Antwerp Flower Shop News
How Dries Van Noten Made Prints Using Flowers From His Own Garden - The New York Times
Tuesday, July 09, 2019Classical house near Antwerp.[Coming soon: the T List newsletter, a weekly roundup of what T Magazine editors are noticing and coveting. Sign up here.]On a crisp afternoon in October, he headed outside armed with shears and a camera. He cut fuchsia and lemon-yellow roses, burgundy dahlias and cornflower blue delphiniums from bountiful late-season bushes and suspended the blooms from delicate transparent threads in front of a sky blue paper backdrop. He and his team then photographed the flowers, illuminated only by the fading sun, before digitally printing the images onto silks, chiffons and crepe de Chine. The result is a collection of prints that feel naturalistic and almost palpably alive. “The last hot poker of the season, printed now on a dress, was something that I really liked as a message,” the designer says of one of the specimens, the flame red African flowering plant also known as Kniphofia. In the collection, its starburst-like petals wend their way up a dusky blue belted trench dress in a buttery silk, as if still sprouting from the earth.ImageDries Van Noten fall 2019CreditThomas Samson/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesInspired in part by the introspective mood of the American writer Gertrude Stein’s 1913 poem “Sacred Emily” — perhaps best known for its line “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose” — Van Noten felt that the prints for this collect... https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/t-magazine/dries-van-noten-flower-prints.html
Petals of Van Gogh's Sunflowers Have Begun to Wilt, Researchers Say
Tuesday, June 05, 2018Gogh Museum in Amsterdam have begun to microscopically wilt, Nina Siegal of the New York Times reports.Frederick Vanmeerta doctoral candidate in the chemistry department at the University of Antwerpconfirmed that, while the effect cannot yet be seen with the naked eye, the colors of the pale yellow flowers have begun to change. He coauthored a technical study, published in the scientific journal Angewandte Chemie, which explains that the artist used a light-sensitive pigment and that soon the yellow bouquet may turn to an olive green.The researchers collaborated with the museum in 2016. They analyzed the work through a chemical-mapping process called “macrosopic X-ray powder diffraction,” which allowed them to examine the painting without ever having to touch its surface, and discovered that Van Gogh had used three types of yellow pigments that were fairly new at the time. Vanmeert said that they were purchased by the tube and that two of the colors deteriorate after exposure to light.Vanmeert also confirmed that the National Gallery in London is expecting to receive the same diagnosis for the version of Sunflowers exhibited within the institution. The findings follow a 2013 study that concluded that the artist also used a red pigment that fades to white, which is why hi... https://www.artforum.com/news/petals-of-van-gogh-s-sunflowers-have-begun-to-wilt-researchers-say-75656
Doubts Raised About Green Claims of New Belgian Waste-to-Energy Plant - Huffington Post
Tuesday, January 05, 2016By Julie Ann Aelbrecht, student in financial journalism, City University-London and Aarhus UniversityPort of Antwerp proudly announced last May that the Saudi company Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) will invest 3.7 billion euros (roughly U.S. $4 billion) in a green project at one of its docks. The Saudi company's waste-to-chemical plant will turn unrecyclable plastic into "green" urea and ammonia through gasification, which could be fed into a cluster of chemical companies already present at Antwerp's port. The Dutch company Howa International as its sole vendor for the waste.The Port of Antwerp lauded the project as 40 percent more energy-efficient than a classical waste incinerator, but doubts about how green the project actually is have quickly developed. Underwhelming results from previous attempts at similar projects, doubts about the project's feasibility report and the uncertain final destination of the plant's products all make the grounds for port management's and city officials' initial euphoria seem less and less certain.The PlantWhen completed, the plant is expected to process rough... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pro-journo/doubts-raised-about-green_b_8916324.html
Van Gogh's Sunflowers may be wilting in the sun - Royal Society of Chemistry
