Loving hydrangeas

Rose and hydrangea heart - Image courtesy of Leafy Couture

When I was getting married, I looked at alot of flowers because we (or should that be my extremely creative mother) were doing the flowers ourselves for the church and reception. I decided I wanted big bold flowers so we went to the flower wholesalers and looked at all the gorgeous blooms and at first I was looking at peonies (but as it was pointed out "not in October you're not") and then I saw the flower that I immediately fell in love with - beautiful large white hydrangeas. Oh how I wanted them and oh how my dreams were shattered when I was told it would be hard to get them in October. In other words they would cost a fortune and we had a big church to fill. I did sulk but then what Mum came up with was amazing and I wouldn't have changed what we had for the world! Although I will be honest and say if I'd had something like this on my top table I wouldn't have been unhappy!

Image by Chris Hanley Photography, floristry by Green Earth Flowers

And who would be unhappy with gorgeously simple bouquets like this?

or even this?


But despite not being able to have these gorgeous blooms on my wedding day, my love for hydrangeas has continued and I love having them in the house (and we are desperately trying to grow them in the garden!). I love the colours and I love their overall boldness but I also love the fact that for all their boldness they are made up of hundreds of delicate petals. And it was whilst I was looking at a beautiful dried hydrangea head last year that I came up with a few ideas for my 2011 Summer Collection - taking the form of the hydrangeas and turning that into beautiful hair accessories.

The initial concept idea was born using gorgeous rose quartz chips

And then having fallen in love with the concept I decided that this idea would form the backbone of the summer collection. And so 5 pieces were designed (and the 6th will be released very soon!). Here are the 3 main designs:

Hydrangeas

Photography by Hannah Duffy Photography

Hydrangea


Hortensia

Photography by Hannah Duffy Photography

I wanted to recreate that feeling of bold yet delicate in the designs so I decided upon beautiful freshwater pearls to give the depth and sparkling Swarovski crystals in various shapes and sizes to give the sense of delicacy and lightness. And by using a mix of singular and clustered beading I was adding an extra layer of texture and interest into the overall look. But the key to these pieces is the wiring and construction. Layers of decreasing circles of wiring are piled on top of each other and then twisted to give a light and airy feel to the pieces whilst maintaining a bold overall look. As you look into these designs you can see a dense core - just as you can see when you look into a hydrangea. These designs represent a beautiful element of summer for me and the range of designs from the bold and striking Hydrangeas through to the small and yet beautiful pins which are fantastic in barrel curls means that they appeal to a wide bridal audience. And indeed these pieces have proved to be a favourite with brides and magazines alike.

And over the next few weeks I will releasing a rather special hydrangea inspired design to celebrate the start of Spring and the move towards the summer season.

All in all though it must be remembered that if it wasn't for the amazing hydrangea none of these designs are likely to exist. They are just the perfect flower - gorgeous when fresh and hauntingly beautiful when dried. And to illustrate their fabulousness I asked Emily Quinton if she had any images of hydrangeas and she sent me some wonderful images which highlight their versatility at every stage of their lifecycle.

Beautifully simple purple hydrangea display

Pretty in Pink

Beautifully delicate when dried

Picture perfect, paper thin detail

Apart from the gorgeousness of the hydrangea, these images just show what a talented botanical (as well as wedding) photographer Emily is and in a few weeks I will be bringing you a feature post on Emily and her fabulous work. So look out for that - I can't wait to share it with you.

I hope you have enjoyed my little post about this beautiful flower and I have been able to share some hydrangea love. It never ceases to amaze me how nature develops such things of beauty I would love to know if anyone else shares my warm and cosy feelings for them or even hear about what floats your boat in terms of blooms.

So until next time......
Special thanks to:
Leafy Couture
Chris Hanley Photography
Hannah Duffy Photography
Emily Quinton
for providing lovely examples of their work and images.

Well seasoned

The keystone pieces from our four 2011 collections - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. From left to right First Shoots, Hydrangeas, Autumn Bouquet and Snowflakes

One of the things I am often asked is what inspires you and there is no simple answer if I'm honest. There are so many things from nature, buildings, fashion and people and inspiration can come at any time and in any place (hence why I always have a sketch pad or picture taking device with me!).

And so when it was announced that our four collections for 2011 would be called Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter there was a general consensus as to why I called them that. It must be because I was inspired by the seasons. And the answer to that would of course be - kind of!

You see nature and the seasons are a wonderful thing and the amount of inspiration in terms of form and colour is just amazing. It would be so easy to just copy natural forms and say "here you go - here's my collection" but that is far too obvious for me (and a little unimaginative). Yes I may take a form that inspires and design around that form (see my next post on my Hydrangea designs for our Summer collection) but more than that nature teaches us that as well as being beautiful it is practical. Everything has a place and purpose in nature even if sometimes (like my waffling on) that purpose isn't obvious.

