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32 Feature June | 2023 FR: What are your three favorite botanicals to use in botanical couture work? Tiffany Weinbender : I love designing with stems that comprise multiple small blooms that enable me to utilize either individual blooms or clusters of blooms. Delphinium, Dendrobium and hyacinths are my three favorites. FR: Which tools or hard goods do you rely on most in creating botanical couture? Anne Thorne: I use a homemade "hydration chamber" every time and a lot of liquid fl oral adhesive. NOTE: For more information on hydration chambers, we recommend reading e Art of Wearable Flowers by Susan McLeary or Françoise Weeks' blog post on the subject, at francoiseweeks.com/2020/08/ hydration-chamber-for-designs- with-no-watersource. FR: How does creating botanical couture fulfill your creative aspirations? Tiffany Weinbender : I feel most like a true artist when I create fl oral couture pieces. We often talk with our clients about how "fl ower impact" is not about quantity but about quality, thoughtfulness and details. With wearables, this rings especially true. e intersection of fashion and fl owers is a beautiful combination of artistic endeavors. Delivering a design that refl ects my philosophy in the most obvious way is extremely satisfying. FR: What type of botanical couture garments or wearables are most in demand? Anne Thorne: Flower crowns and headpieces usually, but I also create many other types of wearable fl owers. For example, you wouldn't believe how someone's face lights up when I give her a set of fl ower rings to wear instead of the usual corsage. I love to see how people visibly change when they wear fl owers. ey smile, and they're confi dent. You can feel it. Also, I've been trying to get people to open up to wearing something unique and fun, like a set of fl oral epaulets for their receptions. It's going to be a thing; you heard it here fi rst! FR: Has botanical couture helped you establish an individual identity and brand for your business? Tiffany Weinbender : Floral couture has created a new avenue in which to stand out in the fl oral design world. I'm proud of the attention to detail evident in our designs, and there's no better area to showcase detailed perfection than in wearable fl owers. ese designs take time, patience, steady hands and a logistical/ engineering mind to pull off . Meet Anne orne, owner of orne Floral in Kansas City, Mo., and Tiff any Weinbender, owner of Ida Mayes Floral Design House in Austin, Texas, and discover what inspires them and how they create their magical designs. Tiffany Weinbender Anne Thorne Q&A wi Two Prominent Botanical Couture Arti s

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