Wednesday, October 28, 2015It’s a very iconic painting and it’s the one which is, for the painting curators, also quite a hard one to figure out,’ says Koen Janssens from the University of Antwerp, Belgium. ‘To try to understand how it looked originally, whether it looked like as it looks now or not.’Janssens and his colleagues, based at the centre for scientific methodologies applied to archaeology and art (SMAArt) in Italy, began to tackle this issue back in 2011 by manufacturing artificial samples of lead chromate pigment and exposing them to light.2 Using x-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy, the team found that sulfate-rich lead chromate darkened over time, with any chromium present being reduced from chromium(IV) to chromium(III).Mapping Sunflowers’ elementsAfter being given access to one of Van Gogh’s original Sunflowers paintings at the Van Gogh museum in the Netherlands earlier this year, the SMAArt sleuths have now revealed this process is indeed occurring within the petals of this prized work.‘In the light-sensitive version of lead chromate you do not have a 1:1 ratio of chromium to lead … but [it’s] somewhere between 1:2 and 2:3,’ comments Janssens. ‘We used micro x-ray fluorescence to try and see where this ratio appeared and it turned out that that was quite substantial – in quite a lot of locations on the sunflowers this was the case.’ Using this portable tool, Janssens and his colleagues were able to produce a complete compound map, finding sulfate-rich lead chromate within the petals and the table at the bottom of the piece.But this piece of information alone does not confirm that a painting has aged and the team also had to prove that degraded chromium species were also present. Two microsamples were taken from the areas thought to have degraded and x-ray absorption spectroscopy revealed that there was a significant amount of chromium(III) present, suggesting the petals are in fact darkening over time.Such a finding may encourage curators to reassess their preservation strategies for these delicate artworks, but this research will provide a vital resource for them, according to Letizia Monico from SMAArt. ‘The availability of a “hig... http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/10/van-gogh-sunflowers-pigment-darkening
Business is 'blooming' at Park Avenue Florist & Gift Shop - Clay Today Online
Wednesday, December 02, 2020McCleod said.“I’ve just started coming here,” said Orange Park’s Marlene Revella. “My parents and most of my family live up in Ohio, and obviously I won’t be going home for the holidays this year. So I decided to maybe send them a plant. But I came in and saw the different flower arrangements and plants, and I ended up being here for over an hour. The salespeople were so helpful and patient with me.“I ended up deciding to send a plant and flowers. I think it’s something I’ll probably do again in the future. It’s not too expensive, and it’s a pretty timely gift to let someone know you’re thinking of them.”McCleod says that the florist is doing mostly contactless deliveries and pickups on orders, as people are trying to maintain suggested health and safety protocols.“Usually within 24 hours,” said McCleod when asked about the turnaround time of delivery and pickup orders. “That way, if they pick out something special, we can order it in. We have a wide variety on hand, so we can usually fill it [the order].” McCleod hasn’t seen any particular demographic doing most of the buying.According to her, it’s across the board. Although, she says she’s seen more men than usual – doghouse buys, she calls them – assuming that quarantine has caused them to irritate the women in their lives.“We’re doing more centerpieces right now, especially for Thanksgiving,” said McCleod. “Scented with candles, something festive for their holiday table. Christmas is usually about the same thing. We have ornaments in the specialty type containers as well.” ... https://www.claytodayonline.com/stories/business-is-blooming-at-park-avenue-florist-gift-shop,25109
Ham Lake couple trust God as they grow family flower farm business - The Catholic Spirit
Monday, August 24, 2020Jonah grew up on a farm. High school sweethearts, the 30-year-olds met at the parish they still attend, St. Paul in Ham Lake. They went to college together at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio and married in 2012.Six years ago, they rented a farmhouse near Ham Lake, on 20 acres with a field bordered by pines. After it sat fallow for a few seasons, they approached their landlord and arranged to begin farming it. This spring, they planted a plot with 50 different types of flowers. Kristen cuts, arranges and sells bouquets.Kristen and Jonah are convinced that God has led them to begin this venture, but they wear no rose-colored glasses about the challenge they’ve taken on. When asked July 30 what he sees when he looks over the field, Jonah chuckled and said, “a lot of labor.” In the spring, he and Kristen ordered mounds of compost to prepare the field’s otherwise “sandbox” soil, spreading it over layers of salvaged cardboard to help retain moisture and quality. He built a fence to keep out deer, like the five he observed grazing across the road that evening, as well as an irrigation system.Jonah holds a master’s degree in counseling, but decided the career wasn’t for him. He works as a house inspector, but is an entrepreneur at heart. The flower farm by far is the biggest risk he and Kristen have taken, he said. They hope that eventually it could become their full-time business.When they began researching farming, they planned to grow organic food. They were inspired by the writings of Joel Salatin, a Christian farmer in Virginia who has become the godfather of a movement favoring small-scale, sustainable, family-based farming. The Carlstroms were thinking produce and chickens when, in the winter of 2019, Kristen came across a book titled “The Cut Flower Garden” by Erin Benzakein, a florist farmer in Washington.