40
December | 2023
Design
40
Design
absca
CAPTURING THE ESSENCE OF THE
FROSTY HIBERNAL SEASON IN YOUR
FLORAL DESIGN WORK IS EASILY
DONE WITH CREATIVE APPLICATIONS
OF MELTED SOY WAX.
WINTER
WONDERLAND
A
s passionate floral designers, we're
always on the lookout for creative ways to
enhance our arrangements. When it comes
to capturing essence of winter, there's one
technique that truly shines: waxing. Whether you are
aiming for snow-kissed branches, "frozen" botanicals or
free-form designs, soy wax is a secret ingredient. It melts
at 200 F and boasts a crisp white hue when it solidifi es. To
melt wax for my daily work, I use a professional electric
wax melter—they're readily available beginning around
$75 (although you can spend much more!)—but you can
also melt wax using a double-boiler (a saucepan topped
with a heatproof glass or metal mixing bowl makes an
inexpensive version). is magical wintry tablescape is
just one example of the distinctive designs you can create
by coating materials in "icy" wax!
NOTE: ere are hundreds, if not thousands, of species
and hybrids in the Dendrobium genus; and many of
the blooms look nothing like the smallish Dendrobium
blooms with which we are most familiar as fl orists. e
Dendrobium in this tablescape are Australian hybrids, and,
yes, they look similar to Cymbidium orchids, which you
could use instead.
