Fleurs de Villes 2023

We participated in this year's Fleurs de Villes Toronto. We were assigned to create Mrs. Claus accompanied by North Pole reindeer at the entrance of Yorkville Lane. In our categories, we won 'Best in Show' for Mrs. Claus Mannequin and 'Runner Up' for our North Pole reindeer installation.

To start we played with both scale and detail - we started by creating this oversized red hooded cloak with fur trim for Mrs. Claus. The details were primarily focussed to her accessories, including her laced up fur booties, her ornate wicker purse, and her holly berry crown. Everything was made with fresh, silk, and dried product.

For her purse we decorated using white eryngium thistle, Jade Pearl leucadensron, green pieris japonica, red skimmia, red ilex berries, and fresh moss.  We looped freshly strung cranberries around her cloak and her purse. Mrs. Claus' fresh crown was made with holly, green pieris japonica, and red ilex berries.

We created an icy detail that crept over the mossed ground. Perhaps moving with her each step. White billy balls were fashioned into snowflake patterns and white asparagus ferns trailed down from her mini party dress, which was made with white hydrangea and white asparagus ferns. 

Mrs. Claus' booties were made using dried pampas and dried gingko leaves. Her long braided hair was made using dried Uva grass. And the fur detail on her cloak was made with dried pampas grasses. We continued to carry the use of grasses through the installation, surrounding her in a Canadian winter scene. Tall and bending dried field grasses with evergreens framed her, and moss was laid at her feet. Additional white billy balls popped up around the landscape, like sprouting mushrooms. 

Mrs. Claus is accompanied by the North Pole reindeer which we mossed over a frame. We used mossed twigs for his antlers, which were tangled with strung cranberries. His saddle matches Mrs. Claus' cloak and he is adorned with a thinner fresh garland around his neck.

 

Looking for more wintertime inspiration? Read on with this post showcasing Ana & Ben's Winter wedding.