As I became more cognizant of how a vessel could impact the look and feel of a floral arrangement, my awareness started to expand into stoneware, ceramics, and other styles of clay pottery. Handmade pottery has been making more of an appearance in the wedding world in general and it’s oh-so-pretty. My husband and I have a couple of friends who make pottery, so clay vessels had been on my radar for some time now.
With floral design, the visual aspect of the arrangement is always noticed first – it looks beautiful. But how a floral arrangement feels, both visually and tactically, also holds a tremendous amount of importance. Clay vessels are wonderful options to consider when choosing your floral arrangement vases. Not only do they look beautiful, but they feel rich, weighted, and gloriously palpable.
Ceramics
Garnering this appreciation of handmade clay vases, my interest was immediately peaked when I learned that Shelby of Shelby Bond Ceramics created an inventory of rental vases for weddings and events. Shelby gets her clay from Vashon Island, so the material is local to Washington, which is awesome. When I got married back in 2017 in Colorado, my husband and I incorporated many design elements that were local to the area. Our wedding was unique to us, but also served as a salute to the local region.
With some flowers from my yard and some leftover stems from a wedding mock-up, I made these cute arrangements with Shelby’s beautiful clay vases.
Small Dish
Bud Vase
Betty Vase
Kelly Vase
Midnight Bowl
Stoneware
In a recent collaboration with Pacific Place on a Tabletop Floral Virtual Workshop, I created a delicious flower + food arrangement in a beautiful salad bowl from Anthropologie. I had gifted one of these bowls to a friend who got married last year and I knew I needed one of my own. It’s a gorgeous light blue color with a lovely speckled pattern around the rim. It might be one of the most beautiful salad bowls that I have ever owned.
A vase is really just a water-tight vessels, so anything that is water-tight can be a potential vase. Mixing different mediums is quite fun in the world of floral design. Floral arrangements don’t have to use just flowers! A salad bow, while perfect for salads, can also be great for floral arrangements…well, floral salad arrangements, really!
My goal for these blog posts about vessels is to inspire more consideration with regard the non-flower elements of floral arrangements. In design, all elements of the creation must work together in a balanced and pleasing harmony. And when they do the results can be tremendous.
Let me know what you think about ceramics and stoneware vessels! Do you love them as much as I do? I would love to hear from you!
