Winter '07 :: Into the Woods

Twenty-six-year-old Oklahoma native and floral designer Lauryl Lane is making a name for herself in Los Angeles, California, with her relaxed, organic approach to design that is reflected, fittingly, in the name of her blossoming company, Flora Organica Design. Recently, flower spoke with Lauryl about her love of flowers, her work, and life in the glitzy city. She let us tag along on her winter wedding-themed photo shoot in the hills of LA.

flower: Have flowers always been a part of your life?
Lauryl: I’ve always loved flowers and been interested in them. My mom is an artist and entertainer and she always had flowers in the house, color in the house.

How did you get started working with flowers?
I studied acting and costume design in college and starting working at a flower shop in sales during my sophomore year. I worked the desk and learned the names of the flowers. At the end of the day, I’d grab the leftovers and start arranging. The floral design manager Carol French noticed and started teaching me.

Did you find it difficult at all?
I knew the elements of design from school and that translated well to flowers. I looked online a lot to see what they were doing in New York, Paris, London. Carol had 30 years of experience and taught me so much. When I graduated with my theatre degree, the shop offered me a full-time designer position, which I held for over a year, then I got married. I designed all the flowers for my wedding and the women at the shop put it together for me as a gift. My sister got married after me, and that was the first big wedding I did on my own.

What prompted you to leave Tulsa?
I wanted to move to LA to pursue my acting career. Floral design was not in the plan, but I immediately got hired at a well-known West Hollywood shop. But, it was not a good fit for me. I just didn’t really like their style. I’m trying to bring my Midwestern sensibilities to design, to bring back a more classic look.

Your "flower philosophy," you might call it, is very different?
Absolutely. I like pops of the unusual, succulents in a bouquet or feathers, mixing flowers, using a lot of color. Just trying to do it differently.

So, not exactly what you were expecting.
Definitely not, but it did get me into the freelance community out here. There’s a big group of people from all over who work together. You’ll design an event and hire out the help to other people in the group.

Los Angeles is certainly a change of pace from Tulsa. What do you really like about the city?
LA is very green friendly. I’m trying to go organic and looking for ways to avoid pesticides, and that will appeal to more people who like that lifestyle too. Oh, and the flower district! It’s the largest in the U.S. Coming from Tulsa where we got our flowers off a truck, it’s unbelievable, being able to drive downtown and there are flowers as far as the eye can see. There’s such a morphing of ideas and cultures in this city from all the people who come here so the sky’s the limit. LA is the entertainment capital of the world; it’s the city to be in for this kind of work.

Care to share any juicy celebrity gossip?
(with a laugh) Little did I know that, within three months of moving to Los Angeles, I would be meeting and designing for People Magazine's Sexiest Man of the Year!

Really? What other jobs have you had?
I did a lot of Christmas work last year. You do everything for the homeowner; they leave for the day and come home to a completely transformed house. I even did five Christmas trees for a house once, one in every room. I’ve also liked trying to bring flowers into these huge homes and not be showy. That’s never what flowers should be about, but rather bringing the beauty of nature into the home.

Do you prefer a certain type of event?
My passion is weddings, and there are a lot out here! There will always be a call for my work.

One of your most recent undertakings was, appropriately, a wedding photo shoot. Tell us about that.
I wanted to create my idea of a perfect winter wedding in LA, which is completely different than one in Chicago or New York. I went with dark colors with sort of a holiday feel using deep reds and silver. I liked the juxtaposition of formal and informal, winter and not-really-winter and I tried to find ways to incorporate different themes. Out here you can get away with anything design wise and fashion wise. We use a lot of fake snow, actually; people love the look, but it never snows!

Once you decided on the setting, what came next?
I start designing with the bride’s bouquet, which is, to me, the most important feature, and everything should tie into that.

The flowers are certainly the stars here. What did you choose?
For the bridal bouquet, I used burgundy calla lilies, Black Magic roses, black dahlias, cymbidium orchids, which are probably my favorite; I love using them. Lastly, I included scabiosa and chocolate cosmos, those sticking out is just one of the prettiest things. I wrapped the stems in fabric that we also used on the table and covered it with two kinds of silver wire. I love doing little details with pins, layering and using different kinds of wraps or fabric instead of ribbon. It is an artistic statement anytime you put flowers together, and it’s fun to draw the eye down, to make the technical side of things beautiful as well. The bridesmaid’s bouquet was just a smaller version of the bride’s but with more color. I like to add a lot of texture so I incorporated the green and burgundy variegated hydrangea and sedum. For the boutonnière, I wrapped scabiosa and monkey tail (fern fronds) in some more fabric and wire.

Your tablescape is sumptuous too.
First, we draped the table in a silver costume satin. The overlay and napkins were made from a red novelty taffeta, the same as the bouquets and boutonnière. For the centerpiece, I used a clear vase and wrapped it on the outside with wire and inside placed burgundy calla lilies, white dendrobiums, and silver spray-painted curly willow, with red beach glass in the bottom. The top of the arrangement featured more Black Magic roses, White Vendela roses, burgundy cymbidium orchids, and white kangaroo paw, which adds such an interesting look.

What did you hang from the trees?
Those are burgundy carnation balls. I hardly ever use carnations, but en masse they look good mixed in with the votives.

It all works wonderfully together. What’s your motivation when you design?
I love details and incorporating flowers into as much as I possibly can. It creates such an impact to see something different everywhere you look. Putting flowers in the girls’ hair brings the idea of summer into winter, since LA never really has winter. It doesn’t take a whole lot to make a big impact, which is what I try to emphasize in my design, because there is such a tendency to overdo. To make something truly beautiful, you don’t have to do that much.

Winter 2007 | By Melissa Brown | Photos by Wesley Chan & Ted Fu Dresses by Thread Design | Cake by Hartford Hough