For curly willow scraps

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Gracie

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Sep 23, 2006
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I started saving scrap ends of curly willow last Christmas -- you know, the thicker parts that can't be used in arrangements, or the ones that developed unattractive black sections. Most of the pieces are 18"-36" long and twisty.

During this slow month, I've been painting them -- lime green, butter yellow, black, whatever. I set up a "paint booth" outside the back door (just some cardboard over some milk crates), lay out some sticks, slap some paint on in a few minutes, go back inside and do something else while it dries, and carry on.

What a great (and cheap) design element! At first, my co-workers rolled their eyes at the idea, but now I can't keep up to their demand. And I thought I'd be able to stockpile a bunch for the fall & winter.:rolleyes:

I've been thinking of adding texture -- glue patches with sand before the paint, for instance -- but it's probably not worth the time investment.

Just thought I'd share.
 
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Gracie said:
I started saving scrap ends of curly willow last Christmas -- you know, the thicker parts that can't be used in arrangements, or the ones that developed unattractive black sections. Most of the pieces are 18"-36" long and twisty.

During this slow month, I've been painting them -- lime green, butter yellow, black, whatever. I set up a "paint booth" outside the back door (just some cardboard over some milk crates), lay out some sticks, slap some paint on in a few minutes, go back inside and do something else while it dries, and carry on.

What a great (and cheap) design element! At first, my co-workers rolled their eyes at the idea, but now I can't keep up to their demand. And I thought I'd be able to stockpile a bunch for the fall & winter.:rolleyes:

I've been thinking of adding texture -- glue patches with sand before the paint, for instance -- but it's probably not worth the time investment.
Just thought I'd share.
Click to expand...

Go for it! I bet you can come up with all kinds of cool new textures, designs, colors for curly willow! You just may stumble across something so spectacular, you could charge a mint for it! Let your imagination be your guide.
 
I never throw stuff away because I can always see a future in stuff.

At the AIFD Symposium, a designer from Japan did a whole program using things like the throw away curly willow stems. You might want to purchase her DVD to see the amazing things she did with them. Her name is Keiko.

Carol Bice
 
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I use these quite a bit but I mostly use them after they have turned a dark brown/black since I tend to do mostly natural looking arrangements. Some of the thicker limbs get a real nice twisty thing going that I really like. I take a natural stoneware pot with Sahara foam, moss and lay a piece on the base, secure it and then design around it, just love it.

Trish
 
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Thanks for the great idea... I'll be stealing it soon.

A thought on your idea of adding texture with sand and whatnot... but worried about not being "worth" it. What if you adjusted your retail to reflect the additional labor. It may just be "worth it" to have that cool unique element to the arrangement, even if it means taking more labor time.
 
I took some video of that Japanese designer......I'll have to see what formats and how much I can post to FC.
 
Ok - Since the videoclip is over 30 Mb and is less than a minute in length....I took and uploaded it to youtube.

This is Keiko Osado of the Mami Flower Design School in Tokyo being assisted by Kiko Zimmerman of TK Concepts. Kiko has a company with Norweigian designer Tor Gunderson.


Here is the clip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHGesMtvXJ4
 
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RWK said:
Ok - Since the videoclip is over 30 Mb and is less than a minute in length....I took and uploaded it to youtube.

This is Keiko Osado of the Mami Flower Design School in Tokyo being assisted by Kiko Zimmerman of TK Concepts. Kiko has a company with Norweigian designer Tor Gunderson.


Here is the clip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHGesMtvXJ4
Click to expand...

Thanks for that clip. She did several things with the willow that turned me on besides the one you showed. Everything she did was so simple that I thought....why didn't I think of that?

Carol Bice
 
Thanks, I was hoping the video had been recorded right. As it turns out....I was no where near the stage during her program....so on a hunch, I shot the videoclip of her designing that was playing on the big screen.....so in essence, I shot a video of a video.
 
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