Art in Bloom - Review of several years

Art in Bloom is Back and We're Blooming with Excitement!

Get ready for a floral explosion at the North Carolina Museum of Art! Art in Bloom, presented by PNC, returns March 19–23, 2025, and we're thrilled to be participating once again. This incredible event showcases the talent and creativity of floral designers from across North Carolina and beyond as they reinterpret the Museum's "People's Collection" through stunning floral displays.

This year's theme, Art in the Park, will feature six large-scale installations inspired by artworks found throughout the Museum's beautiful 164-acre park.

A Look Back at Our Blooming History

We've been involved with Art in Bloom since its inception in 2015 (which, coincidentally, is also the last time we updated this blog...oops!). We're excited to be more active here and keep you in the loop with all things floral!

Over the years, we've had the opportunity to contribute to Art in Bloom in a variety of ways:

• 2015: We started our journey with a pedestal design interpreting a Rodin sculpture.

• Platform Designs: We've been honored to be selected by the museum to create larger "platform" designs three times, pushing the boundaries of floral artistry.

• 2023: Lobby Decor - Our Crowning Glory! Our biggest honor yet was being asked to design the lobby décor in 2023. We wanted to create a showstopping display that wouldn't disrupt the flow of visitors. Our solution? A breathtaking tapestry of dried botanicals suspended from the ceiling, playing off the architectural coffers designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners. This unique design remains our favorite creation to date.

Award-Winning Designs

We're proud to have received recognition for our work at Art in Bloom over the years:

• Director's Choice Award

• Designer's Choice Award

• People's Choice Platform Award (2024): Our 1950s living room design, complete with a floral shag carpet, evening cocktail, cigarette, cat-eye glasses, and more, was a real crowd-pleaser!

Art in Bloom 2025: Our Next Creation

This year, we're taking on another platform design, and we can't wait to share it with you! We'll be interpreting Ursula von Rydingsvard's powerful sculpture in the park, Ogromna.

Mark your calendars for March 19–23, 2025, and come experience the magic of Art in Bloom! We'd love to see you there and hear your thoughts on our latest creation.

https://ncartmuseum.org/

Permanent Botanical Installation at The Flourish Market

Blooming with Purpose: Our Permanent Botanical Installation at The Flourish Market in Iron Works

We're so excited to share a recent project that truly resonated with our values and allowed us to bring a touch of lasting beauty to a space with a powerful mission. We had the honor of creating a permanent botanical installation for the new location of The Flourish Market in the recently revitalized Iron Works district!

For those who haven't yet discovered The Flourish Market, it's more than just a retail store – it's a place to shop with meaning and intention. They partner with over 200 incredible brands, both globally and right here in the United States, all dedicated to driving positive social change. By choosing to shop at The Flourish Market, you're using your purchasing power for good, directly supporting causes and changemakers creating sustainable impact.

When The Flourish Market embarked on opening their beautiful new space in Iron Works, we were absolutely thrilled that they invited us to add the final, flourishing touches. Our goal was to create botanical installations that not only added visual impact but also provided an extra layer of warmth and beauty, much like the perfect piece of jewelry elevates an outfit.

We designed three distinct focal areas within the store:

• A Relaxing Oasis: Over the comfortable lounge space near the dressing rooms, we created a serene botanical element. This area is designed for customers to relax while friends try on new finds, and our installation provides a calming and visually appealing backdrop.

• Cascading Bougainvillea Welcome: Right behind the cash wrap and checkout counter, the first thing you see upon entering the store, we designed a vibrant faux bougainvillea installation. The intention was to create a striking visual that felt as if it had naturally grown there, adding a pop of color and organic energy to the welcome area.

• Window to Inspiration: Visible from the store window and anchoring the back of the space, our second faux bougainvillea installation creates a captivating focal point. This design also feels organically integrated into the architecture and is beautifully accented by a meaningful poem written by one of The Flourish Market's customers.

For me personally, having a history in the commercial interior design world, it was a wonderful experience collaborating with the talented team at Gensler on this project. It brought back fond memories of my time in that industry and highlighted the seamless connection between interior architecture and thoughtful botanical design. The entire new store and workspace has even been recognized as a winner in the Triangle Business Journal's SPACE awards, celebrating top Commercial Real Estate developments in the Triangle area – a testament to the vision and execution of the entire team!

We are incredibly proud that our team at Eclectic Sage was able to contribute to this inspiring project and bring a little bit of founder Emily Grey's travel inspiration and the vibrant spirit of The Flourish Market into their new home. If you're in the Iron Works district, we highly encourage you to visit The Flourish Market – shop with purpose and enjoy the beautiful space, complete with a touch of our lasting botanical artistry!

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Rosaprima Bloom and Blossom Floral Competition

We're Going to Ecuador! Winning the Rosaprima & Floraprima Bloom & Blossom Competition!

We have some incredibly exciting news to share! We're absolutely thrilled and still a little bit speechless to announce that we WON the recent Rosaprima and Floraprima Bloom & Blossom floral design competition! 🎉

For those unfamiliar, this prestigious competition challenged florists to create unique and inspiring designs showcasing the exceptional beauty and quality of Rosaprima roses and Floraprima's stunning ranunculus, anemones, and other specialty blooms. We poured our hearts and creativity into our entry, aiming to highlight the exquisite colors, textures, and versatility of these incredible flowers.

The theme of the competition resonated deeply with our design philosophy at Eclectic Sage. We wanted to tell a story through our arrangement, letting the inherent artistry of the Rosaprima and Floraprima blooms speak for themselves. We carefully considered every stem, striving for a composition that was both visually striking and emotionally evocative.

The response to the competition was overwhelming, with so many talented designers showcasing their incredible skills. To be selected as the winner is truly an honor, and we are immensely grateful to the judges for recognizing our vision.

The Prize of a Lifetime: A Trip to Ecuador!

And now for the truly amazing part… the grand prize! We've won a trip to Ecuador to visit the breathtaking Rosaprima and Floraprima farms! 🇪🇨 We are beyond excited for this incredible opportunity to travel to the source of these stunning flowers, to witness firsthand the care and dedication that goes into their cultivation.

We can't wait to walk through the fields of vibrant roses, delicate ranunculus, and captivating anemones. This trip will not only be an invaluable learning experience, allowing us to deepen our understanding of flower cultivation and sustainable practices, but also an incredible source of inspiration for future designs. We're eager to meet the dedicated teams at Rosaprima and Floraprima and learn more about their passion for growing such exceptional blooms.

Thank You!

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Rosaprima and Floraprima for hosting this inspiring competition and for this incredible prize. We also want to thank our amazing suppliers at Mayesh and Laura at Laura Memory Photography for their hard work, creativity, and dedication that made this win possible. And finally, thank you to our wonderful clients and supporters who continually inspire us with their trust and appreciation for our work.

Stay tuned for updates and photos from our adventure in Ecuador! We can't wait to share our experience with you all and bring back even more inspiration to our designs.

#Rosaprima #Floraprima #BloomAndBlossom #FloralCompetition #Winner #EcuadorTrip #FlowerFarm #FloralDesign #DreamComeTrue #[YourCompanyName] #RaleighFlorist (if applicable) #FlowerLover #InspiredByFlowers