The International Garden Show Floraart is the largest horticultural event in this part of Europe and brings together numerous domestic and foreign exhibitors, while the exhibition hosts hundreds of thousands of visitors. The installation “In the Vortex of Life” was created by florists from seven flower shops: The Flower Shop Tea, Remetska cesta 4a; Flower Shop Brkić, Bukovačka 2; Flower Store Škrinjarić, Heinzelova kiosk no. 4; Flower Shop La Marco, Martićeva 19; Flower Shop Poppy, Biškupec breg 7; Flower Shop Lanište, Lanište 13; Flower atelier Papyrus, Podsusedski trg 1. The main sponsor is the Association of Craftsmen of the City of Zagreb.

Photo: private property

Rafaela Petrinić from the Flower Shop Poppy has revealed to us how it was to work on such a huge installation: “Behind the installation, there are many hours of work, lots of preparation and brainstorming of what to do and how to do it. In its creation, we were assisted by a colleague Žugulić who crafted an iron structure. We then ordered flowers and the work followed. Much of the exhibits were completed with ladders, as the rings had a diameter of more than 4 meters. There were thousands of flowers available for installation. We had to choose flowers that could last longer and appear as fresh on the last as well as the first day of the exhibition. This year, conditions were extremely testing, due to the weather –  the exhibition was postponed because of the rain – but the flowers endured.” Petrinić emphasizes that she was thrilled with the award and that she viewed it as an incentive for future projects as well as proof of their expertise and confirmation that the effort of the florists was paid off.

The Poppy Flower Shop is well known for its unique cut flowers for various occasions: weddings, performances, communions, confirmations, promotions, office decorations and various other events.

Photo: private property

Spomenka Fabijančić from the “Tea Florist”  is proud of the installation “In the Vortex of Life,” which she made with her colleagues, but she believes that the first prize has drowned in the“sea” of others. “Many awards and works have been awarded, which in my opinion are not at the level of this prestigious exhibition, primarily I mean installations consisting of a variety of items where there are almost no flowers. I realize that the awards should serve as an incentive and motivation for further work and creativity, but in this way, the first prize has lost the true significance. Behind the award-winning installation “In the Vortex of Life,” are skills, dedication and knowledge so I’m a bit disappointed,” Fabijančić said. She discovered that it was a great challenge to order flowers that would keep freshness until the end of the exhibition and that they were working on the idea for about two months.

Spomenka Fabijančić’s flower shop produces bouquets, arrangements for weddings, baptisms, birthdays, promotions, holidays and funerals and floral arrangements for businesses.

Photo: private property