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- [00:00]
Michael Boudreau
This is a Cherish podcast, and I'm your host, Michael Boudreau. I'll be taking you for an inside look. Behind the glamorous facade of the interior design industry. At a time when every aspect of the business, from sourcing to trends to marketing to dealing with clients, is undergoing rapid change, holiday decor has the power to create joy and lasting memories. Think richly festooned trees, mantels bedecked with evergreen boughs, and dining tables filled with gleaming silver, festive candles, and abundant flowers. But for designers, this season can also inspire dread. Do clients expect you to refresh their homes for the holidays because you designed the space? Should you be expected to trim the tree and hang the stockings? Are the holidays part of the design brief? How do you make the season profitable and not a drag on your resources? Can you opt out? And that's not even mentioning the creative pressure of trying to come up with something new, a breakaway from the vies of red and green, holly and mistletoe. I have with me today two interior designers and a florist who skillfully navigate all the potential pitfalls of the holidays. San Francisco based designer Lindsay Annie Breyer is known for creating contemporary spaces infused with classic restraint and traditionally, spaces that she gently brings up to the moment. She brings a fresh, bold, and modern perspective to everything her firm touches, including the holidays. Welcome, Lindsay.
- [01:41]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
Thanks, Michael.
- [01:42]
Michael Boudreau
Charlotte Barnes began her career in fashion at Ralph Lauren and worked at Pomellato, the jewelry firm. But after her London home was published in British House and Gardens in 1995, she founded Charlotte Barnes Interior Design and Decoration, which is now based in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her work, which deftly merges tradition with comfort and color, has been featured in Elle Decor, Frederick House Beautiful, and numerous other publications. Hello, Charlotte.
- [02:08]
Charlotte Barnes
Hi, Michael.
- [02:09]
Michael Boudreau
New York native Denise Porcaro Tupper founded her shop and floral design firm flower Girl in 2004. Since then, her lush and whimsical arrangements with a distinct edge have made her one of the city's most acclaimed florists, with a clientele that has included Vogue, Chanel, Proenza, Schuller, and Marc Jacobs, as well as collaborations with companies such as Liberty of London, Gap, and Coach. Welcome, Denise.
- [02:35]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Thanks for having me.
- [02:36]
Michael Boudreau
So, Charlotte, I want to start with you because your rooms are rather traditional anyway, so has doing holiday design for your clients something that started out early in your career? Is that something? Because I've heard from some designers that when they're starting out, clients tend to expect more almost. Was that something that you faced when you were getting started?
- [02:56]
Charlotte Barnes
Yeah. Well, I think that maybe clients expected more, but I think that I expected to do more than might have been required. You know, I think that we all work harder, sort of. We work differently when we're new and beginning. And because I wasn't really formally trained in interior design, I had that sort of thing in my head that, oh, I have to do this or I have to, you know, I had to do it more than maybe was necessary.
- [03:28]
Michael Boudreau
Right. So almost overcompensating.
- [03:30]
Charlotte Barnes
Yes. Yeah. Yes, absolutely.
- [03:32]
Michael Boudreau
And, Lindsay, how about you?
- [03:34]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
I would say I really do holiday decor only for a couple special clients. And I noticed one time on one of my projects that a client had a really fantastic party and we sort of got a lot of referrals and calls from that. So I sort of got intrigued with how they were entertaining. And it's funny that one client, I do the holiday decor every year for them, and it's just our thing. She just wrote me the other day and was like, can we be set up by December 3rd? And then a couple overseas clients have asked me, we're coming in right before the holidays. Can you sort of art direct this? And there's no way I could do it for all of our clients, but I really enjoy doing it for a few.
- [04:20]
Michael Boudreau
Right. And Denise, I mean, Lindsay mentioned parties. Now, obviously you do a lot of parties. Do you also decorate clients homes where they call you and say, denise, we wanted to have a fabulous. We're going to be entertaining a lot this holiday season. We want you to come in.
