser heralds the beginning of spring to Vancouver Island, and supports exhibitions and programming at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Art in Bloom highlights the talents of local and international artists, writers, floral designers and garden experts.

 

MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011

In Conversation with Tara McHugh

Tara McHugh

 

Tara McHugh (or "Tarita Tomato" as I affectionately refer to her), was one of my first team members at Meade Design Group when I first started the business and was still working from my own home. She has since been married and had two beautiful children.

 

It has always been Tara's dream to run her own business in a creative field. She first moved to Victoria from the prairies in 2000 to study interior design, where she worked successfully within the design field for several years. More recently however, Tara has developed her own floral design company - Tara McHugh Flora, which is making her and her clients very happy. As she says on her website, " I am inspired every day by the natural world around us and am grateful to be able to create with the beauty of flowers and share it with others." She is so sweet and personable, a pleasure to work with.

 

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Tara specializes in unique arrangements that accent a home. Her experience in interior design is a real asset to her skills as she can easily visualize how to play with colour, texture, scale and proportion to create a perfect vignette or focal point for any space.  I can see Tara McHugh becoming the best flower couturier in the city pretty soon.

 

Iván Meade - What is your favourite local find? Where did you get this item – how long have you had it?

 

Tara McHugh - It's so hard to pick a favorite, but about five years ago I purchased a Sarah Pacini sweater from Hughes Clothing store on Yates Street that I love!

 

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - Why is it important/inspirational to you?

 

Tara McHugh - It's important to me because it was the first time I spent a lot of money on one item of quality clothing.I am always amazed at how long it has lasted me and how I still love it after all these years. So it reminds me to buy quality items in all aspects of my life when I can.

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade -  How does this item reflect upon your personal design philosophy?

 

Tara McHugh - Clean lines, textural, modern and always use good quality materials!

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - What was your first experience with design?

 

Tara McHugh - In my early 20's I worked in the film industry in the set decorating department. It was such a fun job! I frequented thrift stores, antique shops and design stores shopping for set pieces.

 

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - Who or what has influenced your style aside from nature itself?

 

Tara McHugh - Working in film, Dwell magazine, ikebana

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - What is the story behind Tara McHugh Flora, how did the company begin?

 

Tara McHugh - I was about two months pregnant and had just spent a couple years at home with my daughter and was so ready to do something new. I knew I wanted to have my own business which would still allow me to be home with my kids. I also knew that flowers were my love and that I wanted to create. Thus, my life as a floral designer began.

 

I really like the juxtaposition of your traditional sounding name and locale mixed with your beautiful and contemporary work. Do you feel this is representative of your floral designs?

 

I think having a balance of classic and modern elements is very important in my designs.

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - It was very refreshing to find someone in the city who does new and different floral designs. How do you keep current in the floral industry?

 

Tara McHugh - Books, magazines, and the internet are what keep me up to date with the floral and especially the wedding world.

 

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - You are well known in the city for being one of the best  floral couturier, what do you feel sets you apart?

 

Tara McHugh - Thank you. I think the fact that I love to make the vase an integral part of the over all design. Gone are the days of the cheap, generic florist vases. I think the vase should be worth keeping and used again and again. It is an important part of the gift, or in an event setting the vase is expressive of a certain look or mood.

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - Do you feel that Victoria is ready for a change? Where do you see floral design going in the next 10 years?

 

Tara McHugh - Sure, change is always a good thing. I think we will see the floral industry become more green, and more sustainable practices will be used.

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - What kind of things do you have to keep in mind while creating a floral design that the client might not realize is important for you to know?

 

Tara McHugh - The mechanics and the pairing of flowers can be challenging in floral design. Trying to make something organic do what you want it to do isn't always easy.

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - What is the most unusual request that you have ever received from a client?

 

Tara McHugh - Nothing too unusual has been requested yet.....but I'm taking orders!

 

  Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - What do you consider to be your greatest strength and weakness?

 

Tara McHugh - One of my greatest strengths would be my ability to think outside of the box and come up with non-traditional ideas. My weakness would be my memory. Note pads are my friend!

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - What project are you most proud of?

 

Tara McHugh - Just this past summer I did a wedding up island with an ivory and green color scheme. I used some spectacular Dahlias which I just love! It took place on the shores of a stunning lake with mountains in the background and the bride didn't want anything too formal. I was very pleased with the end result!

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - What would be your dream project if you were given carte blanche?

 

Tara McHugh - I would love to do something on a really large scale, almost like a flower installation of sorts. For the installation to be inside an architectural gem would be a bonus!

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - What is your favourite plant to work with?

 

Tara McHugh - That is something that always changes, especially with the season. I have been really loving tropical greens lately.

 

Tara McHugh Flora

 

Iván Meade - Lastly, you have already created a stunning body of work with many mediums and styles, what would you like your legacy to be?

 

Tara McHugh - That I was a wonderful mother, wife, friend and business woman.

 

Tarita Tomato & Little Tomatillo

 

I invite you to discover Tara McHugh's work at her website:

 

 

Ivan Meade is a local designer and principal of Meade Design Group, a multidisciplinary interior and graphic design studio in the heart of downtown Victoria – www.themeadegroup.com

MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011