From Stem to Splendid
In the grand scheme of things, each of our design capabilities makes its own equally necessary contribution to an event. Take any one of them away and everything changes. It is because of this that we specialize in, well, grand schemes.
Despite this impartiality, it’s difficult to imagine many of our events without our floral. Our floral capabilities are both wide-ranging and discriminating, thanks to a floral team with a wealth of experience and an amazing ability to continue hoisting the bar higher. Not just anything makes the cut. Literally. Those that do, we unite, vase, string, fasten, strand, bind, bond, mount, tie, mold and suspend. Indeed, we love to see what flowers can do.
From stem to splendid, there are several stops in between.
Dulce Ortiz has been processing flowers with us for over 19 years, and along with Lilia Peralta and the rest of their team, they turn out some pretty impressive stem stats. Dulce was kind enough to share some of her blossom expertise.
In order to hydrate properly, flowers must be cut before going into water. In addition to rehydrating the floral, though, Dulce and her crew must inspect, prune, de-petal and clip each stem. The team is thorough and delicate, but also efficient: on average they condition between 5-7 thousand flowers per week. During our busiest seasons, the numbers can be pretty astonishing: they set a record mid-summer: 19,500 flowers conditioned in one day!
The landscape of the studio changes daily based on the fresh product in-house.
While we truly see it all, the 2 most common flowers we see at HMR are also the most high-maintenance, according to Dulce: roses and hydrangea, due to their fragility as well as the fact that they must be cleaned and cut individually.
After the flowers are conditioned and rehydrated, they are moved to the necessary temperatures to develop for design, which typically occurs in 2-4 days time. The majority of flowers thrive in environments of 45 degrees. Into the cooler they go. Greens and orchids favor warmer air, between 55-60 degrees. Then there are the fussy flowers that have to be coaxed into bloom: fragrant lilies, stalks of gladiolus, and fist-tight alstroemeria. These are placed in warm environs with high-humidity and low-light. Occasionally, Dulce and her team have to take it a step further with particularly underdeveloped product and use warm mist and bags to create a green-house like effect.
Perhaps equally important to preparing the floral is making sure that it is counted and allotted to the proper party. Luckily, Dulce prides herself on her organization, occasionally reminding passersby in the studio to look, but not touch the floral they see sectioned off. From here, the floral will travel to the hands of our designers, who count on all of these initial preparations so they have the freshest, most beautiful product to produce. Until then, we enjoy the fleeting beauty and eagerly anticipate what they will become.
Thanks to Dulce, Lilia and their team for their consistently outstanding work.
Team Tidbits:
Over the course of her 19+ years with the company, Dulce has worked in design and processing, and also often accompanies our team on installations and dismantles. She loves to be a part of designing and displaying the floral that she so expertly cares for.
Her favorite flowers? Azzima Orchids and Hyacinths. When she’s not at HMR, Dulce can be found tending to her own garden at home and playing with her granddaughter, Dulcita.
On Lilia’s 8 years with the company, she’s made contributions to both processing and design. Lilia loves designing personals such as bouquets and other accoutrements.
Her favorite flowers? Poppies and Hyacinths. Lilia lives in Chicago with her 3 children, and is always a bright smiling face in the studio.