- [04:35]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Oh, yes. That's been a huge part of my business from the very beginning. 20 years ago, when you said 2004 just makes me think, wow. But yes. So because I have personal home clients, I have restaurant clients, I've had hotel clients, all different types of clients. So there's an opportunity, like you said, holiday parties. But decking the halls, everything from garlands to trees to beautiful stoops, you name it, to kids playrooms. We've made magical playrooms. Putting up trees in each kid's bedroom. It's a lot of fun. And especially when they're clients that we have worked with before, you kind of are part of the family. I'm sure both Charlotte and Lindsay could agree that you know them, they know you. So there's a factor there of trust, and it makes things go a lot smoother and then you can kind of have fun.
- [05:26]
Michael Boudreau
So, Charlotte, when you were starting out, you know, you felt, as you said, that you should do a lot of holiday decorating. And I know several big Names, designers who also did that at the beginning. But then it becomes, you know, as you get more well known and you get busier and your firm is growing, does it become an obligation? Is it a drag on your resources?
- [05:46]
Charlotte Barnes
So we did a couple of houses in the early days where they were being installed around Christmas. And so therefore, we kind of created Christmas for them, and they were far enough away from where we're based that we didn't have to have that. I don't want to say difficulty, but really creating Christmas for a lot of clients when we're in the midst of trying to do all these other things that we do would be very difficult for us. But what we do is we try to plan when we're creating the houses and when we're scheming. We try to help them. We do their tablecloths. We tell them, this would be great at Christmas. Why don't we do this then? And we try to do it.
- [06:29]
Michael Boudreau
And this is where the tree will go.
- [06:31]
Charlotte Barnes
Yes, exactly. Exactly. And I think that I did much like Lindsay. I got one of my jobs from someone being at a party at our house at Christmas time. And because I love Christmas. So it's definitely the entertaining and decorating for whether it's Christmas or any holiday is a big thing for us. We love it. And so some people, we get the call and we kind of try to help guide them or tell them where to go and get the greatest latest thing.
- [07:01]
Michael Boudreau
Right. Because I think designers do want their places to be seen, their work to be seen, and you can't always rely on it being in a magazine or newspaper on social media. So I think if people entertain, that is a great way for your work to be seen. But, yeah, I think it's great. And like, Lindsey, you said you got a referral or something. It got a client from that, I believe. So my question to you, Lindsay, is do you capture curtail the number of clients? You do that for now, and with the clients that you've done before, is it basically, the holidays are a season of tradition. Do you haul out the holly, as they say in mame, or do you try and make things different every now and then?
- [07:39]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
I really love to focus on the greenery and the floral aspect of it. I think it's a reaction of my mother, like, just dragging out so many boxes of tchotchkes, and that's not really.
- [07:51]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
How I love her, but that's not.
- [07:53]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
Sort of how I decorate. So decking the halls for me is really about, like, beautiful magnolia garlands and fresh Trees and big moments with florals, I would say. And wreaths. We do really big wreaths in our storefront. So. Yeah. But I try to just do something a little different in the garland each year, like the holly berries or the white. I think they're snowberries. And make the mantle a little bit different every year.
- [08:21]
Michael Boudreau
And Denise, in terms of your clients, because you're known for, I would say, giving an edge to floral design. You know, your firm really is very innovative.
- [08:29]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
I'll take it.
- [08:31]
Michael Boudreau
Yeah. I mean, I think it's like. And you're very on the edge. It's really great. And you do weddings and all that stuff too. So do you find Christmas confining in that sense?
