It has been an Honor to be invited to participate at the Macy’s Flower Show for the last seven years, as one of six world-renowned  floral and event designers. This invitation was to be part of “The Bouquet of the Day” where each designer create their own and unique version of a large-than-life floral centerpieces; alternating every two or three days on the center main aisle throughout the two-weeks event. This year I was also invited to be part of the Macy’s flower Show in their Philadelphia store.

When I came to the show seven years ago it used to be a large floral bouquet of fresh flowers. Having studying architecture, and putting in practice my knowledge in design, colors and composition I decided to bring it to the next level and create a large floral structure of organic material and fresh flowers.

The Bouquet of the Day is today one of the main attractions of the show, where visitors can’t wait to view the next installation. In time I single-handedly expanded the concept from flower-in-vase designs to large-scale fresh flowers installations.

Since the technical aspect is just as important as the design part, I want to truly represent the theme of this year’s show, which was:

“Spring is in the Air”.

Concept- Use fresh flowers and organic material to represent the theme at it’s best.

Design- For the design I had to consider the architectural/mechanical and structural aspects, which would underline my overall design vision. Since the theme was “Spring is in the Air”, my ideas was to design birds; as one of the symbols of the awakening of the spring. These birds will be flying in the air carrying an arrangement of fresh spring flowers which from far away would look as if they were soaring in the air unto the streets sharing the spring with everyone. The birds were made with wire, covered with paper mache and then with fresh flowers. These birds were heavy by the weight of the flowers and I want them to be on a very specific angle so it will give the illusion as if they were flying away and creating movement.

Main centerpiece, we had a working water fountain flowing with seasonal spring flowers such as tulips in different colors and species, ranunculus, jasmine and lush green ivy. The top tier of the fountain we had it running with cascading water giving a constant movement to the composition. The fountain was enchanted with the presence of symbols of nature such as ladybugs, butterflies and a frog. I also wanted to combine natural elements such as moss, ferns and bark to represent nature and life and the birth of a new season. We gave a colorful touch to further the concept of Spring; because with spring we get an array of colors and life.

This year I had the privilege to work with the Macy’s Special Events team as they commissioned me to design and create flying bugs for all of their national markets; Chicago, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco. I designed butterflies and dragonflies in three different sizes and shapes to be hung all around the store. These bugs were made with heavy wire and covered with Styrofoam to sculpture the shape of each body, and then we covered each bug with colorful and organic materials. The wings were made with heavy wire as well and then covered with crystal organza and hand-painted with airbrush technique, to give them a whimsical look.

I am very excited to share the pictures below as well as the slideshow showing behind the scenes footage of our installation

Check out this VIDEO of Susan Babb talking about the Macy’s 2010 Flower Shower as well as this awesome slideshow for much more pictures and video clips of the installation from start to finish.

Photos and Slideshow by Feuza Reis