December Inspirations For The GC Reader
Garden Collage Creative Director Laura Braun spends a lot of time thinking about movements in culture and society with respect to gardening, lifestyle, and the botanical world. For the month of December, she curated a series of inspirations for the GC readers and plant-lovers alike. These trends are likely to persist into 2017 and beyond, so we’ve shared them here for your enjoyment.
My first theme for December is Shops + Plants. I recently attended the Design Fair at Art Basel, and while I was there, I saw a several booths incorporating plants and bouquets into their presentation (I especially enjoyed the FENDI x The Happy Room by Cristina Celestino collaboration, which had an appealing, cool, retro vibe with its tropical houseplants).
Incorporating flowers into shops as delicate décor accents is something I’ve frequently seen in Paris, notably at Astier de Villatte, and within Mary Lennox‘s floral arrangements at The Store x Soho House Berlin (which are always absolutely stunning). But back in the NYC, the trend has also been gaining momentum: The Mansur Gavriel store has beautiful bouquets to compliment the pink interior, and the newly-opened Canal Street Market works with one of my favorite florists in NYC, Fox Fodder Farm.
The marriage of floral design with interior design is a trend I am enjoying, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of it as we move into 2017.
The second theme is Wilderness School— foraging, drying herbs, pickling veggies. Not only do I see the interest in these topics increasing, but I see a growing desire for workshops to re-learn and discover traditional rituals and recipes. The often booked-out classes at our friends’ The Alchemist’s Kitchen in NYC or the Contemporary Food Lab in Berlin seem to prove that theory.
Due to the political tensions we are experiencing during these times, I also see a growing demand for green, almost sacred spaces that give a feeling of calm and serenity. The Reformation is a movement on a deeper level– not just adding plants to our homes for the love for “greenterior”, but the need for places that feel like sanctuaries, where nature has reclaimed ownership. It’s like a reclamation of a certain lifestyle tied to the environment; there seems to be a search for a new way of living, one that reconnects to and is more in harmony with nature.