“Basically, I just fell in love with it,” Kristen said. “It was kind of out of the blue for me.”She had always kept a small flower garden with sunflowers and zinnias, but nothing large-scale. But once she began to think about flowers, she became convinced that was the direction she wanted to move.“I knew we were going to take on something really big,” she said. “It was really important for me to be really passionate about it. And so, this was something that just really took a hold of me. And I had so much energy with thinking of doing really hard stuff to make it happen.”She and Jonah took Benzakein’s online course on flower farming, and dove into researching what would grow well in Minnesota’s climate. “Before we knew it, we’re like, we’re really doing it,” she said.Jonah gives Kristen all the credit for the flower focus. “I never thought I would be a flower farmer — I don’t think many men do think of that,” Jonah said, sitting near the field. He agreed to the online course, “and I was just sort of open with the Lord; ‘Wherever you lead us.’”“Ever since leaving school, I wanted to do something in nature. I love working outside. I’ve been praying along the way” for God’s guidance, he said. “Basically, I want to come home and I want to work from home.”The Carlstroms don’t know any other young farmers, but they’re not alone among Catholic millennials. Jim Ennis, executive director of St. Paul-based Catholic Rural Life, said there are like-minded young Catholics across... https://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/ham-lake-couple-trust-god-as-they-grow-family-flower-farm-business/
Looters Ransack Streeterville Florist Shop That Opened Just A Few Months Ago - CBS Chicago
Monday, August 24, 2020It was difficult to see the shop like this,” Nima Manhas said.The refrigerators were shattered, the computers were broken, and the new small business at 209 E. Ohio St. was totally ransacked.“All of us are trying to get back to normal, and it’s just so difficult,” Nima Manhas said.They did deal with some theft.“Just garbage and trash everywhere,” said Gur Manhas.But for the most part, City Scents Flowers was destroyed for the sake of destruction – almost eerily so.You can see the flowers behind the broken refrigerators still arranged in place.“It seemed like the purpose was just to damage,” Gur Manhas said.Their purpose since taking over in April is supporting their community, even when it meant closing down during the protests in May after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.“We handed out daisies and white roses to protestors to show support for the protesters,” Nima Manhas said.“We do not believe that the violence that occurred this morning had anything to do with any kind of social justice theme,” Gur Manhas said.Now, as they process and finish picking up the pieces, things that can be replaced.“We don’t want people to move away from the city,” Gur Manhas said.Their focus is on a feeling throughout the city right now that’s not as easily replaceable.“I think it’s important for everyone to feel safe in our community,” Nima Manhas said.City Scents is hoping to open back up soon in Streeterville. And on Monday night, like other businesses in this area, big and small, all hit in the early morning, they’re asking for one thing – protection from the city. https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/08/10/looters-ransack-streeterville-florist-shop-that-opened-just-a-few-months-ago/
Local florist brings joy to Clevelanders with massive floral installation at Edgewater Park - News 5 Cleveland
Monday, August 24, 2020At the same time, Mayesh, who is the largest flower wholesaler in Northeast Ohio, had a significant amount of inventory on hand as they prepared to close through April. Bob Fenner Flower display at Edgewater Park. So Thomas loaded up as many flowers as he could, approximately 5,000 stems, onto the bed of his pick up truck.Working after dusk, plucking and arranging each flower with intent, Thomas created an 8-foot tall floral billboard at Edgewater Park.At the base of the installation reads, “Individually, we are one flower. Together we are a beautiful garden,” — a message Thomas hopes reaches as many people as possible during this difficult time. Cleveland Metroparks/Kyle Lanzer. Floral design at the Cleveland Metroparks. Cleveland Metroparks/Kyle Lanzer. “Having flowers is a luxury for most people who think twice about having them even when the economy is good. I had all these flowers and thought this would be a great way to bring joy into as many homes as possible,” he said.Every visitor is encouraged to take a flower or two home to remind them of better times ahead."I designed it so it's easy for visitors to grab flowers," Thomas said.The Cleveland Metroparks, who operates the area where the display is located at, encourages visitors practice social distancing.Spreading joy and hope through flowers is something that runs deep for Thomas, who, for as long as he can remember, has been surrounded by flowers and plants.For generations, his family has been in the flower business, o... https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/made-us-smile/local-florist-brings-joy-to-clevelanders-with-massive-floral-installation-at-edgewater-park