David Stark

You started working in floral design after attending art school at RISD. How did you take that to event design? It’s really funny how this happened. We were invited to interview for the job of designing the NYC Opera’s gala, and Carolyne Roehm was the evening’s Chair Woman, a noted floral designer in her own right. The production was a re-staging of Macbeth in industrial England at the turn of the century and Carolyne took a look at our portfolio and said, “There is no question about it. You make the most beautiful arrangements, but this evening is not about flowers at all!” She probably doesn’t even remember this (or me!), but that sentence was a game changer. All of a sudden, Dorothy’s door to Oz opened and the world of materials became my palette. Of course, I adore flowers. They are a first love, but they are not always the right tool in the tool box for every single occasion. You know, it took me so many years to shake the term “florist” off the back of my name, and now we do these events, and people say, “Wow, your flowers are so beautiful! Who does them!?” I am always proud to admit that we do them ourselves. [Photo via]
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