Pushing The Limits On Flowers: With Floral Designer, Laura Clare
Photography by Mike Ruiz for PhotoBook Magazine.
Laura Clare designed this month’s cover feature. She has a keen eye and custom made some special avant garde pieces for this shoot.
1. Name?
Laura Clare Pugsley.
2. Where do you reside?
Lopatcong, NJ.
3. Occupation?
Floral designer/event planner.
4. Tell us about your boutique?
My retail store is in Bernardsville, NJ. It’s a lovely store where anyone can come in and get beautiful blooms. Our Hoboken presence is more about meetings and production. It’s by appointment only.
5. How did you get into the flower design business?
It’s been a hobby turned career. I have a degree in horticulture from Cornell and interned my way around Europe in some of the most fabulous floral/event companies. Once I returned to New York, I was inspired to do my own high-end floral business.
Photography by Laura Clare.
6. What do you love about arranging flowers and creating designs?
It’s an art form and my medium is flowers. I love transforming feelings and ambiance into reality with flowers and decor.
7. Do you practice sustainability and a green living element in your life? If so, what would be your tip?
I do to the best of my ability. I recycle, try to minimize unwanted chemicals on food or products, use sustainable farms and companies as best I can. There are times that I can’t be perfect.
8. Do you source pesticide free flowers?
I do when I can, but, sometimes, it’s impossible to pull off an event without some product that has been sprayed with pesticides.
9. Are there advantages to having organic flowers?
I like to say that people who use local, organic flowers are at an advantage because they are getting the best bang for their buck as far as product goes. They also are being true to their wedding day or “special day” because they are using flowers that are in season at the time they are celebrating. Every year they will see the same flowers, and it will be a nice reminder of the flowers blooming at that time.
10. What inspired you to do this cover feature for PhotoBook?
I like to push the limits on flowers and use them in ways that people don’t normally see them.
11. Tell us what are some of your favorite flowers and why?
Depends on the season, but I LOVE checkerboard fritillaria, fritillaria persica, muscari, yellow peonies, and so many more.
12. Does a flower tell something about a person?
I’ll never admit it fully, but, yes. It can be a profiling tactic.
13. How many weddings do you design per day, weekend, and year?
We tend to do around 50-60 events a year. The design process is all year long. I love the change of season from weddings, to holiday decor/parties, showers, etc. It keeps us all interested.
14. How did you get started?
(see question #5). I started my business in 2000 in Mendham, NJ. I drained my savings and have since grown it to the size it is now. It’s been a fun journey, with so many lives I’ve touched.
15. Why do you love what you do?
It’s an amazing job to be able to help people communicate their feelings. Whether it’s a funeral, a wedding, a birthday, flowers can really help us all say things we don’t even know how to.
Photography by Laura Clare.
16. What’s the most challenging part of organizing a floral arrangement for someone? Sometimes I get people who don’t trust that we know our product. They might think they can get anything at anytime. Saying “no” isn’t the problem; it’s just people’s ideas that they can’t have everything, all the time. We aim to please. We have been called “flower whisperers.” That was the best one yet!
17. Tell us your most fun project?
I love it when some of my well-off clients/celebrity clients give me cart blanche to do whatever is best. It’s not about the money, but about profiling the situation, using flowers as art and creating something that is the best you can get at that time. There’s been so many fun installations. I don’t know where to start!
18. Do you have your own garden at home?
Of course! Mind you, I bring home a lot of “orphaned” plants from my store and nurse them into loveliness. It’s a home for strays.
Laura Clare, photography by Marie Papp.
19. Motto in life?
You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. -Mae West
Stop and smell the roses.
20. Website/Social Media?
Instagram: @lauraclaredesign
FB: LauraClareFloralDesignEventDecor
Twitter: theLauraClare
Interview by Alison Hernon, Editor-In-Chief, PhotoBook Magazine.
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