ROBBIE HONEY BLOG

Whilst on holiday on a Greek island I absolutely revelled in the botanical scents of the countryside. The Island (like most Greek islands) was covered in Fig trees. The scent of a hot fig tree is possibly one of my favourite scents - I find it completely transporting, it’s a wonderfully happy and nostalgic scent for me and it was a joy to be surrounded by fig trees and to breathe in their intoxicating scent.

Diptyque has a wonderful Fig scent called Philosykos which captures this scent perfectly and also their “Figuier” candle is wonderful  too and both are firm favourites of mine.

Whilst walking up in the Islands arid hills I was also blown away by the hot aromatic wall of scent that hits you in waves. Pine, Cistus, Thyme and a multitude of other herbs jostle together creating that distinctive scent that is the Mediterranean countryside on a hot day.

“Maquis” a candle by Diptyque  captures the essence of this wild montane  scent  and  if the Mediterranean countryside in summer captures your soul this candle is heaven.

Recently we created enormous floral Chandeliers as the pieces des resistance  for a wedding organised by Party designer extraordinaire Simon Liebel.  

 Taking inspiration from Preston Bailey's incredible work we conceptualised the structures to be hung in the ceiling domes of the ballroom at the Dorchester.

Lulu spent a few days pouring over an Excel spreadsheet and thus following hours of painstaking sums we gathered all the ingredients together.

 

Loraine and her team set about stringing the thousands of shimmering Crystals to be hung on the Chandelier structures created by InGenius . We suspended the crystals from the structures and then decorated them with garlands of ivy.

 

They were then decorated with hundreds of white Phalaenopsis orchids, clouds of white Hydrangea  and classic white roses.

Loraine decorating one of the Chandeliers.

 

The logistics of transport, rigging and the illumination of the Chandeliers was quite a feat but the end result was absolutely breath taking and we relished the challenge.  Below is a picture of a finished chandelier hanging in the ballroom at the Dorchester.

 

 

Growing up in Africa I only ever encountered snowdrops in books and remember reading the song of the snowdrop fairy in Mary Cecily Barkers flower fairy, which always enchanted me.

Deep sleeps the winter, Cold, wet, and
grey; Surely all the world is
dead; Spring is far away.
Wait! The world shall waken;
It is not dead, for lo,
The Fair Maids of February
Stand in the snow!

The snow drops have been an absolute joy this year; they are such a hopeful flower. The French call them Perce-Neige – to literally ‘break the snow’. And, as I learned recently from my friend the American florist Randy Outzs,  in the US they are known rather melancholically as tear-drops. I was recently featured in the US magazine Flower, working with Randy arranging spring flowers

http://www.flowermag.com/article/party-perfect/

As a self confessed Glanthophile (lover of snow drops), I find great joy in seeing great drifts of them  illuminating  the cold winter hardened ground.. The Chelsea Physic Garden has wonderful plantings of them and, if you are an urban type, this is the perfect spot to view them in all their glory. If you missed them this year make sure you go next year.

www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk

 

The snowdrops have faded and we are now awash with yellow,- forsythia ablaze all over town and the daffs too. By the end of March I am always a little tired of yellow.

 

 

Last week we exhibited at The Desginer Wedding Show at Battersea Park.

We crammed our stand with flowers and inspiration for prospective brides. This included a glamorous arch of roses and three tablescapes of flowers: from herbs and little rose plants arranaged in rustic terracotta pots in shades of Farrow and Ball to simple, elegant beakers of paper whites, white tulips and freesias to the more glamorous crystal candleabra and a classic, vintage-look of a silver rose bowl bursting with an array of roses in faded pastel hues. And, of course not forgetting, Sebastian one of our trademark white peacocks presisded over the stand, garlanded with flowers, to finish the look. At one point he was described as a bridal swan!

We also had a collection of bouquets which we invited brides to hold to help them imagine a look or style they might decide to choose for their wedding day.

We very much enjoyed the show, conversing with prosepctive clients and contemporaries in the industry and look forward to creating some beautiful and individual wedding flowers in the coming year.

To see more of our wedding work click here.

 

 

 

Selfridges recently unveiled their luxury shoe galleries showcasing over 55,000 shoes with 11 designer boutiques. Dior commissioned Robbie Honey to arrange flowers in the Dior Apartment for a party held to celebrate its much anticipated opening. The space drew its chic inspiration from the original Dior apartment on the Avenue Montaigne in Paris and for the opening we arranged masses of blousy Illusion Roses in a collection of vases.

 

 

 

Selfridges Shoe Galleries