- [08:41]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
No. You know, it's funny, I also like to focus on the greenery and the more natural things. But I think it's a lot about reading your client and it goes back to that trust that I mentioned earlier. If it's a first time client, you're going to get all the information from them. You're going to get the positives and the negatives, what they've done themselves, what previous designers potentially have done for them. If it's a client that you've worked with, and I have, I'm lucky and grateful that I've been doing their home flowers weekly for upwards of like 15, 16 years. So as you can imagine, we work together on their holidays. Right. So you can't do the same mantle for 16 years, but you also get to understand what your client likes and where you can kind of push the boundaries. And I, I wouldn't do that necessarily with a first time client. Right. I would want to just hear everything that they want and then I think you can start to see where you can have a little bit of flexibility. So my answer's sort of, it's confining depending on who you're working with. But I think that you have to read your bride too. Right. Or the mother of the bride and how much involvement they want to have. So I think after years of doing the same sort of work, it's like the people aspect and the chemistry of it all. And then I would imagine the same goes for both of the designers. And then you can kind of move forward from there.
- [10:03]
Michael Boudreau
Okay. Charlotte, though, do you ever get to the point where you think, oh my God, one more G.D. amaryllis, one more. I mean, we love the holidays and thank God, you know, it lasts for six weeks or whatever, but are you tempted to, like, want to start afresh and come up with something different? Are clients open to that?
- [10:22]
Charlotte Barnes
So I think we don't necessarily do religiously Christmas decorating at all, but what we do is sort of almost exactly what Denise was saying. I think that because our business, we have lots of clients that we've worked with for numerous years in various houses around the world, and we started collections for them. So we've started collections of Christmas decorations and ornaments. And when I'm out shopping and I see things for someone, I'd send them a picture and say, oh, this would be great for you at Christmas. When we're installing at Christmas, it becomes much more of a whole ground floor thing, getting them ready. Because if we're installing at Christmas, somebody really wants their house ready for a big party. And I think that Christmas and the holidays are super busy. We already started. You know, I've said to everyone on October 1st in the office, we're at Christmas here, and people are already calling to say, oh, well, what do you think I should do this year and what do you think I have here and what's the latest thing? So I think that it's definitely about reading your client. And for us, we like to help them build things that they can try to use time and again before Denise comes in.
- [11:43]
Michael Boudreau
Right. And Lindsay, you work sort of the same way. Do you keep your clients in mind through the year and then. And are they open to expanding or changing?
- [11:52]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
We definitely keep entertaining in general, I think similar to what Charlotte said about, like, you think about where are the lights going to be plugged in at Christmas and where can the tall grand tree go? So, yeah, I would think, I think about it in a broader sense of just general entertaining rather than just the holidays. But certainly, like, how is the dining room going to handled in the guest rooms? So it is infused with art directing everything that's going to happen in the house.
- [12:22]
Charlotte Barnes
So, like every time that Leontine or Julia B. Or someone has a new collection and you know, they come up for the beginning of the holiday, we are always thinking about what's the next tablecloth. Oh, this is how you could change your room for Christmas. Instead of using the same placemats or things like that, which really I think make for such a wonderful. It makes them look like they've been collecting things for a long time instead of some a designer coming in to do it for them.
- [12:51]
Michael Boudreau
Right.
- [12:51]
Charlotte Barnes
That's our goal for them.
- [12:53]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
That's music to my ears, coming in for the flowers and the fresh elements, because I feel like based on what the new tablecloth is for that particular year, I can pick up a color and then I can, you know, go to the garment district and find the most beautiful ribbon that will then tie into that for the big gorgeous wreaths. And I think that's so nice because it doesn't keep it as mundane. You know, you have clients that just want it to be traditional all the time. But you don't have to change too much. You can still stay traditional without being the red and green plaid or always the metallic or something.
- [13:26]
Michael Boudreau
And I think it's sometimes the children, they want to see the same nutcracker or the same reindeer. That's Christmas to them. So you have to acknowledge that. But at the same time, it's creative people. You want to also try and do different things. So that's, I think, where there's a little bit of friction there.
- [13:43]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Hi everybody. Thanks for tuning in. I hope you're enjoying our podcast. My name is Ana Brockway and I'm the co founder and president of Cherish. If you're a designer who's struggling with long lead times from suppliers and increasingly impatient clients, now is the time to shop with us. Our vintage antique and one of a kind inventory is ready to ship right now. To learn more, visit cherish.com, that's C-H-A-I R I-S-H.com and now back to the show.
