Flower November/December 2019

“I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS,” Bing Crosby promised in his blockbuster 1943 hit. That line reminds me that the word home takes on a deeper, richer meaning at Christmastime. I’m thinking of adult children coming home from college or the big city; young marrieds forging their futures in new places but breathlessly skidding into the family Christmas Eve dinner after juggling a busy schedule; soldiers returning home on leave; and childhood friends who have all long since moved away but come home for the holidays and pick up right where they left off. Right now, I’m imagining an illustration of a Maxfield Parrish country cottage at dusk with warm lights in every window, tucked into drifts of snow, and a big oak tree gently framing and protecting the site. I…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND Simply Beautiful Flowers & Gifts November 8 SAINT SIMONS ISLAND, GEORGIA Vine Garden Market November 12 WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA Pioneer Linens November 15 HOUSTON, TEXAS Theta Charity Antiques Show November 22 JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA Wolfson Art & Antiques Show December 7 JUPITER, FLORIDA Pineapples, Palms, Etc. December 12 PALM BEACH, FLORIDA Leta Austin Foster Boutique December 14 Order your book at flowermagshop.com 205-970-9775…

WHEN LONDON-BASED ARTIST ALEXANDRA LLEWELLYN WAS A child, she visited her grandmother in Egypt. Wandering the streets of Cairo, she fell into a game of backgammon with a toothless man 10 times her age. They couldn’t speak to each other, but the game became a common language. In 2010, Llewellyn launched her eponymous line of bespoke backgammon sets. Using a technique called marquetry, the artist creates a board made of wood pieces that are cut, pressed, fit together like a puzzle, then hand-lacquered until glass smooth. Commissions can include specific designs to reflect a client’s taste, messages inlaid in the wood, or handwritten memories embossed in leather. “I am forever inspired by how games bring us together,” says Llewellyn. “No matter what language you speak, no matter the difference in…

APRIL GARGIULO HAS BEEN IMMERSED IN THE natural world since her childhood in California’s Napa Valley. “When you live and work in a vineyard, you can’t wear any perfume or have any scent in your shampoo or other products,” she says, “so I developed a keen appreciation for outdoor scents, such as the heady fragrance of orange blossoms, in my daily roaming.” Gargiulo also grew up learning about respect for the land, and for the passion and dedication required to make something into an authentic luxury product. She applied these principles in her quest to create a multitasking skin care product with 100 percent active botanical ingredients—no fillers, fragrances, or chemicals. She followed “breadcrumbs,” diving into the ancient world of tinctures, talking to those who worked with essential oils and…

NOWING WHERE TO LOOK CAN HELP immensely when trying to make a nascent idea come to life. For Catherine Hall Kirpalani of J. Catma, that assistance was close at hand—namely her husband, Bob Kirpalani, and her sister-in-law Reshma Kirpalani. “Bob would bring me the most exquisite gifts from India, and I was taken with the luxurious textiles, jewelry, and other ancient artisan works,” says Catherine. Then she visited India herself and experienced the wonders of the Silk Road firsthand. Her first foray was scarves; now there’s jewelry, napkins, throws, shawls, and more. Her excursions have yielded treasures like embroidered shawls and block-printed fabric, which she fashioned into pajamas. “I’ve also learned where the birthplace of a craft is, and we now only source from there,” she says, “Chikankari embroidery from…

ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, RYN Miller was pregnant with her son and spent most afternoons strolling her 2-year-old daughter around their neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They would usually end up at a neighbor’s yard where Miller’s daughter played with a beloved cat and Miller would sit and rest under a ginkgo tree. The Selma-born artist was captivated with the tree (apparently ginkgos are in short supply in Selma). She and her daughter often collected leaves to trace and etch. The following year, when Miller’s husband made her a wooden flower press as a birthday surprise, Miller began pressing botanicals in earnest. Though she offers a number of pieces for purchase, she loves helping clients with personal projects like preserving Queen Anne’s lace from a baptism arrangement, a daisy chain of…