One of the beautiful things about working so closely with our clients is that I can listen to their ideas and concerns very carefully and one of the things that has become obvious to me is that as more and more brides express concerns that they find it hard to find pieces which truly suit the time of year they are getting married. They might find a design but it is too blingy or not blingy enough - or it might be too delicate or it might be too heavy. This is easily rectified for our Tiararama Couture clients as we take their ideas and design for them but what about our clients who don't want to have a piece exclusively designed?

It was second nature to me that when I began to look at designing our 2011 Collections I took the same concerns that our Tiararama Couture clients had into these Collections. I was looking at much more than just the pretty shapes - I was looking at something much deeper. For example when it came to designing my Spring collections I'm not only inspired by the tangible events of spring, I also take inspiration from the essence of Spring - the time of year, the light and the feeling. Each piece in Spring has a clean, compact feel, Summer's designs have a lighter, airy feel, Autumn is warm, elegant and comforting and Winter is full of bold, sparkling, cold and celebratory designs.

Beading and wiring techniques as well as the types, textures and shapes of beads used in the designs suits certain times of the year better as well in terms of light with simple clean beading in Spring, more open wiring techniques in summer, closer beaded pieces in Autumn and more bold, structural beading in Winter. So when I'm designing I'm not just looking at shapes, I'm looking at the techniques to get the best out of the raw materials I use to create designs at a particular time of year. I'm looking at the practical as well as the creative. That isn't to say that a Spring design can only be worn in Spring or an Autumn piece only worn in Autumn. We have adapted a number of designs for brides to better reflect another time of year. For example we created a version of Autumn Bouquet for a summer wedding by changing the bead type and warmed Daisy Chain from our Spring collection up so it looks fabulous for an Autumn wedding.

Going forward our collections will still be called Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. I'm taking the same principles into designing our 2012 collections. I may be introducing some quite different techniques (which is very exciting for us and can't wait to show you our new ideas) but one thing you can be sure of - whatever the pretty design, the feel of the piece will reflect the season it falls into.

It is all very exciting here at Tiararama Towers at the moment with lots of drafting and mock ups being created and we are arranging lots of photoshoots for our new (and old) designs. If you would like to get involved with these photoshoots - whether you are a photographer, boutique owner, designer of stunning things 0r if you are organising your own photoshoots and would like to use some of our pieces - get in touch. It would be fabulous to collaborate with you!

So until next time......

Valentine's Day - first shoots of love

My "surprise" Valentine's Day card from last year

On this lovely sunny Valentine's day I took a turn around the grounds at Tiararama Towers and as I always am at this time of year I was excited to see the new shoots and buds on the trees and shrubs and signs of the new spring bulbs. I couldn't help but turn my thoughts to that exciting buzz I used to feel many years ago as a teenager when I used to get Valentine's cards from my many admirers (well one or two and one of those was probably my sister playing a trick on me) and the thrill of what could be perceived as the potential first shoots of a new romance. When you're 14 it's not hard to imagine all sorts of things like this!

And then of course I considered how since I've been married, it has been my experience that Valentine's Day and the sentiments that go along with it actually tend to last throughout the year rather than being centred on one day....or at least that's what my husband keeps telling me which is why I was so surprised to get a Valentine's Day card last year. But then just look at it....who could have left this on the shelf?

And as I walked back into the house the very first thing I saw was my 2011 Spring and Summer collections glowing and sparkling at me in the sunlight and funnily enough the first piece that really caught my eye was First Shoots

I remember when I first designed it and the thought process and excitement behind it and it suddenly dawned on me that actually now I have started work on our 2012 collections although I still love it, all my excitement and ideas and energy is now being focused on all my new designs and ideas.

In some respects it was quite a sad moment but then I had that lovely realisation that this design and in fact all of our 2011 collections would never go away and as long as I look after the actual pieces they will be with me for quite a while to come. And that is quite comforting!

And as I look over all my sketches and notes and all the mock up pieces that I have created and all the ones that are still to come for our 2012 collections I am getting so excited about sharing them with you and anticipating how they will be received. Ordinarily I would say that you would have to wait until September to catch a first glimpse of one of our new pieces but I am too good to you! For on Saturday I received a lovely surprise (no it wasn't flowers or a card....alas!)! It was the very first shot of one of my 2012 Summer Collection pieces in the Spring issue of Asiana Wedding Magazine.

And here it is.....

All other information is of course under wraps until September but I'm sure there will be some more lovely sneaky peeks coming up soon!

So may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy valentine's day - a time to be excited about new possibilities, a time to remind ourselves of what we have now and to remember. And congratulations to any lucky girl (or boy) who have received (or even receive - the day is still young) a proposal! May the excitement continue.......

So until next time.......