- [14:13]
Michael Boudreau
I guess I'm curious about what you see as being the trends and what clients are asking for. Are things getting simpler? Are they getting more baroque again? I mean, I did a story one Christmas once years ago for the New York Times Magazine. We photographed people's houses set up at Christmas. We had to hold the story for a whole year to run it the next year. But we did an architect and his wife. They're both architects and their Christmas tree was totally bare. And underneath the tree there were like six packages wrapped in brown paper with red string. And they had a like adorable like 4 year old son. And I thought, oh my God, this poor kid's Christmas. But they were minimalists and that's how they saw Christmas. So I'm just curious about if there's a fashion and holiday decor like that something on the horizon.
- [15:01]
Charlotte Barnes
Well, I think that there is because families are changing and growing all the time. I mean, I've just had two daughters that are married. I've got three grandchildren now. I've been collecting Christmas ornaments for nearly 40 years. I had to give them up. Now I've been splitting them up with the daughters and now I have to figure out what's my tree gonna look like this year?
- [15:22]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Maybe you can help me do these.
- [15:24]
Charlotte Barnes
But I. I think that also the nutcracker and there are certain traditional things that are so important, but for all of the creative people, there are so many new things that you can do with a candle and what you wrap around that or how you put. You might change your candlesticks on the table or you might have some kind of amazing mossy. I don't know because I definitely call on Denise to help me and other people. But I think that we don't like to think about trends. We like to think about what's going to be the most beautiful thing in whatever room it's in.
- [16:04]
Michael Boudreau
Every designer I ever talked to says they hate trends, and yet we're all trend obsessed. So just so you know, Charlotte, I.
- [16:10]
Charlotte Barnes
Get what you mean, but I do feel that way.
- [16:12]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Like, tell me I have an edge and that sounds so great. But at the same time, like, I like traditional. I like the nutcracker as well. So do I. And there's a way to go back to traditional but still have a little bit of spice or edge and keep it interesting. But kind of find like the Lindsay's mom's tchotchkes. Right. And then kind of find the fine line between the two.
- [16:33]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
Curate them somehow.
- [16:34]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Yes.
- [16:35]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
Yeah, I think it's fun. Like in my own home, I love to do a little bit of a theme for the main tree every year. And I don't think it's trend based, but just trying to like, use it as a creative outlet of like, what color do I want the tree to be this year? And then like Denise was saying, I like doing the little trees for my kids, where all the sort of like traditional ornaments go. And then you have more of a design moment in the main tree.
- [17:01]
Michael Boudreau
Oh, that's a really cute idea. Okay. I want to add something a little more prosaic, a little more practical. How do you make sure that the holidays are profitable to your firm? Denise, I understand with you, I'm sure people come in and you have. But as for a designer, interior designer, Lindsey and Charlotte, if you've had a client, you've done their house, whatever, they come back to you and they say, oh, I need your help. Do you charge extra for that? How do you make sure that it's not a drag? It's a very busy time. Because I'm sure there's a lot of installations that people want their houses finished in time for the holidays. And then you've got long term clients saying, oh, I Need you to fix up my house, help me up for the holidays. So how did you manage that? Do you bill separately? How does that work?
- [17:43]
Charlotte Barnes
Yes, we bill separately.
- [17:44]
Michael Boudreau
Mm. And, Lindsay, is it the same for you?
- [17:47]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
Yeah, we would just bill our lead bill separately for that as well. And try to use, like, outside, like, try to use florists and handyman and not have our whole team over.
- [17:57]
Michael Boudreau
Of course.
- [17:59]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Happy to help. I know.
- [18:01]
Michael Boudreau
Well, you're going to be too busy, Denise. You better watch. Is going to be booming this holiday season.
- [18:07]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Amazing. We'll take it.
- [18:08]
Michael Boudreau
But it is like you were saying, Lindsay, you need a handyman, stepladders, all that practical stuff. You need the flowers. It's a big production.
