Flowers Make A Difference: A Runway Show For Survivors

Oct 18

This stage show will always be one of the best floral experiences of my life. South Dakota Florists Association invited me to present a runway show for their convention. I was told this show was not only for florists, but it was open to the public. This is a rare occurrence and I was excited to see the outcome.

I always ask what the client is looking for in a show and was told they trusted me to present an amazing show. I thought about it and a lightbulb went off… make a difference with floral!

The show would consist of three segments with the finale being a segment honoring rape survivors. I wanted to honor those who have had so much taken from them. It was important to show the strength and beauty of those who survived being raped. Not only did we want to honor them, but we always wanted to empower them. We inquired if any rape survivors would want to walk the runway and were grateful with the answers of yes along with other models who wanted to be there in support. It was time for the woman to take back the power!

But I digress. Let’s start from the beginning. The show was to take place at the Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center at Cedar Shore in Oacoma, SD. I arrived in Sioux Falls and my dear friend Patience picked me up from the airport. I was so excited yet nervous about the show. There was a lot of pressure to not only make the audience and association proud, but also the survivors needed to be empowered.

The stage is set and now time to rehearse. Rehearsals went well and I started to see the vision come to life This was a bit overwhelming as the emotions tried to take over. I held them back as the show was not about me… it was about the beauty of floral and survivors.

The time has come for the show to start. I look out into the audience and there is standing room only. We expected the seats full, but we did not expect the crowd that came.

The first segment was inspired by my home state, focusing on the red rose and having fun with burlesque. The night was to start on a high note with music thumping and our show beginning. There were feathers, wrist cuffs, collars, bouquets, pomander balls, boas and a staff to get the show started. The floral used were in jewel tones with heavy red rose influence, gloriosa lilies, calla lilies, carnations, and assorted foliage.

The next segment was inspired by the man I love and will spend the rest of my life with—my husband Jaime. Our wedding was on a beach and I wanted to bring the soft romance to SDFA. This segment was to be soft and romantic as I wanted to bring the mood of the room to settle for this segment. The floral carried were bouquets, armatures with lights, shawls made out of Oasis wire, garland wrap, Oasis muslin ribbon bouquet. The floral was in soft shades of pink, white, ivory consisting of orchids, roses, lilies, garden roses, tulips, with accents of ivy, plumosa, springri and eucalyptus.

Now the evening comes to what we have been waiting for. The finale segment was inspired by stunning, brilliant, strong and beautiful woman who inspire me and we used this inspiration to design a show of empowerment, strength, and beauty of rape survivors. We created superhero gear using a glue gun technique taught to me by the fabulous Helen Miller AIFD. The items designed were bracelets, shields, capes, and armor. The colors were silver, rose gold, gold with jewel tone floral. The floral consisted of callas, asters, mokara orchids, statice, and colorful reindeer moss.

The music starts slow as the first two ladies walk out with lotus bouquets that open to show the beauty inside.

Then the music becomes an empowering and strong rendition of “This Is Me” and the celebration of survivors begins.

We were grateful to share this experience with some rape survivors who were part of the show. I was also addressed after the show by woman in the audience telling us their stories of survival and how the show gave them back power. It was such an honor to express all of these emotions through the art of floral.

It was a show that I will never forget! I thank SDFA for their support and encouragement to put this show together.

Use your passion to change someone’s life!