Best Of: Flowers
We’re celebrating some of our favorite bespoke flower pieces from years past. One of the most enduring themes in all of art history, the flower has provided endless inspiration to artists and viewers alike.
Monique Lhuillier: Lunar New Year Activation, South Coast Plaza
These large scale, handmade paper peonies and peach blossoms were sculpted by our team to celebrate Lunar New Year at South Coast Plaza. The color and type of flower was chosen because of its symbolic importance: In Chinese culture, red peonies are associated with richness, peace, honor and prosperity making them an excellent choice for celebrating the New Year. Peach blossoms symbolize growth, prosperity and romance and are particularly popular with young people to ignite romantic luck for those who are single.
Each oversized petal was made of special italian crepe paper in a variety of reds and peaches. The individual petals were shaped after fresh flower petals and then wrapped, stretched and curled around the structures. The large scale of the flowers set a dramatic stage without being fussy, which allowed the beautiful details of the dresses to shine.
We used this technique and dramatic scale again to create our monumental white flowers installation for Monique Lhuillier’s Melrose Place Flagship store in Spring of 2025.
Monique Lhuillier: Monumental White Flowers, Melrose Place Flagship
For this window display at Monique Lhuillier’s flagship, Monique wanted something elegant and high end to compliment several new pieces from her spring/summer ready to wear collection. Our team decided to create a bold statement by removing all color from the display to create a monumental abstract flower for each window. The impeccable construction and details of the dresses included lace and pleating which inspired the pleats in our floral inspired sculptures.
With no embellishment to hide behind, we had to work with enormous attention to detail. Each petal was individually constructed in our studio with contoured layers of carefully selected washi from Hirono Paper in Culver City, then assembled into the large flower shapes in the windows by our skilled team of artists and installers.
IPSY, Halsey Icon Box, May 2021
One of our favorite and most successful photo set builds was for Halsey’s Glam Bag X collaboration at IPSY. As artists, we use flowers as a medium for creative expression much like we use our other favorite sculptural materials. These otherworldly sets steered far away from the traditional flower walls, through the selection of brightly colored flowers in modern shapes. The dreamlike installations complemented the talent while emphasizing a soft feminine energy for the spring and Mother’s Day campaign. Fluttering butterflies sparked everyone on set to feel the sense of wonder that really came through in the final images.
You’ll find MNK Studio at the downtown LA flower market all summer long–collecting plants for shops and tradeshows, lush exotic flowers for events and photoshoots, and wandering the aisles for inspiration.
Though May has come to an end, there are flowers for every season. Take a look around our site for even more floral inspiration. We’ll continue to investigate fresh ways to use flowers in new creative displays–So stay tuned!!
Georgia O'Keeffe Oriental Poppies, 1927 Oil on canvas, (30 3/16 x 40 3/16 inches) Collection of Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.