- [18:16]
Charlotte Barnes
It is a big production, and there are so many people that are involved in that production that need to be orchestrated these days. With what we're all dealing with in the world that we live in today, I think that we are finding it harder and harder to call on really talented people and people that we know are actually going to show up to do what is required. That's a really big challenge, I think, for a lot of us, even just deliveries. You buy the White Peacock online and it didn't get there, and then you have to think of something else. So then your time is zapped twice.
- [18:53]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
And I'll add that everybody wants everything up the same time of year.
- [18:58]
Michael Boudreau
Exactly. Another logistical nightmare.
- [19:01]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Exactly. October 1st. I'm with you. I was also telling, like, we are in Christmas. Think of it as Christmas. Let's get extra staff going. Let's really start to plan. I took a few meetings already for Christmas, and I'm holding dates for clients that have been loyal clients to me, because everybody wants everything up yesterday or also the week and after Thanksgiving.
- [19:24]
Michael Boudreau
You know, Denise, I wanted to ask you because we were talking about billing, so would you say that the holidays is probably one of your most profitable seasons?
- [19:33]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Yes. Okay, short answer. I mean, obviously it's a very seasonal business. So the holidays we look forward to, we plan for, definitely very profitable. You could have one huge wedding in the middle of the spring quarter two, and then that could be the most profitable of that particular year. But overall, yes, the holiday time, because you have to think we hit a lot of different avenues, right? We have a regular business. Then on top of it, we have all of the holiday business that comes along from our regular business. So from those retainer clients that are our weekly hotel visits, our weekly home visits, those people are all giving us their business. And that's for the whole season. Right. It's starting at Thanksgiving, it's going through the Jewish holidays. So we're kind of busy that whole quarter. When you say holiday, it's kind of all of the holidays and then there's all the Christmas installations. And then we have a whole slew of extra business that comes through that just comes through for the holidays only. Right. So they are just asking us to do their stoop decor. Those are our clients, but we only really work with them once a year. We're not working with them throughout the year. And then we have a retail store in Chelsea, New York. And so there's a ton of other business that comes through. And that's also just the very, very perishable last minute dinner party arrangements. So people gift flowers or they'll bring flowers. So it's definitely one of the busiest season for us for sure.
- [21:04]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
Denise, do you have people that see like the restaurant and hotel work and are inspired to hire you for their homes?
- [21:10]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Yeah, over the years, definitely. We've also had the random dinner party and then we get calls that somebody went to the party and then they want us to do theirs. My whole business for years was word of mouth. You know, I think just when somebody would like, meet my mom on the high line or something and know of flower girl and it was like this aha moment of just like, oh, wow, you know, and that really felt great. And I think that's just been all the press over the years and obviously now the world is so different and social media and all of that, but for so long it was just word of mouth. So, yes, a lot of the business was just snowballing, especially in those beginning years when, as Charlotte said, we all worked differently and probably silly in a lot of ways, for lack of a better word, just to kind of get the business going. And I'm grateful for people just seeing my work at different locations and then reaching out and having business cards there. Just like old school.
- [22:10]
Michael Boudreau
Now, I wanted to ask each of you, since you're also expert on this, and we're talking about the holidays. I mean, it's Thanksgiving, there's Christmas, there's Hanukkah, there's New Year's. I mean, it's the long haul from, as we were saying, October 1st through the 1st of the year. So my question is, how do you define what's a successful gathering? Holiday gathering. Like, obviously decor has a huge impact on it. And I think we've all probably been to enough holiday parties and set enough tables or whatever. What do you think is actually the most important Four or five most important factors of doing a successful holiday party, whether it's cocktails, dinner, Christmas morning, buffet, whatever. Charlotte, you're nodding, so I'm going to start with you.
