Ovando, the chic and artsy flower shop with modern sculpture-like arrangements, dramatic black interior and impressive NYC clientele — they provide the floral decor for the W, The Four Seasons, Central Park Boathouse and for designers Donna Karan and Hermes, to name a few — recently opened the doors to their new outpost in the Upper East Side.
“The new boutique is going to cater to a completely different clientele,” says owner and design maven Sandra de Ovando. “We might have a larger quantity of luxurious items versus downtown, but in terms of design, we definitely won’t be going traditional — we will never go there. It’s a big no-no.”
Arranging 101
Ovando’s tips on making your corner-store flowers look beautiful:
1 Go for lilies
“Lilies have a long lifespan, and some delis or bodegas carry colorful varieties. I suggest just putting them in a vase; they have so much presence by themselves.”
2 Divide and display
“If you get a bunch of mixed flowers, separate them and put them in different containers. All flowers are beautiful; it’s the combination that makes them look unattractive. If you have a mixed bouquet, instead of putting everything in one vase, I would use four vases: one for each type of flower. And that way you’ll also get a lot of little arrangements.”
3 Pick the right vase
“For roses, I would pick a vase that has a small enough width so that the flowers are not drooping over (maybe three inches wide). In terms of height, it can be a little high, but I would still cut them. I normally don’t use roses tall. What’s beautiful about the rose is the head, so why do you want to look at it from the bottom?”
4 Color-block
“If you have three color roses and you put them in the same vase, make sure to color-block the bunches. Keep pink together, yellow together and red together. The eye can read things better when organized.”
