Dancing with Flowers
Jeff Chen’s Franz Garden
Jeff Chen, owner and creative director of Flora New York, has great sensitivity to space design. He collaborated with Franz Collection Inc. to give a flower arrangement session at Irresistible located in Flushing, New York, sharing his expertise in combining flowers and porcelain vases to improve home aesthetics.
Creating Stunning Floral Arrangements
Jeff draws a wealth of inspiration from everything happening around New
York City. With the abundant experience he has accumulated over the
years, Jeff is able to arrange simple, mediocre materials at hand and then
turn them into stunning creations when he suddenly has an inspiration.
He was a stage design major at college, and later studied film production
and media - all of these life experiences give a new dimension to his career;
he pictures floral deign as theatrical production, where flowers and leaves
serve as the actors while he plays the role of the director, the soul of
the stage, to exhibit animated floral arrangement performances one after
another.
Jeff firmly believes that floral design is all about expressing one’s attitude
towards life and elements for creativity can be found almost everywhere,
which is why his creations, made by trusting his instincts and linking
design to life, defy classification.
His favorite flower |
Jeff would choose the calla lily if he has
to, simply because calla lilies have simple,
graceful lines;
however, he loves all kinds of flowers,
through which he catches a glimpse of
not only life but perfection as well.
New Aesthetics Created by Unifying Eastern and
Western Philosophies
Jeff Chen’s Flora New York provides original floral design
solutions to many well-established companies and high-end
boutique hotels. Moreover, the floral arrangements of Flora
New York were hailed by the New York Post as ‘new aesthetics
created by unifying Eastern and Western philosophies’.
As a child, Jeff was inspired by his mother who was a student of Ikebana and is a Franz fan living in Taiwan. During the flower arrangement session held at Irresistible, Jeff was able to create a field of green grass featuring willow branches with rose petals, virtually creating a spring garden-like stage.
Tiny roses were also morphed into small flower balls or strings, which were put in sugar jars and creamers to let participants be immersed in a serene atmosphere, making the event a real cherry blossom feast. What’s more, the session featured the iridescent peacock plumage created through the arrangement of colorful blossoms and green leaves. The ‘Bamboo Songbird’ collection emanates Zen aesthetics when silhouetted against simple but elegant flowers, and the bright red orchids and feathers that symbolize a phoenix’s glory.
Jeff lives next to the Brooklyn harbor, and his apartment has windows with a panoramic view of New York City. He used to fantasize that he would become an architect or interior designer. But now, living in a sea of flowers, he has created another ‘brave new world’.