- [22:56]
Charlotte Barnes
Okay. Lighting is so important. I think lighting, I think food, I think making people feel really well looked after and hoping that they look beautiful. And I think that if you are at a party and the lights are super bright, I think everyone is always feeling a little uncomfortable. So I think that those are probably the two most important things. So we love candles, a lot of candles. I think if you fill a room with candles and beautiful flowers and great food and good lighting, it's a success. There's no way it's not a success, but I think the lighting is number one.
- [23:36]
Michael Boudreau
Lindsay, what would you say?
- [23:37]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
I would agree with Charlotte. I've actually been known to change the recessed lighting at holiday parties. I've done it at people's weddings that I'm not part of the wedding party. I just go and, like, you volunteer.
- [23:51]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Yeah.
- [23:51]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
Because it's terrible. One time I was in a house and the architect was actually at the party and she was like, oh, my gosh, I'm so glad you went. And I adjusted that.
- [24:02]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
That is.
- [24:04]
Charlotte Barnes
Yeah.
- [24:04]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
The florals, the mix of people. I love Charlotte's comment about being like a welcomed guest. You know, I think all of those touches in a guest room or at a party that make people really feel like just those hospitality touches are wonderful.
- [24:21]
Charlotte Barnes
That the hostess has thought of them. When we do a house, I sleep in every single guest room.
- [24:27]
Michael Boudreau
Yeah.
- [24:27]
Charlotte Barnes
To make sure that there's everything there. I mean, I think that there is nothing like being in a house as a guest. If you are in the best sheets and have the best, prettiest something next to your bed, and you could plug in your cell phone without climbing behind the bed or moving the side table or just where you feel like the person who's invited you has thought about you.
- [24:50]
Michael Boudreau
And, Denise, you've been to a lot of parties. You've designed a lot of parties. What do you think of as you.
- [24:55]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Were asking the question, My immediate reaction was food. I just think that if there's good food at a party and enough and enough. It made me think of my one client that I've had for years, and she cooks. She could have these elaborate dinners and have any chef that she wants, and she cooks, and that's really important to her. And she'll have her apron on and she's this savvy New York woman. But the day or two before the holiday, she's there in the kitchen and she has helpers and stuff. But I think that there's something so nice that her guests know that she's taking care of everything. Obviously you can't do that for huge functions, but, you know, it just feels very thought of. I agree about the lighting. I agree about the candles 100%. And then I think, depending on what the party is, I have another client that they just throw like, a bash for most holidays. And the fact that they want to celebrate, I think is just, you're halfway there. I say it all the time to people that come to my flower classes, and they're so nervous about designing for the first time or. And I'm like, the fact that you're here and that you want to do this and that we're gonna do this together, I think the fact that they're having a party is part of it just in itself to celebrate and to just live life and enjoy. Like, always say, like, it's a luxury to have flowers in your home every week. So the fact that you're doing that is just, like, pat yourself on the back.
- [26:20]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
Because I think people get, like, hung up in perfection and get really nervous about hosting, which is sad, because if.
- [26:28]
Michael Boudreau
The host or in hostess are having a good time, everyone will have a good time. I mean, you burn the turkey and you're ordering a pizza if everybody's into it. That's a memorable holiday. You know, it's like, as long as the spirit is right, you can't go wrong, I think. But we're also in the business of dressing spaces up, so we want them to be beautiful. But I do think that is kind of a crucial thing. And I want to push a little on this idea of what's next, because I'm old enough to remember when magnolia leaves were the new thing. We had never seen that before. We never really saw them before in the South. Obviously they have them, but I remember when they started appearing in decor and parties and stuff. And are there certain flowers now? I mean, even amaryllis, I mean, that was not originally a Christmas associated flower. Now it's inescapable, and they're beautiful. I love amaryllis, don't get me wrong. Paper whites, all that. But is there something that, you know, at the same time, you don't want to have sunflowers at Christmas, Thanksgiving? Yes. So blood red dahlias? I don't know. What do you think? Are there things that you would push? Are you things that you're thinking about for this holiday? Season.
