Maurice Harris of Bloom and Plume and Kristen Caissie of Moon Canyon Design Co. like to think of themselves as “flower friends.” The two designers, who are based in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, are, in Harris’s words, out to “bridge the gap between opulent and natural,” each in their own way. Harris learned about floral arrangement observing his grandmother, who was both a florist and milliner, and started Bloom and Plume in 2009. Among his signature arrangements are bouquets of white roses accented with fig branches and feathers, and hydrangeas mixed with moss-covered magnolia stems. Caissie, who opened her studio in 2010, got her hands dirty working at Spruce Floral in Boston—an experience that helped hone an organic vision, illustrated by the exquisite wreaths she creates from California foliage. Sign up for one of her floral workshops, and you might hear her guiding principle: “The flowers will tell you where they want to go.”
Kristen Caissie
And while you would assume that the two would be natural rivals, it seems there are plenty of clients to go around. Harris creates arrangements for designer Jenni Kayne and interior designer Estee Stanley; Caissie has done bouquets for accessories designer Clare Vivier, textile designer Rachel Craven, and jewelry designer Kathryn Bentley, all of whom comprise an East Side collective of artists of which Caissie counts herself a part. Rather coincidentally, both Harris and Caissie worked as window display managers for Barneys and Anthropologie, respectively. “I learned to create shapes and structures and forms,” says Caissie. “And I’ve realized I’m as handy with rope as I am with flowers.”
Bloom and Plume, bloomandplume.com, (323) 515-2928; Moon Canyon Design Co., mooncanyondesign.com, (617) 304-9949
