You can’t get fake fruit like that anymore.
Standing in a driveway, I’m dismantling silk and fake fruit arrangements from the 70s or 80s, maybe? Definitely done well and with high quality products, but silk?
How did I go from designing lush garden weddings, twinkling with candles, draped with garden roses, dahlias and hellebore to silk arrangements? What? How? Covid! That’s how. And guess what? I loved it! I absolutely loved it and had SO much fun!
One of my dearest and most favorite clients, Janie, knew my business had stalled during the pandemic so she asked me to come refresh her silk arrangements. Sure! I said, why not?!
I’d have to do the work in the driveway with a clear line of social distance between me and anyone in the household. No problem!
I walked through her house, masked, assessing the many silk arrangements, happier than I’d been in months! It felt good to work and to be creative again.
I found a series of incredible, though tired, silk and fruit arrangements scattered throughout Janie’s beautiful home filled with a lifetime of sentimental treasures and mementos from loved ones, and really fantastic art! Surprisingly, the arrangements added flourish and complimented her classic interior perfectly. They definitely needed refreshing. It was THE best fake fruit I have ever seen. They just don’t make them like that anymore!
I spent my time disassembling the old arrangements, scrubbing things down, salvaging some items and then creating new arrangements with mostly fresh, modern, faux flowers. I used magnolias and ranunculus and roses and of course, hydrangeas.
Janie would come and visit with me in the driveway after her tennis lesson, which she plays weekly with her husband, Tommy, of 63 years. She sat at least 6 feet away on the edge of my open van for a chat. I should note she also texted me the day before to ask if she should make me a sandwich for lunch while I was working. That’s thoughtful Janie.
It’s also very Janie to wear her vintage 60s Coco Chanel sunglasses. She got them second hand and had the lenses tinted and her prescription added. There is an effortlessness to her coolness. She really lives life and cares for others in the process. She’s generous, kind and funny as hell.
Janie’s certainly careful during this pandemic and she’s also a bit of a realist. She believes in the science and knows the risks, yet remains an optimist. We’ve survived so much over the years, she said. It just keeps coming, and something always will. She’s not panicked, not one bit.
She made a really fun job even more enjoyable. I wasn’t exactly sure if I’d be able to make my way to doing faux arrangements. But really, are they faux? They’re still being arranged, aren’t they? I got to put my creative talent to work (at last!) and Janie was elated with the results. I have to admit, I was surprised at just how much I liked those arrangements! Maybe I missed my calling.
Although these times just keep getting stranger, people like Janie, the amazing spirits who truly live, keep me motivated. That, and those gorgeous, fake grapes.