- [27:34]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
I think it's a lot of reusing what we have. Like we're not going to create a new magnolia. I think that we have all kind of seen it all, but it's using what we have possibly in a different way and packaging it quite differently. So for instance, we do a big Thanksgiving every year personally and we have a home upstate. And I did traditional for so many years and I wrote names for each person on the magnolia leaf and metallic gold. And then I just kind of got a little bored and I think it was 2019. I did this just rainbow. So I still wound up with and probably had to buy more flowers than I needed. But we have like a runner style long table and we can seat as many. We've done four up to 40. I don't remember how many it was that year, but I don't know what I saw. I don't know what I was inside inspired by, but I just wanted something different. So it was still all the fall flowers, don't get me wrong. But I was able to put them in a white to a blush to a pink to a red to an oh, beautiful. I was able to still use a lot of the same vessels that I had used year after year that I had in my collection, but just change it up and it still felt fall. There was nothing I didn't bring like tulips onto the table that you wouldn't want to see that time of year. But it was just special. And I still had my long, tall taper, 18 inch taper candles and my candlesticks. But it was just to do something different with what we have and what's available in that particular season because the paper whites are going to be there, the magnolia is going to be there. It's just possibly like a different way of putting it together.
- [29:06]
Michael Boudreau
And Lindsay, was there ever a holiday decor that was unusual, that you felt you could push things successfully and you felt it worked well?
- [29:14]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
The stylist Lucy Bamman and I did a shoot together last year and she put amaranthus, sort of like a long vine looking flower that was really pretty. I will admit it was in a magnolia garland.
- [29:28]
Michael Boudreau
Something wrong with magnolias? I don't want to say wrong. Magnolias. Yeah, I'm not saying there's anything wrong. I'm just saying it was kind of a new thing at one point. Now it's established and it's beautiful. So that's interesting.
- [29:40]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
And she helped me kind of understand how to like fasten a really heavy garland to a mantel. I also was Thinking about doing. I saw a pampas grass tree, and my store is pretty light and minimal and sort of white gallery walls. So I think I'm going to try that this year.
- [29:59]
Michael Boudreau
Okay. Fun. Good. Charlotte, what about you? Have you broken tradition?
- [30:04]
Charlotte Barnes
Well, traditional, but not. I tried really hard to get a little bit of the knot in there, but I change up a lot with tablecloths. And so I've been recently doing lots of velvet tablecloths for people in different colors that are sort of very rich and jewel toned, so that it kind of makes it feel even more holiday time, I guess. And the other thing which Denise might be able to comment on is I collect a lot of inspiration from magazines. I'm still looking at paper, which I love, and I have tear sheets that I've had for 25 years. And I have a section that I keep of Christmas, and I saw something that was years ago with magnolia, but it had lights kind of wrapped around it. So I got someone to help me with. We ordered a giant magnolia branches that were like maybe 6ft tall that I put on top of a commode. And then we kind of did some little tiny lights with those. And it looked very modern, even though it was inspiration from the past, but it just looked so beautiful. And it allowed that entry room to kind of just look like it had a Christmas tree, even though we didn't have room for the tree. So I think a little bit of that. I love jewel tones. I love. I don't know if they're the right season, but black flowers. So I love black cosmos and I love dahlias, very dark dahlias. And I love. What's the other one? Ranunculus.
- [31:39]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Ranunculus callas Come in that dark?
- [31:42]
Charlotte Barnes
Yes. Yeah. So I think those, you know, in a silver cup look amazing.
- [31:47]
Michael Boudreau
Well, that would be very dramatic for.
- [31:49]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
New Year's, I was gonna say. And against a velvet tablecloth, that sounds beautiful.
- [31:53]
Charlotte Barnes
It's very, very pretty.
- [31:55]
Lindsay Anyon Breyer
Well, Denise's comment also made me think about. I think finding a new vessel inspires, like, what florals you're. It sort of informs what florals you're going to try to seek out for it. So that's a way that I feel can be different every year.
