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10 May | 2021 10 Florist Profile What exactly is an "Irithurium," you ask? Let botanical artist Kristen Alpaugh explain it. By Kat Castagnoli, AIFD, CFD, CCF I t was 3 a.m. on March 24, 2019—a moment Kristen Alpaugh will never forget. Wanting to impress a client who loved anything iridescent, this innovative floral designer purchased a bunch of new materials to test. "Once I went to bed, my mind wouldn't stop racing," recalls Alpaugh, owner and creative mastermind behind the Santa Monica, Calif.-based floral studio FLWR PSTL (@flwrpstl) and her latest venture, Haus of Stems (@hausofstems). "So, I hopped out of bed and went to work in the middle of the night." No stranger to using flowers as a canvas, Alpaugh mixed iridescent paints and Anthurium blooms—and boom! e "Irithurium" was born. With names like Abalone, Infrared, Mantis, Riverbed and Twilight, these bold, eye-catching stems have taken the flower industry—and floral Instagram feeds—by storm. e shimmery statements have cropped up not only at floral retailers and wholesalers across the country but also at Oscar parties, art galleries and couture fashion displays—and even in music videos for Katy Perry and Doja Cat. I R I D E S C E N C E ju add "I love creating for my clients, but there's a different type of happiness that comes from aiding other florists in their own work," says Alpaugh, who launched Haus of Stems— which provides artisanal blooms to industry professionals—shortly before Valentine's Day this year. "I love seeing the world of 'Irithuriums' through their eyes." It's all felt a bit surreal for Alpaugh, who started her personal floral business, FLWR PSTL, only four short years ago. Like so many, this New Jersey native didn't start out in the botanical world but, rather, the corporate one. "My mom worked tirelessly [as a single mom] to make sure my brother and I were taken care of," she shares. "It was really hard on her, and she did what she had to do to raise us with very little." As a result, Alpaugh decided to go into a corporate career where she wouldn't have to worry about money. "I wanted to be able to take care of myself," she explains. After college, Alpaugh landed a job with a consulting firm in Boston. She moved to Los Angeles in 2014 but stayed in the same industry until the end of 2017. "I loved it for a long time but started feeling restless and unfulfilled." Alpaugh's boss and mentor always used to ask her what she would you do if she won the lottery and never had to work another day in her life. "I never knew how to answer that," she states. "en one day, it hit me like a ton of bricks: I wanted to be a florist."

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