New York fashion-friendly florists share their skills in Hong Kong floral workshops
They count Cartier, Dior and Jason Wu among their clients, but the biggest moment for Putnam & Putnam was their recent 14-page shoot in US Vogue. The couple behind the business look forward to their Hong Kong workshops
In 2014, New York-based couple Darroch and Michael Putnam started florist Putnam & Putnam.
“It’s been a wild and beautiful few years … watching the brand’s growth has been incredible,” says Michael.
The icing on the cake came this month when their work was featured in the April 2018 issue of US Vogue. Shot by a team comprising photographer Steven Klein and stylist Grace Coddington, the whimsical 14-page shoot of a flower field fantasy stars model and actress Mia Goth (Goth is wife of Shia LaBeouf, who she met on the set of Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, a role that landed her a Miu Miu campaign).
The pair says the Vogue shoot is the highlight of their career. “We will be pinching ourselves all weekend,” they posted on Instagram.
“We are so inspired by fashion and current trends,” Michael says.
“The events industry can be very wasteful,” says Michael. “There are many ways we push ourselves to be more green and conscious, starting with minimising waste. By composting our green matter when possible, we save bags of material from being dumped into landfills.
Floral design started as a hobby, but I soon fell in love with it. I’m a very tactile person and interior design wasn’t fulfilling my need to work with my hands
“Another step taken is to use as little floral foam as possible when creating events. For centrepieces we use wire instead of foam, which is filled with toxic chemicals and is non-biodegradable. And we source as much local product as possible, depending on the season. Every bit of effort makes a difference.”
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“Floral design started as a hobby, but I soon fell in love with it. I’m a very tactile person and interior design wasn’t fulfilling my need to work with my hands,” Michael says.
The hobby soon morphed into a successful business – all thanks to the power of social media.
“On weekends, Darroch would photograph my work and I’d post the images on social media. People quickly started taking notice, inquiring about small jobs and editorial projects.”
“A year in, Darroch quit his job to join me and Putnam & Putnam was born.”
“We push ourselves when designing installations – we never take the easy way out. Regardless of the scale or size of a project we take everything very seriously, our attention to detail is paramount and we always keep the pressure on ourselves to do the best possible job we can.”
