ABOUT

In the concluding stanza of “Bloom—is Result—to meet a Flower,” Emily Dickinson reminds us of the profound place of the flower:

Great Nature not to disappoint
Awaiting Her that Day—To be a Flower, is profound Responsibility

Flowers are responsible for life on the earth, providing the fruit for the animals. They conjure grief, satisfaction, emergence, closure, ending, love, celebration, compassion, death, dying, sickness, relief, new life,  beauty, graying, smiling, sadness, joy, and just because.

I adore flowers, fresh, dried, and even a beautiful faux…

I’ve been making arrangements from weeds in the garden since I was a small child eventually moving on to theft from a rose bed of a grumpy neighbor. On a shoe string budget in graduate school, I still had fresh florals. I have always been a floral designer and creator, making arrangements for my own home, gifts for friends, and small events.

After nearly 2 decades in academia, I retired in 2021 and founded Fiore Vigilante in 2022.

Born in Rome and married to an Italian, I decided on Fiore (pronounced Fee-or-eh) as it translates to flower in Italian and Vigilante is my last name. 

I love and will always prefer fresh florals, but they don’t last and are impractical for use longer than a week even with water changes and cutting stems which can change the composition of the original to something less pleasing.

I still make fresh florals for clients, but these are better for weekly subscriptions or for purchase.

Faux flowers are an option, but the best ones are quite costly and the less costly ones look plastic or old ladylike. Both silk and plastic faux flowers will gather dust and still require maintenance.

Dried flowers are an option, and I’ve seen some very cool arrangements done with dried flowers, but they have a look about them that’s drab and brittle. They can be quite delicate, and that dried rosebud can crumble and turn to dust with too much attention.

Hand-painted dried florals…
The origin story

My hand-painted, dried floral business began when a dear client let me know a brand new fresh floral arrangement was attracting bugs. Since inescapable temperature fluctuation was to blame for the quickly dying lotus pods, I sought to create a temporary dried, faux flower arrangement.

Nothing looked right.

The artist and painter in me took over. I painted the dried florals I had on hand and arranged them in the same high quality vessel, and they looked pretty good. My client liked them and mentioned people coming into her business kept asking about them.

Voila! I had the makings for a very cool idea. A subscription service of hand-painted dried florals. I offer subscriptions of hand-painted dried arrangements for home and business monthly, seasonally, or for short-term rental. Monthly rentals include delivery.

I also have clients who prefer fresh florals. I offer a subscription program for fresh floral arrangements on a weekly basis.

Some clients want to purchase hand-painted dried arrangments as gifts or for their own use. These can be purchased 2 ways:

Custom Hand-Painted Floral Arrangement

  • These take into account color and compositional preferences and the like. They come with a vessel. They do not include delivery.

Highly Customized Hand-Painted Floral Arrangement

  • This is a much more detailed and collaborative process which requires a consultation, estimate, contract, and installation. Consequently, these are more costly than custom arrangements because they are so personalized. The cost does not include the vessel or delivery.

Fresh florals are also available for purchase and generally range from $185-400, depending on their size, orientation, and vessel price-point. Delivery is not included.