- [32:11]
Michael Boudreau
And, Denise, are there flowers that you've thought, like, during the year, you think, oh, I wonder if this would look pretty out of season? Because the great thing about. I mean, we're not supposed to. It's not so good for the ecosystem to fly in flowers, but they are flown in and from around the world.
- [32:26]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Unfortunately, they just are.
- [32:27]
Michael Boudreau
They are. I mean, kind of. I don't know how we get around that. But, you know, have you. Are there flowers that you think, I want to try and do something with this during the holidays, or a new flower that you just love that. I mean, as we say, you know, tulips, we associate with the spring, some flowers with fall, but other flowers.
- [32:43]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
So that's the thing. I'm traditional in that way. I will say that I feel like just being in New York and being blessed with four seasons, growing up here, embracing and the seasonality of food and going. So when I work in restaurants, I just sort of feel like you want to see what's available at that time. And even if hydrangeas are available all year long, I personally don't love to use them. I will do whatever a client wants if they want something. And also to touch upon trend for a second, there have been so many crazy trends of like, spray painting flowers and all these other things. I know it's not my thing either, but, you know, so it depends. And I wouldn't want to say no to a client that wants to try something out for an event or for a temporary party. I'm willing to do that. But personally, I don't want to see certain flowers at different times of the year. So I try and stay tried and true to what's available and what you'd wanna see. I had a client of mine even say that at one point. I think I didn't buy that particular week and somebody else did, and she noticed. She's a New York woman and she said, like, I don't really wanna see that whatever it was, until it's the season for it. And I stand behind that as well.
- [33:58]
Michael Boudreau
But it's also, like Lindsay was saying, it also depends on what vessel you put it in. And the great amazing thing about what you do at Flower Girl is the way you put the flowers together is always striking and different. It's not just, here's a big collection of roses, red roses or something to.
- [34:13]
Denise Porcaro Tupper
Just counteract what I just said. Like, there are certain flowers that you can do different times of the year. Like, I don't think orchids in the right color can work on Charlotte's velvet tablecloth around the holidays with a metallic moment to it or in a julep cup. And they don't necessarily need to say, like, tropical summertime. Right. So there's certain flowers that like the roses, they're there all year and they would be accepted all the time. I just specifically don't want to see tulips. And in the market we have things come available to us way before. So even though, you know, if I had a dollar for every time somebody said a peony was their favorite flower. Right. But even if they're available, sometimes I won't bring them out and start to put them into arrangements or people's homes until, like, May. Even if you might start to see them a little earlier. I just feel like you kind of go with the flow of the seasons. And my business has been known to be seasonal.
- [35:12]
Michael Boudreau
Right. And also, I mean, a, I look at some of those flowers that are so out of season, you think, what did they do to those poor plants to get those peonies or whatever in season maps? And also, it's like by the time May comes around, you're going to be sick of seeing peonies jumping. The season is not always a good thing. And I want to make clear, especially to the audience, too, I love the holidays. I love the traditions. I love an amaryllis. I love magnolia. I'm not saying we should banish them, but, you know, I think it's so interesting how talents like you guys really can bring freshness to tradition. And I think that's, of course, why your clients come to you, because you make their holidays so much more interesting and memorable than they would be otherwise if they just did it on their own. And I think that's the great skill that makes all of you so successful. So I think this has been such a fun topic to talk about, and I want to thank my wonderful guests, Lindsay Anyon Breyer, Charlotte Barnes and Denise Porcaro Tupper of Flower Girl. And thank everyone for listening to the Cherish Podcast. You've been listening to the Cherish Podcast, brought to you, of course, by Cherish, which was voted by the readers of USA Today as the best place to shop online for furniture and home decor. If you enjoyed this episode, please tell a friend or colleague. Or better yet, go to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review. We appreciate your help in spreading the word and we would love your ideas for future episodes. Please email us at podcasterish. Com. The Cherish Podcast is produced by Muggs Buckley and engineered by Hangar Studios in New York. Until next.